Freedom to differ
Subtitle: the shaping of the gay and lesbian struggle for civil rights
By: Diane Helene Miller.
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 195
Subjects: Achtenberg, Roberta; Cammermeyer, Margarethe, 1942-; Gay rights -- United States -- History; Lesbians -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States; Women's rights -- United States -- History; Lesbian feminism -- United States
Description: Diane Miller examines recent arguments supporting lesbian and gay civil rights, exploring the ways these arguments are both constructive - helping to win court cases seeking basic human rights, and limiting - narrowly framing how the general public views lesbians and gays, and how lesbians and gays view themselves.

Incorporating case studies of lesbians in the military and in politics, Miller discusses in detail the experiences of Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, who was discharged from the National Guard after twenty-seven years of service when she revealed that she was a lesbian, and Roberta Achtenberg, who was nominated by Clinton for the job of Assistant Director of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and became the first lesbian or gay man to face the Senate confirmation process.

Drawing on these cases and their outcomes, Miller evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of civil rights strategies in the struggle for lesbian and gay rights.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-185) and index.