Books like The Gay Mystique by Peter Fisher

A groundbreaking history of gay life in New York City from the 1930s to the 1960s.

A candid memoir of growing up gay in pre-Stonewall America, exploring the struggle to 'cure' oneself through psychotherapy.

A candid collection of true stories that highlights the struggles and resilience of young gay men of color, confronting sexual abuse, suicide, HIV/AIDS, racism and homophobia while celebrating identity and empowerment.

A photographic journey through late‑1980s America that captures the varied lives of gay and lesbian communities, illustrating their efforts to form families, reconcile faith, and confront both racism and homophobia.

Sex and Germs examines our response to AIDS and argues for a more comprehensive understanding of sexuality and its control by way of a reintegration of the body into political discourse.

Walter L. Williams explores the historic and contemporary roles of Two‑Spirit and other gender‑variant peoples among Native American societies, examining social status, customs, and the impact of European attitudes on sexual diversity.

A raw, nonfiction portrait of Los Angeles’s 1970s sexual underground, chronicling days of hustling and the author's sharp critiques of law and homophobia.

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.

A biography of We'wha, a Zuni man who lived as a woman for 47 years and influenced history as a berdache.