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Marxism and LGBT politics: a new wave of discussion
Wilson, Colin
http://rs21.org.uk/2016/06/01/marxism-and-lgbt-politics-a-new-wave-of-discussion/Date Written: 2016-06-01 Publisher: RS21.org Year Published: 2016 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX19639 Colin Wilson reviews Peter Drucker's book Warped: Gay Normality and Queer Anti-Capitalism. Abstract: - Excerpt: Peter Drucker’s book Warped makes a very significant contribution to the discussion. It covers the period from the late nineteenth century to the present day, and addresses issues in non-European cultures as well as Europe and North America. It reflects an enormous breadth of reading, and anyone interested in leftist writing on LGBT history can learn a great deal from it. It also brings to bear some important new theoretical insights, from a Marxist perspective, into the history of sexuality. It also has, to my mind, a crucial flaw, which I’ll get to later. Drucker starts from the understanding that sexual identities – like gay, lesbian or straight – are “socially constructed”. Human sexuality involves material, biological bodies. But we can’t directly deduce people’s sexual identities from what they do with their bodies, because those identities vary from society to society. Subject Headings |