ABSTRACT
Building on more than a century of LGBT resistance practices, influenced by two decades of homophile organizing, and inspired by the radicalization of multiple social movements, LGBT activists pursued new political possibilities. Three distinct orientations-gay liberation, lesbian feminism, and gay and lesbian liberalism were particularly influential in these years. Gay liberationists simultaneously defended and critiqued “gay ghettos,” while also working to expand the territories where LGBT people would be respected and appreciated. Radical lesbian feminism emerged when women from gay liberation and lesbians from radical feminism came together to create an autonomous movement that simultaneously maintained connections to gay liberation, women’s liberation, and other radical movements. While the gay and lesbian movement experienced internal conflicts and divisions in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it also continued to confront major external challenges. Some also began to raise concerns about conservative backlash against the movement.
