Free comrades : anarchism and homosexuality in the United States, 1895-1917

by Terence S. Kissack

Description

By investigating public records, journals, and books published between 1895 and 1917, Terence Kissack expands the scope of the history of LGBT politics in the United States. The anarchists Kissack examines--such as Emma Goldman, Benjamin Tucker, and Alexander Berkman--defended the right of individuals to pursue same-sex relations, challenging both the sometimes conservative beliefs of their fellow anarchists as well as those outside the movement--police, clergy, and medical authorities--who show more condemned LGBT people. In his book, Kissack examines the trial and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde, the life and work of Walt Whitman, periodicals such as Tucker'sLiberty and Leonard Abbott'sThe Free Comrade, and the frank treatment of homosexual relations in Berkman'sPrison Memoirs of an Anarchist, By defending the right to enter into same sex partnerships, free from social and governmental restraints, the anarchists posed a challenge to society still not met today. Terence Kissack is a former Executive Director of San Francisco's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society; he currently serves on the board of the Society. His writings have appeared inRadical History Review andJournal of the History of Sexuality. show less

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emptyw 17 reviews

An excellent book on a subject that hasn't been too well explored before. This book focuses on how anarchism and many leading American anarchists of the time were at the forefront of gender & sexuality politics. It covers influences on the American anarchists (such as Oscar Wilde), Alexander Berkman's observations on homosexuality during his time in prison, Emma Goldman's defense of same-sex relationships, and the roles homosexual anarchists played in the American anarchist movement.

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