On the Fringe

by Rayside, David Morton; Rayside, Morton David

• ISBN13: 9780801433214
• ISBN10: 0801433215
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-03-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

Does the idea of equality for sexual minorities have as strong an influence as the media suggest? How often do politicians come out forthrightly in support of gay rights? Drawing on more than three hundred interviews with activists, politicians, officials, legislative aides, and journalists, David Rayside shows that gays, lesbians, and their political issues are still on the fringe of the political mainstream. His landmark study of political access demonstrates that, despite the overall tempering of anti-gay rhetoric in the 1990s, opponents of equality are formidable, and standing up for sexual minorities is still widely thought to be politically risky.

Rayside documents a high-profile controversy in each of three countries: gays and lesbians in the military in the United States, sexual orientation and human rights legislation in Canada, and the age-of-consent battle in the United Kingdom. In addition, in-depth interviews of openly gay elected officials from three countries -- U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, Canadian Member of Parliament Svend Robinson, and Br

Table of Contents

Illustrations	ix	(2)
Tables	xi	(2)
Preface	xiii
Introduction: Activist Influence and Political Context	1	(18)
Britain	19	(86)
1. Promoting Heterosexuality in the Thatcher Years	19	(26)
2. Activist Openings on the Age of Consent	45	(32)
3. The Parliamentary Ascent of Chris Smith	77	(28)
Canada	105	(110)
4. The Canadian Human Rights Act and Liberal Party Pragmatism	105	(36)
5. The Fight for Relationship Recognition in Ontario	141	(38)
6. The Activist Roles of Svend Robinson	179	(36)
United States	215	(100)
7. The Military Ban and the Perils of Congressional Politics	215	(34)
8. Barney Frank and the Art of the Possible	249	(32)
9. The Inescapable Allure of the American Mainstream	281	(34)
Notes	315	(34)
Index	349