Freedom to Differ: The Shaping of the Gay and Lesbian Struggle for Civil Rights

214 Pages·1998·97.787 MB·English

by  Diane Helene Miller

FREEDOM
TO
DIFFER

FREEDOM
TO
DIFFER
The Shaping of the Gay and Lesbian
Struggle for Civil Rights
DIANE HELENE MILLER
NEW YOR K UNIVERSIT Y PRES S
New York and London
NEW YOR K UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
© 1998 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Miller, Diane Helene, 1966-
Freedom to differ : the shaping of the gay and lesbian struggle
for civil rights / Diane Helene Miller,
p. cm .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8147-5595-X (cloth : alk.paper).— ISBN 0-8147-5596-8
(pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Gay rights—United States—History. 2 . Lesbians—Legal status,
laws, etc.—United States. 3. Women's rights—United States—History.
4. Lesbian feminism—United States. 5. Achtenberg, Roberta.
6. Cammermeyer, Margarethe, 1942- . I.Title.
HQ76.8.U5M55 198 8
306.76'6'0973—dc21 98-1381 6
CIP
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 987654321
For Anne and Anon,
with love

Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter
much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its
substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart
of the existing order.
—Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun,
from his dissent to Bowers v. Hardwick

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments x i
Preface x v
i. Construction s and Deconstructions
Gay Politics, Lesbian Feminism, and Civil Rights i
2. Clinton' s "Damn Lesbian"
Politics and Visibility in the Achtenberg Debate 3 9
3. An d the Ban Played On
Politics and Prejudice in the Cammermeyer Case 8 3
4. Conclusio n
Envisioning Our Future 13 9
Notes 16 1
Bibliography 17 5
Index 18 7
IX