The Gay Revolution

The Story of the Struggle

By: Lillian Faderman

Narrated by: Donna Postel

The fight for gay, lesbian, and trans civil rights - the years of outrageous injustice, the early battles, the heartbreaking defeats, and the victories beyond the dreams of the gay rights pioneers - is the most important civil rights issue of the present day. Based on rigorous research and more than 150 interviews, The Gay Revolution tells this unfinished story not through dry facts but through dramatic accounts of passionate struggles, with all the sweep, depth, and intricacies that only an award-winning activist, scholar, and novelist like Lillian Faderman can evoke.

The Gay Revolution begins in the 1950s, when law classified gays and lesbians as criminals, the psychiatric profession saw them as mentally ill, the churches saw them as sinners, and society victimized them with irrational hatred. Against this dark backdrop, a few brave people began to fight back, paving the way for the revolutionary changes of the 1960s and beyond. Faderman discusses the protests in the 1960s, the counter reaction of the 1970s and early '80s, the decimated but united community during the AIDS epidemic, and the current hurdles for the right to marriage equality.

©2015 Lillian Faderman (P)2015 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[T]his volume will deservedly become a standard in the field." (Library Journal)

An important record of historical significance.

The narration was very good. A must read of you are gay, know someone is gay, a student of history, or a thinking caring, feeling person. it should be required reading in high school I think.

Should be required reading in school

I am reading the last chapter just in time for the yearly gay festivities of June 2017, and if this coincidence isn’t queer drama of operatic magnitude, I don’t know what is. I lift my eye gaze from the book and see the ocean of rainbow flags covering West Hollywood and Tel Aviv, and I feel that I just woke up from a nightmare in which I wasn’t considered a citizen worthy of rights. In that nightmare queers were arrested by police in their own bedrooms; fired from their civil and military jobs despite spotless performances; denied the right to make a living; lost their children, and kicked out of supposedly loving families simply for being who they were. I carry in my bones my own remembered fear of my coming out to my conservative father, who had only accepted me on his death bed. Thank you, Lillian Faderman for your brilliant historical research and for telling the heroic stories of those whose struggle made it possible for us to raise the rainbow flags in pride. I’m also afraid for us, because I see what’s at stake today. A few strokes of an executive order could make us lose all that was achieved in the last fifty years. “The Gay Revolution” should be required reading in all public schools.

Awesome story of the history of LGBT community!

I had no idea about all of the hardships and struggles LGBTQ people went through.

Very educational, great narration!

Highly recommend! The audiobook is definitely worth it, despite its length. The narrator does a great job, and the content spans many milestones of the lgbtq rights movement in a in-depth and objective manner.

Fantastic

If you are LGBTQ, then this book is a must read. We have such a rich history with trailblazers who paved he way for what we have today.

Amazing and deep history of the LGBT community

I could only listens to a few chapters at a time as the whole book was mind blowing! So much information, stories, heartbreak, tragedy, triumph, success and above all else, revolution! I thought I had a good understanding of the growth of LGBT rights before listening to this book, but I’ve learned more than I could have though possible. Pick this book of you want to know the struggles that came before, and to get motivated to keep up the fight for LGBT rights today and in the future.
L

Absolutely awe inspiring

As a recently out and married gay man, I decided that I ought to know about the stories of those who came before. So, I bought this audiobook for a listen as I walked the Appalachian Trail.

This book blew me away. Faderman does an excellent job painting the social and political struggles that the LGBT community have fought over the last seventy years, all the way from the era of gay witch hunts in government and entrapment by undercover police officers to the momentous SCOTUS decision that legalized gay marriage throughout the land.

Faderman is a masterful storyteller who has done her research thoroughly. Every landmark case relevant the struggle is discussed, as are the tactics, tensions, and setbacks of the myriad advocacy groups as they fought for equal rights. I found this book to be so gripping as to have me hooked on every word for hours at a time.

The narrator, I think, did a fine job objecting emotion and character into her reading. I would listen to another of her narrations with no reserve.

As social histories go, this book is my go to. I intend to listen to it time and time again - we stand on the shoulders of giants.

A detailed history that’s always engaging!

The author gives a detailed history of the struggle for gay rights in the United States over more than half a century. She organizes her vast tale into logical story threads that are easy to follow, while still advancing the overall theme. Donna Postel’s narration is perfectly paced and engaging, and she voices the many well-known players who appear throughout with just a hint of their vocal characteristics, never crossing into impersonation.

Done perfectly

Best historical perspective of gay history I have ever read. It is a long listen but done so well, it just makes you want to continue.

Unforgettable

An amazing book filled with beautiful stories of tragedies and triumphs. I was in tears.