Barbara Gittings: Gay Pioneer

by Tracy Baim, Kay Lahusen (Photographer), Lillian Faderman (Foreword)

Barbara Gay Pioneer is the first full-length biography of the woman who has been called the mother of the gay-rights movement, Barbara Gittings. Her work in the LGBT movement spanned from the late 1950s until her death in 2007. Her partner in life, Kay Lahusen, photographed many of the movement’s biggest actions during the 1960s, and more than 270 photos accompany this biography. This book is available in both color and B&W editions, and in color on Kindle by July 2015. Gittings was active in a wide range of pre- and post-Stonewall groups, including the Daughters of Bilitis. She served as editor of DOB’s newsletter, The Ladder. She worked with Frank Kameny on many protests and legal cases fighting government discrimination. She also was among the leaders of the push to change the American Psychiatric Association diagnosis of homosexuality as an illness, and among those pushing the American Library Association to be more inclusive of gays. The book is available in both B&W and color editions on Amazon, and also in color on Kindle. “Baim’s book, the first full-length biography of Barbara Gittings, demonstrates why Frank Kameny, who earned the right to be considered a father of the gay civil-rights movement, so aptly deemed Gittings its mother. As Baim shows, more than any lesbian leader of the 20th century, Gittings kept her eyes sharply focused on the prize of civil rights for gay people.” — From the Foreword by Lillian Faderman “This first and deeply moving biography of Barbara Gittings, pioneer of lesbian political activism, dramatically evokes a past of open, outrageous anti-homosexual discrimination. Today’s radically different world was first imagined and then begun to be built by daring activists like Gittings.” — Jonathan Ned Katz, Co-Director, OutHistory.org “Tracy Baim brings Gittings to life in this captivating and inspiring biography. Skillfully combining Gittings’ own words with accounts of her activist campaigns, this biography makes clear how much Gittings accomplished. A committed activist for five decades, Barbara Gittings truly changed the world. “ — Author and Historian John D’Emilio (In a New Essays on Queer History, Politics, and Community Life) “Barbara Gittings just about leaps from the pages of Tracy Baim’s celebratory biography of the gay rights movement’s happiest warrior. Determined, persistent, persuasive, and wicked-smart, Barbara wielded her smile like a machete, demolishing all demagogues and fools who got in the way of what she knew to be true about herself and the rest of us. How lucky were we that she was born at a time when we so desperately needed her to help blaze our path to freedom.” — Eric Marcus, author of Making Gay History “Tracy Baim has captured the life and legacy of the mother of gay liberation in America with this book. Barbara Gittings would have loved it. Another incredible book on our history!” — Reverend Troy Perry “Gittings understood early on the critical role America’s libraries would play in changing hearts and minds about gay issues. In an age before the Internet, she dedicated her life to making good information available to all through her leadership in the Gay Task Force of the American Library Association. This powerful biography tells a story that libraries across the nation can celebrate.” — John Cunningham, Retired Chief of Branch and Regional Libraries, The Free Library of Philadelphia

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Biography, Queer, History, Lesbian

236 pages, Paperback

First published June 13, 2015

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having long been fascinated by the history of the LGBT rights struggle, I found Baim's latest book to be a treasure, all about the often forgotten pre-Stonewall work of activist Barbara Gittings.

From her participation in the historic Philadelphia protests in the 1960s, to her brave TV appearances, and her ongoing work post-Stonewall, this book provides hundreds of photos from the archive of Gittings' surviving partner Kay Lahusen, and detailed accounts of Gittings' work to convince the American Psychiatric Association to de-classify homosexuality as a mental disorder. Also included are aspects of her long personal life, and the later years where Gittings was able to see her pioneering work come to fruition nationwide.

This is an essential addition to any scholar, librarian or journalist's collection of books with a focus on human rights in the U.S.

[Neil McGarry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for all gay people, and anyone else interested in activism and social justice. Gittings was no less a force than Martin Luther King or Bayard Rustin (who was gay!), but she is certainly less celebrated. That should change.

[Chris L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is just a collection of material from other sources. There is little to no original material and the "author" simply quotes verbatim endless passages from these other works.