Homophobia: A History

In this tour de force of historical and literary research, Fone, an acclaimed expert on gay and lesbian history and professor emeritus at the City University of New York, chronicles the evolution of homophobia through the centuries. Delving into literary sources as diverse as Greek philosophy, Elizabethan poetry, the Bible, and the Victorian novel, as well as historical texts and propaganda ranging from the French Revolution to the Moral Majority to the transcripts of current TV talk shows, Fone reveals how and why same-sex desire has long been the object of legal, social, religious, and political persecution.

Byrne Fone, a pioneer in the teaching of gay and lesbian studies, is the author of three previous books (including A Road to Stonewall) as well as editor of The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature. Professor emeritus at the City University of New York, he lives in Hudson, New York.