Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation (Stonewall Book Award Winner)

By Urvashi Vaid

Book Overview

A veteran activist tackles urgent questions about where the gay movement should go and what the movement wants with a unique combination of visionary politics and hard-earned pragmatism.

"A valuable, encyclopedic compendium of the gay movement's modern history and challenges." --San Francisco Chronicle

Since the decade to lift the ban on gays in the military, the emergence of gay conservatives, and the onslaught of antigay initiatives across America, the gay and lesbian community has been asking itself tough questions. In Virtual Equality, Urvashi Vaid offers wise answers.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385472994
• ISBN13: 9780385472999
• Release Date: May 1996
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Time proved Urv right

If, like Rex Wockner recently did, you find yourself struck with the sudden realization that we aren't quite as well situated with the American public as the popularity of Will and Grace might lead one to believe and that, in the secrecy of the voting booth, the real anti-gay America is raising its ugly head past that glossy veneer of tolerance in state after state, you should read this book that a decade ago warned us against being content with simple mainstreaming into a corrupt social structure that had all the cornerstones of homohatred as its foundation and encouraged us to seek real equality instead of settling for a virtual one. It's not a particularly easy read but you should distrust anyone who gives you easy answers to a problem so multi-layered and complex or who lets you off the hook of personal growth in the process. Urv does neither. She knows whereof she speaks, having learned it all in the trenches. And it's as applicable to the middle-class and the Midwest as anyone and anywhere in the U.S.A. -- perhaps more so as this is a book for those who are willing to face the monster head-on instead of adapting to either accommodate the monster or become the monster themselves. Nowhere is that head-on fight more pressing than in the states facing MIPAs (Marriage Inequality Protection Amendments) and DenialOMAs -- typically the southern and midwestern (and, like Oregon, New England-Midwestern extension) states. Thus nowhere is a sound foundation in the political understanding available in this watershed book more valuable. Urv, in short, not only 'keeps her eyes on the prize', she's astute enough to know what the prize really is.

A Valueable 1st Hand Account

Vaid's account of her experiences in the gay movement is invaluable for the insights and lessons it offers. Should be required reading not only for activists and gays, but for everyone everywhere.

virtual equality

this book is the most honest, inspiring, bold detailing of the gay and lesbian movement's successes and failures. vaid never tiptoes around sensitive or controversial topics, even her own actions. not only does she offer her well-researched, expert critique, but she also provides challenging, intelligent alternative/revised suggestions to improve the current strategy/ies. she makes the crucial point that many people don't want to face: ACCESS DOES NOT EQUAL PROGRESS. gains within legal and political arenas are very beneficial, but if we stop here then the absurd socio-cultural construct deeming queers (and all marginalized groups) inferior, which is the very root of discrimination, goes unscathed. bottom line....for anyone believing in the inherent equality of human beings on every level--cultural, social, political, economic, etc., it is absolutely essential to diligently study this book. Urvashi Vaid is an amazing person who has immersed her life in the battle for the liberation of the disenfranchised. her brilliance, effort and honesty are undeniable within this unabashed, uncloseted book.