The American LGBTQ Rights Movement: An Introduction

Reviewed by Katherine Fox, Assistant Professor, Southern Oregon University on 11/4/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

A lot of work and research went into this book! I really appreciated the ways that these authors divided the American LGBTQ Rights movement into eras and offered diverse perspectives from each time period. Within content on LGBTQ rights, it is common to hear about a few main figures from New York or San Francisco, but this book also offers, for example, experiences of queer people from pre-Stonewall Texas and Ohio.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate and well-chosen; authors do a good job of highlighting historical events and why they are important.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book speaks to issues up until 2020, the year of publication. The final chapter may need to be reorganized to update in the future; perhaps the beginning of the 21st century will need to become its own particular era, with a different concluding chapter. Still, I think this book will be relevant without updates for several years.

Clarity rating: 5

Clear prose that uses terminology of queer communities without excessive jargon. Statements at the beginning of chapters clarify that the appropriateness of a given term changes over time, and explains how the terminology used in the era of the current chapter is or is not still used as of publication.

Consistency rating: 5

Consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapters pertaining to different eras would be easily assigned as separate readings. Within the chapters, sections and special topics divide the reading into easily digestible chunks (rather than extensive text).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Clear chronological organization.

Interface rating: 5

Consistent themes in graphic design, including font choices and color scheme, smoothly guide the reader through the material. Images are mostly medium-sized and embedded in the text, as opposed to having large images that break the text and create confusing navigation issues. It prints well - no strange breaks or page layouts. My one criticism is that there are large graphics at the beginning of each chapter that would look great as a two-page spread in a physical copy, but are somewhat confusing when scrolling vertically through a digital copy.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The authors clearly made efforts to include diverse and intersectional perspectives from every era of American LGBTQ history.

Comments

This is an excellent resource. It is easily readable without being too introductory in tone, which makes it useful for classes at a variety of levels.

Reviewed by Valerie Sharer Rodriguez, Department Chair & Associate Professor, Tidewater Community College on 7/19/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text addresses most topic areas covered in an introductory LGBT course. I am impressed that the authors are very comprehensive in their topic coverage. They included the essential items and true stories within the chapters that make the textbook more exciting and easy to read.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The definitions are accurate and accessible. They deliver essential information and history for thinking about and discussing LGBT.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is very relevant; however, this text was written in 2020, which is imperative; given the current conditions in the United States, it would probably need to arrange in such a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy to implement.

Clarity rating: 5

I find this text to be easy to read and enjoyable. Reading history can be difficult; however, this text is easy to comprehend, especially for students in introductory courses.

Consistency rating: 5

All the phrases and materials are consistent and clear.

Modularity rating: 5

I love the format. I appreciate the authors' way of developing the textbook as it is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is very organized, and the topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion.

Interface rating: 5

No significant interface issues. It is leisurely to navigate the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

All looks good -- I didn’t find any grammatical issues in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The author includes most examples of various races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in American's LGBT history.

Comments

This is an excellent text. It is easily readable. I always appreciate the personal narratives in the text to make it intriguing to the readers.