This abstract is from the cover of the book.
“The gay community” — this is a deceptively simple phrase. The image of todayâs "homosexual" has changed from the pre-Stonewall stereotype of limp-wristed, self-hating queers portrayed in THE BOYS IN THE BAND or the humorously harmless Albin in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES to Andrew Beckett in PHILADELPHIA and the contestants in Marlon Riggsâ PARIS IS BURNING.
The politics of the "gay movement" has also changed. Issues such as the proportion of women and people of color speaking at the 1993 March on Washington, the inclusion of the word “bisexual” in campus gay organizations, the right of transgendered persons to attend womenâs music festivals, or the support of NAMBLA evidence an emerging uneasiness with the diversity that unites people who are oppressed because of their sexual identities. What once appeared to be a homogenous, though marginalized, community living in the shadows of fear and held hostage by capricious judges, Bible-thumping ministers, and Freudian-trained psychiatrists has changed. While there are some who wish to remain closeted within their own community of sameness, most of us recognize that it is our diversity that has defined us as "the other," and that it is our differentness which gives us strength.
BOUND BY DIVERSITY rejects the proposition that our differences constrain our accomplishments. Rather, as the writers in this volume (jointly published as a double-volume issue of EMPATHY celebrating the 25th anniversary of Stonewall) suggests, unity emerges from diversity.
Rejecting absolutes and orthodoxies, BOUND BY DIVERSITY embraces dialogue and debate in the interest of creating a community strengthened by our differences. This collection of essays, prose, photography, and poetry also attests to the multi-dimensionality of "gay life." In this volume a diverse group of contributors explores the construction of various sexual identities by examining the impact of the home, the school, and the church, the transformational power of the arts and politics, and the unmet needs of adolescents and those challenged by HIV.
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