Perverts in Groups: The Social Life of Homosexuals

Contradictory assumptions about the relation of homosexuals to groups have dominated accounts of modern LGBT life. In Western Europe and the United States from the late-19th century onwards, queers have been presented as profoundly isolated persons—burdened by the conviction that they are the only ones ever to have had such feelings when they first realize their deviant desires and are immediately separated by those desires from the families and cultures into which they were born. Yet, at the same time, these isolated individuals have been seen as inseparable from a worldwide network. By means of mysterious signs decipherable only by other group members, homosexuals were supposed to instantly recognize each other and to be committed, above all, to protecting their fellows and advancing their collective interests. Homosexuals were, then, denounced as persons who did not contribute to society; homosexuality was presented as, by definition, the hedonistic choice of reckless, self-indulgent individualism over sober, social good. Nevertheless, all homosexuals were implicated in a nefarious conspiracy, stealthily working through their web of connections to one another to take over the world—or at least whichever part of the world the commentator wished to defend: the political establishment of the United States or its art, theatre, or film industries, for example. Recent manifestations of these contradictory assumptions can be seen in the battles that have raged since the 1970s, when queers began seeking public recognition of their lives within existing social institutions from the military to marriage. LGBT persons have been attacked as threats (whether to unit cohesion or to the family), intent on destroying the very groups they are working to openly join. In this class, we will use these contradictions as a framework for studying the complex social roles that queers have occupied and the complex social worlds they have created at different times and places—shaped by different understandings of gender, race, class, ethnicity, and nationality—since the emergence of modern homosexual identities. We will also consider the implications of these contradictions for current LGBT political battles. Our sources will include histories, sociological and anthropological studies, the writings of scientists and political activists, legal cases, novels, and films.