Sexual Minorities and Sexual Rights

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

9-1-2018

Publication Title

The Oxford Handbook of American Women's and Gender History

Publisher

Oxford University Press

First page number:

1

Last page number:

17

Abstract

The creation of specific terminologies and identities that define people based on their sexual desires can be traced to the late nineteenth century. As researchers and medical experts popularized binary categories in the early decades of the twentieth century, some women who loved other women challenged the norms and began to organize. They made connections between women’s defiance of gender norms and their ability to secure equal rights, including sexual rights. Activists in the mid-twentieth century challenged restrictions on sexual expression and behavior. While LGBTQI movements continue to emphasize the significance of gender nonconformity, activists also insist on the primacy of sexual fluidity and the complex global connections of bodies, genders, and sexualities due to race and ethnicity, language, religion, and age, as well as socioeconomic, carceral, and citizenship statuses.

Keywords

Same-sex; Gender; Nonconforming; Lesbian; Gay; Women; Queer; Feminist; Activism

Disciplines

Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | History of Gender | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Language

English


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