LGBT identity has always been fiercely political. Not so long ago, simply being openly 'gay' was itself a radical act. Yet today, gay rights have become a part of the political mainstream, with politicians, businesses, and once hostile institutions such as the police and military all lining up to declare their support for LGBT equality. But much of this acceptance has hinged on a narrow and restrictive conception of gay identity, dominated by the voices of middle class, white and politically conservative gay men.



Surveying the state of LGBT politics both in the UK and around the world, Pinkwashed examines the compromises and concessions which gay men have had to make in achieving this newfound respectability. It also considers the consequences of this agenda for women, transgender people and those LGBT people from non-Western backgrounds, whose voices have been suppressed in the march to political assimilation with mainstream, heterosexual society. Featuring interviews with contemporary gay activists as well as some of the founding members of the original gay liberation movement, Shon Faye's insightful and iconoclastic book calls on the LGBT community to rediscover its radical roots, and to build a new, inclusive and genuinely progressive agenda for gay rights.