Gay History Books About the Stonewall Riots
Martin Duberman and David Carter on the Gay Rights Movement
Dec 22, 2008
Stonewall, by historian Martin Duberman, is an account of the history of gay liberation published in 1994 (Plume, ISBN 0452272068) that focuses on the stories of six individuals. Through these individuals, Duberman focuses on gay history from the 1950s to the 1970s, the transition from the homophile movement to gay liberation, and how the Stonewall event facilitated this transition.
Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, is a more recent work, published in 2005 (St. Martin's Griffin, ISBN 0312342691), that takes a comprehensive look at the factors that contributed to Stonewall, as well as its place in history. David Carter also uses personal stories, but they are more sporadically woven throughout the historical account, with the event itself taking center stage.
Using Narrative Histories to Tell the Story of Stonewall
Duberman’s approach is unique in that it divides the story by the lives of his six chosen individuals, starting from early childhood and proceeding chronologically through the post-Stonewall period. All of the individuals had some involvement in the event or the period, but their stories are very different.
The six individuals are four men and two women, including a black woman and a Latino man. Though a small sample, they represent a cross-section of elements in the movement. There is a middle-aged white male organizer, representing the restrained nature of the homophile movement, and his younger counterpart, a man who shares the need for order and a knack for community organizing but is insistent on a more radical approach. Another young white male is the radical in the book, but Duberman focuses on the humanity of each of the three so as not to pigeonhole them.
The fourth man, a Latino drag queen, was actively involved in the riots and perhaps best portrays what is today considered their image. The two women are a white activist who is frustrated at the failure of the feminist movement to incorporate lesbians and a black woman who is frustrated at the lack of support for women of color within the lesbian movement.
As a whole, the approach is successful. The focus is on the humanity of the events, and how individuals came together to form a fragmented, but still remarkable movement. There is a hopeful tone to the book, which finishes with a note on where each of the individuals are now. The only downside is that for its title, Stonewall is noticeably devoid of any comprehensive description of the riots, which are presented briefly in just one section.
The Comprehensive Historical Approach to the Gay Movement
Carter, unlike Duberman, devotes several chapters to the riots themselves. Though the history does not always agree, Carter uses an analytical historical method and presents the evidence, along with his own opinions on, for example, the importance of the single lesbian whom some say started the riots.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the book is its opening, when Carter engages in a comprehensive history of Greenwich Village full of factual tidbits that form a real sense of destiny for the gay movement at this time and place. Carter’s account, while focusing on some of the same elements of the movement that Duberman did, is focused on the question “why?” Why did the Stonewall riots happen when they did, where they did, and why did they form an impetus for a movement? What were the elements that contributed to this revolution?
Social scientists and those with a keen sense of locality may prefer Carter’s book, which focuses on the details and is on the whole more analytical. Oral historians and historical fiction fans should try Duberman’s account first, as the compelling narratives will draw the reader in.
 |
