It's not queer to be gay : Miami and the emergence of the gay rights movement, 1945-1995
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Major/Program
History
First Advisor's Name
Darden A. Pyron
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Alex Lichtenstein
Third Advisor's Name
Alex Stepick
Fourth Advisor's Name
Aurora Morcillo
Fifth Advisor's Name
Sherry Johnson
Date of Defense
6-14-2011
Abstract
This work chronicles how queer individuals politicized their same-sex desires from the post-World War II era to the mid-1990s. Using Miami as a site of exploration, this work demonstrates the shift from understanding homosexuality as a same-sex "desire" to a distinct form of "civil rights." It argues that by no means was it inevitable that queer issues entered the American political mainstream.
This project pays particular attention to Miami's Cuban exile community, as it managed to garner great socio-political power in the city. Like others in the city's power structure, Miami's Cuban exiles were also fundamentally traditionalists. Together, these phenomena crystallized into a matrix of obstacles that stunted the growth of the gay rights movement. This work demonstrates the historical dynamics of sexuality and politics by contextualizing immigration, ethnicity, race, consumerism, and Cold War domestic and foreign policy.
Identifier
FI14052565
Recommended Citation
Capó, Julio Jr., "It's not queer to be gay : Miami and the emergence of the gay rights movement, 1945-1995" (2011). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2036.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2036
Rights Statement
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