ABSTRACT

In the past twenty years scholarly research in the field of gay and lesbian studies has experienced exponential growth. Previously ignored in academic circles, queer studies is now expanding from interdisciplinary origins to recognized programs on campuses around the United States. Scholarship in gay studies covers a broad spectrum of interests including the history of sexual identities, gay and lesbian rights movement, community structure, and subcultures within gay society. Coming to fruition in the 1990s, the field is marked by a zeal similar to the development of African American studies and women’s studies.