The world is changing and especially so for lesbians, gays, and people who are bisexual and transgendered. In some countries, hard-won battles for equality are bearing fruit in non-discrimination legislation. In others, being gay incurs the death penalty.
This No-Nonsense Guide gives an overview of sexual diversity and reveals the hidden histories of LGBTI individuals, cross-dressers, and eunuchs across the world. It traces the strange search for the scientific “source” of homosexuality, the history of homophobia, and the role that religion and politics have played in controlling sexualities. Also included is a country-by-country global survey of the laws that affect sexual minorities.
For anyone who wants a lucid, factual, reliable guide to some of the most important issues of our time, I strongly recommend you check out the No-Nonsense Guides.
– Howard Zinn, social activist and author of a A People’s History of America
Lively and compelling, this edition with much new material, reflects the dramatic nature of the transformations taking place in an ever more globalized world. The book is both a historical and cross-cultural account and an intervention in contemporary debates.
– Jeffrey Weeks, Professor of Sociology, South Bank University, U.K.
The No-Nonsense Guides target those topics that a large army of voters cares about, but that politicos evade.
– The Independent, London, U.K.
A splendid new series of pocketable guides to issue politics…rigorously clear.
– The Guardian, London, U.K.
Foreword | Jeffrey Weeks |
Introduction | |
Chapter 1 | Global Overview |
Chapter 2 | The Revolution's Here! |
Chapter 3 | Hidden History |
Chapter 4 | Homophobia: Roots and Shoots |
Chapter 5 | The Politics of Sexual Control |
Chapter 6 | Religion: Gods and Sods |
Chapter 7 | Science: Explaining Sexual Orientation |
Chapter 8 | Transgender and Intersex: 'As the Stars in the Sky' |
Chapter 9 | Conclusion: Defending the Rainbow |
Action & Contacts | |
Appendix | Sexual Minorities and the Law: A World Survey |
Bibliography | |
Index |