Wolf - Sexuality and socialism: history, politics, and theory of LGBT liberation

Table of Contents

From a distance, writing a book appears to be a pretty solitary affair, and in many ways it is. But my worldview and ideas about sexuality and socialism have been shaped by many political collaborators over the years. I have the great fortune of working alongside some excellent Marxist writers, thinkers, and activists who are among my dearest friends. First and foremost, I must thank Paul DAmato, my editor, for his insights and questions that forced me to clarify concepts and refine some rough edges. Ive no doubt that working with me is a trial, and whatever faults this book has are surely my own, though Im certain some of its attributes are due to Pauls prodding editorial comments. In addition to Sharon Smiths writings and speeches on women and socialism, U.S. labor, and a jaw-dropping range of topics, conversations with Sharon helped form many of the ideas that wound up in this book. I must also thank Ahmed Shawki for asking me to write the bookand thinking that I could, despite the fact that Id never written one before.

Regular discussions with Joel Geier, Elizabeth Schulte, Alan Maass, Lee Sustar, Marlene Martin, Bill Roberts, Shaun Harkin, Lance Selfa, and Eric Ruder forced me to think more sharply about the audience and goals for this work. I must also thank Jesse Sharkey, Jason Yanowitz, Annie Zirin, Julie Fain, Lauren Fleer, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Susan Dwyer for mercifully saving me from having to endure my own cooking these last months; and also for pounding me with questions, arguments, rebuttals, and quizzical looks over many dinners. Im not sure if they all realized they were helping me with the book as I ate their food and sipped wine, but those free-flowing discussions propelled me back into the library stacks more times than I care to admit. On a couple of chapters, I called upon the expertise of Dana Cloud, Aisha Karim, Matt Swagler, Phil Gasper, and David Whitehouse, all of whom made extremely useful comments. I also must acknowledge my new friends, Inside Higher Eds Scott McLemee and Ohio States Christopher Phelps, for sending along helpful articles.

Thanks also to Barry Sheppard for introducing me to the folks at the Holt Labor Library in San Francisco. Dave Floreys sleuthing on my behalf in NYUs Tamiment archives was a great help as well. And Dave Zirins advice to not think of it as writing a book, but just to work on seventy-two articles instead, was the kind of silly and spot-on help I needed from my pal the sportswriter for politicos who hate sports and athletes who hate politics.

Finally, Id like to thank the folks at Haymarket Books, who accomplish extraordinary feats of publishing with a passion and persistence that live up to their mission of creating books for changing the world: Julie Fain, Anthony Arnove, Sarah Macaraeg, Rachel Cohen, Joe Allen, Bill Roberts, and Dao Tran. Its an honor to be added to your list of authors.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Credit: Photo by Jared Rodriguezwww.jaredrodriguez.com

Sherry Wolf is a leading socialist activist, writer, and public speaker, and is an associate editor of the International Socialist Review. She is a popular public speaker on campuses and at community centers and has spoken widely on topics including the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine, as well as about the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender liberation. She has written for publications and websites such as CounterPunch, Alternet, Znet, DissidentVoice, New Politics, Socialist Worker, MRZine, and others as well as done interviews with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, on Pacifica Radio, and in BusinessWeek.

David F. Greenberg, The Construction of Homosexuality (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988).

This is a fascinating and detailed account of the social construction of homosexuality. Greenbergs work covers everything from homosexual relations in kinship societies to the rise of market economies and provides some extremely insightful analysis.

Eleanor Burke Leacock, Myths of Male Dominance: Collected Articles on Women Cross-Culturally (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2008).

This is a classic anthropological work that draws on extensive cross-cultural research to challenge the conception that womens oppression is inherent in human nature.

Frederick Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (New York: International Publishers, 2001).

This book, originally published in 1884, lays out a historical materialist understanding of the rise of class society and its role in shaping the modern nuclear family and womens oppression, which are so crucial to the understanding of the oppression of LGBT people.

John DEmilio, Capitalism and Gay Identity, in Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University (New York: Routledge, 1992).

This groundbreaking essay by one of the foremost American LGBT historians, originally published in 1983, provides a short and accessible materialist history of how modern capitalism shaped the formation of gay and lesbian identities.

John Lauritsen and David Thorstad, The Early Homosexual Rights Movement (18641935) (Ojai, CA: Times Change Press, 1995).

Lauritsen and Thorstads short book remains the most authoritative and widely cited introduction to the earliest efforts at gaining social acceptance and civil rights for gays and lesbians. Evidence of the role of organized socialists in these struggles is highlighted.

Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America