Homosexuality is not what it used to be. When the modern lesbian and gay movements errupted on the world wide cultural and political stage during the early 1970s few could have seen the enormous ramifications. For although homosexuality still has its critics and its enemies, the modern lesbian and gay community has proliferated into distinctive ways of living together, of relating sexually, of responding to AIDS, of establishing identities and communities, of being political. Modern Homosexualities documents some of this rich and developing experience. Modern Homosexualities presents fragments' of an experience that has become remarkably diverse. In nineteen original essays from activists and social scienctists in eight countries, this diversity is charted. It is a unique collection which draws together essays on a wide range of experience.
A major section examines the development and recognition of new patterns of families of choice' such as the Danish experiement on Registered Partnerships', the Australian immigration definition of lesbian and gay couples, the debate over lesbian motherhood, the issue of mixed marriages' where one partner is gay, and the new friendship networks amongst many lesbians and gay men which have themselves become new families'. There are discussions of the creation of new patterns of sexualities among lesbians; and the rise of a renewed political campaigning in the face of a backlash'. Whilst the focus of the book is the distinctive modern experiences found in western countries such as Australia, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, Canada and the USA, there are essays on Turkey and Meso-America which help create a baseline for comparative studies.