Salem Press

Great Events from History:
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Events
GLBT Series chronicles important historical events that have identified, defined, and legally established the rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities.

In editorially defining the content of this book, we adopted the thinking expressed by Jonathan Ned Katz in his Preface to the 1992 edition of Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. He wrote:

"As the major terms defining our object of study, 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual,' applied to a past society, may obscure the very different ways in which same-sex and different-sex pleasures were organized and constructed under different social conditions. Our modern concepts, applied uncritically to the past, simply project our present social organization of eroticism, procreation, and gender onto that past, distorting our ability to see it as it was to those who lived it. Applied to the past, 'homosexuality' and 'heterosexuality' may deny the difference of past and present, and may deny us a subtle, sophisticated sense of historical diversity."

Scope & Coverage
This set selects events that help to mark the definition of "gender," the emergence of social, cultural, and political movements, and the struggles to gain civil rights. In some cases, one event represents and offers discussion of many. For example, the article on Illinois becoming the first state to abolish its laws against consensual homosexual acts in 1961 also discusses the effect of this action on other states. In particular, essays also include "see also" cross-references to related articles within the set.

Organization & Format
GLBT joins other titles in Salem Press's Great Events from History series, with 283 individual essays being an average length of 1,000 words (2-3 pages). As in the chronological references to worldwide events in Salem's history sets, we have approached the discussion of each historical event with a uniform essay format.

Finding Aids & Special Features
Essays have been supplemented with approximately 140 sidebars that will further inform a reader's understanding of the topics discussed. Some 115 essays include extracts from primary source documents such as court decisions, mission statements, laws and important supporting texts. Another 25 essays include biographical profiles of people who were key to the event, tables providing statistics by state, filmographies and other compilations of information that will deepen a reader's knowledge of the topics covered here. These volumes are illustrated with more than 100 photographs and other illustrations that visually bring the topics discussed to life.

The back matter in volume two contains reference tools to help reader further explore GLBT history. An annotated bibliography arranged by category provides readers with sources for further study. A Website Directory identifies useful sites that will open the world of GLBT research on the internet to readers. A Category Index provides access to the individual essays through the 21 broad areas of interest. A Personage Index directs users to essay events in which a particular individual plays a role. The Subject Index provides access to the individual essays and their content through multiple access points.