Books like Gay American History by Jonathan Ned Katz

An anthology of pioneering scholarship that uncovers the histories of gay and lesbian lives across diverse cultures and eras—from ancient Athens to post–World War II San Francisco—examining identity, community, and resistance.

A sweeping history of lesbian life and identity in twentieth‑century America, drawing on journals, manuscripts, songs, media, and firsthand testimonies to chart evolving subcultures and lifestyles.

In 1969, police raids on New York’s Stonewall Inn sparked the riots that ignited the modern LGBTQ rights movement, reshaping society’s view of gay life.

Jonathan Ned Katz debunks the myth of heterosexuality as a timeless norm, tracing its late‑nineteenth‑century construction and its impact on science and culture.

A survey of research and personal experiences on suicide among lesbians, gay men, and LGBTQ individuals in the United States, drawing on a 1979 Advocate article and broader historical and sociological studies.

A groundbreaking history of gay male identity in the United States, from World War I to the AIDS era.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal issues concerning gender and sexual nonconformity in the United States. Part One, which covers the years from the post-Civil War period to the 1980s, is a history of state efforts to discipline and punish the behavior of homosexuals and other people considered to be deviant. During this period such people could get by only at the cost of suppressing their most basic feelings and emotions. Part Two addresses contemporary issues. Although it is no longer illegal to be openly gay in America, homosexuals still suffer from state discrimination in the military and in other realms, and private discrimination and violence against gays is prevalent. William Eskridge presents a rigorously argued case for the "sexualization" of the First Amendment, showing why, for example, same-sex ceremonies and intimacy should be considered "expressive conduct" deserving the protection of the courts. The author draws on legal reasoning, sociological studies, and history to develop an effective response to the arguments made in defense of the military ban. The concluding part of the book locates the author's legal arguments within the larger currents of liberal theory and integrates them into a general stance toward freedom, gender equality, and religious pluralism.

Graham Robb reveals a rich, historically grounded portrait of Victorian male and female homosexuality, drawing on European and American archives to dispel myths and spotlight a sophisticated subculture of oppression, secrecy, and unexpected tolerance.

"Colonialism and Homosexuality is a thorough investigation of the connections between homosexuality and imperialism from the late 1800s - the era of 'new imperialism' - until the period of decolonisation. Aldrich reconstructs liaisons, including those of famous men such as Cecil Rhodes, E.M. Forster and Andre Gide, and their historical contexts. Each of the case studies is a micro-history of a particular colonial situation, a sexual encounter and its wider implications for cultural and political life."--Jacket.

Michel Foucult offers an iconoclastic exploration of why we feel compelled to continually analyze and discuss sex, and of the social and mental mechanisms of power that cause us to direct the questions of what we are to what our sexuality is.