On constitutive contradictions, LGBT citizenship, and the church.

In May 2018, students in Prof. Lorena Muñoz’s University of Minnesota graduate seminar “GWSS 8620: Geographies of Sexualities and Race: Economies, (Im)Migrations, and Borders” read and discussed David K. Seitz’s book, A House of Prayer for All People: Contesting Citizenship in a Queer Church. Prof. Muñoz’s seminar taught first monographs to help demystify the transition from … More On constitutive contradictions, LGBT citizenship, and the church.

"In the United States . . . where such events are always now."

An excerpt from Words to Our Now: Imagination and Dissent by Thomas Glave (2005).Chapter: “(Re-)Recalling Essex Hemphill: Words to Our Now.” It has been said, and we recall: we were never meant to survive. Not here. No, not then or now. Not in the gorge of a grasping empire poisoned by the recurring venoms of … More "In the United States . . . where such events are always now."

Exclusively gay, remarkably famous: The "fabulous potency" of Truman Capote and Gertrude Stein.

BY JEFF SOLOMONAssistant professor of English and women, gender, and sexuality studies at Wake Forest University Truman Capote and Gertrude Stein should not have been famous. Both secured their reputations between the Wilde trials and Stonewall, when the most widely available understandings of homosexuality were inversion and perversion, and when censorship prevented the public discussion … More Exclusively gay, remarkably famous: The "fabulous potency" of Truman Capote and Gertrude Stein.

Climate change, carbon-heavy masculinity, and the politics of exposure

BY STACY ALAIMOUniversity of Texas at Arlington The final weeks of the 2016 U.S. presidential election have become a lewd circus. Complex, urgent issues such as climate change have been upstaged by rude outbursts—“you’re a puppet!,”“such a nasty woman.” It is difficult to imagine these scenes could have anything at all to do with climate … More Climate change, carbon-heavy masculinity, and the politics of exposure

The global implications of RNC support for gay “conversion therapy”

BY TOM WAIDZUNASAssistant professor of sociology at Temple University Last week, police in Uganda raided an LGBT pride event. Witnesses described police brutality, especially toward transgender women. Among those arrested were Pepe Julian Onziema and Frank Mugisha, leaders of Sexual Minorities Uganda. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which passed there in 2014, has since been overturned by … More The global implications of RNC support for gay “conversion therapy”

Reparative therapies remain alive and well in some US states—Texas and Oklahoma included.

This billboard appeared in Dallas, Texas, in 2015. Despite widespread condemnation,reparative (also known as “ex-gay” or “reorientation”) therapies still exist in some states. BY TOM WAIDZUNASAssistant professor of sociology at Temple University I recently traveled to Texas to talk about my new book The Straight Line: How the Fringe Science of Ex-Gay Therapy Reoriented Sexuality. … More Reparative therapies remain alive and well in some US states—Texas and Oklahoma included.

Gail Langer Karwoski on writing the story of America’s first legally married gay couple.

In June 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that “same-sexcouples may exercise the fundamental right to marry.”Photograph by Angela Jimenez. ——-Writer Gail Langer Karwoski worked closely with Michael McConnell and Jack Baker, America’s first legally married gay couple, to tell their story in The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World: America’s First Gay … More Gail Langer Karwoski on writing the story of America’s first legally married gay couple.

The times they were a’changing. We were, too.

Michael McConnell and Jack Baker, America’s first legally married gay couple,apply for a marriage license in 1970 in Minnesota. Photograph by R.Bertrand Heine,courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. ——-Writer Gail Langer Karwoski worked closely with Michael McConnell and Jack Baker, America’s first legally married gay couple, to tell their story in The Wedding Heard ‘Round … More The times they were a’changing. We were, too.

In 1971, a wedding heard ’round the world. #LoveWins

It is so ordered. Today’s momentous Unites States Supreme Court decision to strike all bans on same-sex marriage means a lot of things to a lot of people. For Michael McConnell and Jack Baker of Minneapolis, it is another historic landmark in a life full of historic landmarks. In 1971, McConnell and Baker became the … More In 1971, a wedding heard ’round the world. #LoveWins