ABSTRACT
The gay and lesbian movement in the United States has greeted antigay and -lesbian violence referenced in a growing number of reports and publications with both legal and extralegal responses. Gay- and lesbian-sponsored antiviolence projects across the United States are social movement organizations that extend the agenda and the reach of the gay and lesbian movement in the United States. The history of the gay and lesbian movement in the United States and abroad reveals that it has been, by and large, a white person’s movement. Just as “feminists have uncovered a vast amount of sexual abuse of women by men”, since the 1970s gay and lesbian antiviolence projects have uncovered a vast amount of violence against gays and lesbians perpetrated by heterosexuals. Focusing on violence against gays and lesbians as just one manifestation of homophobia, these groups contribute to overall efforts to enhance the status of gays and lesbians in the United States.
