Deviant Politics: Homosexuality and the Left in American Culture, 1920-1960

Aaron Lecklider, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Reflecting on the overlap between political and sexual deviance, Lecklider considers how contradictory attitudes towards homosexuality were embedded within proletarian literature, leftist periodicals, and correspondence between writers and publishers on the left.  Recognizing the significance of sexuality to mid-century leftist politics opens up new perspectives on the history of both homosexuality and leftist culture in the decades preceding sexual “liberation” movements.