“Makes the provocative but compelling case that the fight for same-sex marriage marked a costly detour away from the radical politics at the root of the LGBT rights movement.”—Daily Beast
"A relevant, fiery, and dizzying treatise certain to provoke debate and discussion."—Kirkus Reviews
"Duberman's book is an urgent and much-needed clarion call for the 'gay movement' to reinvent itself for the 21st century. He covers enormous ground for a relatively short and broadly accessible book. "—PopMatters
"A useful reference point that maps the history of the movement before building an argument for broadening the focus of LGBTQ politics."—Times Higher Education
“Thought-provoking read about questions that have occupied gay movements since Stonewall. . . . An engaging account of the last half century of the gay movement that, because of its energizing discussion of tensions between focus on normalcy or emphasis on radical transformation, would be a timely and invaluable addition to the classroom.”—Teaching Sociology
“For decades, Martin Duberman has been a voice of conscience and reason on all issues of social justice. He brings to current debates a historian’s sense of where we have come from and how that matters to where we are.
Has the Gay Movement Failed? is a wide-ranging assessment remarkable for its clarity and balance. It analyzes progress while upending the triumphalist story that the only goal that mattered was marriage. It should be required reading for those of any generation, queer or otherwise, who care about LGBTQ struggles.”—Michael Warner, author of
The Trouble with Normal “Martin Duberman offers us an important provocation with
Has the Gay Movement Failed? Raising crucial questions about our movement’s direction in the half century since Stonewall, he also asks how the left and queer activists can work together now. Duberman’s long experience and humane vision offer us both tough love and hope in this time of renewed crisis.”—Lisa Duggan, author of
The Twilight of Equality? “Do we have a queer movement of which we can be proud? Surveying culture, politics, science, technologies, legal strategies, and fundamental concepts of personal and political freedom, Martin Duberman gets to the heart of what has gone wrong with the LGBTQ movement and why it has not fought for a comprehensive vision of freedom for everyone—or has even impeded it.
Has the Gay Movement Failed? is his most challenging, provocative, and visionary book to date. It is an imperative read for anyone interested in a truly liberated queer future.”—Michael Bronski, author of
A Queer History of the United States “By starting the book with a history of the Gay Liberation Front, an origin of the radical gay left, Duberman provides a key to seeing the limits, considerations, and failures that followed. But beyond the missed opportunities and unfinished agenda, he offers a road map of possibility, with tactics for those who feel, dream, and organize toward a world of more radical love.”—Theodore (Ted) Kerr, founding member of What Would an HIV Doula Do? and former program director of Visual AIDS
