History of the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement

The prejudice of the U.S. government and medical community allowed a disease that could have been contained to spread into a global pandemic. Readers will follow this devastating disease from its recently refuted origins in gay communities all the way to the current medical developments. This book will also describe how a powerful LGBTQ+ activist movement diverted its attention to the wreckage caused by the HIV and AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 90s. The history of disease is one that commonly receives too little attention in curricula, yet it has a huge impact on the development of our society.

In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), the Supreme Court of the United States held that same-sex couples throughout the country had the right to marry. The ruling was the culmination of a decades-long struggle to gain the legal right for gay and lesbian couples to wed. This compelling book takes the reader through the ups and downs of the marriage equality movement, from the 1990s to the current era, from the first same-sex couples to have their marriage license applications rejected to the changing attitudes that led to every individual having the right that was once reserved only for some.

This book explains the emergence of the modern gay liberation movement, from its early years prior to the Stonewall riots of 1969 and its continuation into the 1970s. Readers will learn about the Stonewall riots, the Compton's cafeteria riot, the Gay Liberation Front, the Lavender Menace, and more. This book also discusses the contributions of important people such as Harvey Milk, Audre Lorde, and many others. The difficulties and legacies of that era will become clear to students who may know only the outline of the early history of the movement.

While transgender people have been called many different things by different cultures, they have always existed. This book traces the history of how transgender, third gender, and other varieties of gender-nonconforming individuals have functioned in various societies. It documents how different societies' understanding of sex and gender has changed over time. Readers will explore how different cultures viewed these individuals as well as how their legal rights have evolved (or devolved). They will meet some of the historical figures that paved the way for so many others to live their truth.

In the contemporary era, gay and lesbian activism is part of the intersectional LGBTQ+ community, but this wasn't always so. This book explains why the need for the fight for nonheteronormative rights emerged in the nineteenth century. It goes into how the fight itself began to pick up steam in the 1950s and '60s as small groups of radicals grew into a national movement for social justice. Activists across the LGBTQ+ spectrum confront police and government officials, join forces with labor and civil rights struggles, and help reshape the modern world.

The visibility of the U.S. LGBTQ+ movement and the strength of its voices stems from the heroes who fought for equality and self-expression. This book discusses the lives and impact of these heroes by exploring their march toward progress, from the early sparks of the movement before Stonewall to the prolific activists of today. Readers will gain an understanding of the creative efforts activists and professionals put into advocating for their legal, professional, and personal needs, and they will come away with an understanding of why that representation matters.