"Victory" is the story of how a band of
extraordinary individuals brought on a revolution that,
in forty years, has transformed American life and our
notions of human identity: how we find love and
reproduce. When the modern struggle for gay rights
erupted most notably at a bar called Stonewall in New
York City's Greenwich Village, in the summer of 1969,
most religious traditions condemned homosexuality;
psychiatric experts called people attracted to others of
the same sex crazy, and forty-nine states outlawed sex
between people of the same gender. Drawing on rich
archival material and in-depth interviews, political
columnist Linda Hirshman chronicles the Gay Rights
movement, viewing it within the tradition of American
justice and freedom. As she persuasively argues, it
was-and continues to be-a battle of citizens struggling
to define themselves and take their rightful place in
society. Hirshman shows how the fight for gay rights has
changed the American landscape for all citizens -
blurring rigid gender lines, altering the shared
culture, and broadening our definitions of family. While
much has been written about particular aspects of the
movement - the Plague Years, Stonewall, Harvey Milk,
marriage and domestic partnerships - no one has told the
full political story. Asserting their goodness while
admitting their difference, facing every social
adversary - church, state, medical establishment - this
focused group of activists transformed the world. From
the Communist cross dresser Harry Hay in 1948 to the
beautiful young female Senator from New York in 2010,
the victory involved dozens of brilliant, idiosyncratic,
vibrant characters. Moving from the streets of New York
to the disease-ridden jungles of Zaire to the Supreme
Court of Massachusetts, covering issues from the
Stonewall Uprising to the AIDS crisis to the repeal of
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, "Victory" sheds new light on this
essential chapter in our nation's history that is sure
to shape its future.
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