Organizations

Authors

Marcia M. Gallo, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Editors

Don Romesburg

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

1-1-2018

Publication Title

The Routledge History of Queer America

Publisher

Routledge

Publisher Location

New York, New York

Edition

1

First page number:

148

Last page number:

159

Abstract

Since the mid-twentieth century, queer people and our allies have created thousands oforganizations that have helped change the cultural and physical landscape of America. Startingwith a few brave folks in Chicago in the 1920s who asserted that sexual rights are humanrights, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ) established a pleth -ora of associations, centers, sites and institutions in a bold determination to find and providecommunity where, before, it did not officially exist. Whether the need was for basic survivalor a desire to construct entities that would establish our existence and prove our value, LGBTQactivists have built ephemeral and long-lasting structures of affiliation and affirmation. Fromarchives and historical societies to athletic competitions and campus-based groups; fromreligious entities to political campaigns; and from community service organizations to activistnetworks, LGBTQ peoples and our allies have come together to provide social, political,recreational, intellectual, professional, and philanthropic resources. We fought isolation andexclusion; we also recognized that pleasure is as crucial as pain in advancing social change.

Disciplines

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Language

English

Repository Citation

Gallo, M. M. (2018). Organizations. In Don Romesburg, The Routledge History of Queer America 148-159. New York, New York: Routledge.