The End of the Gay Rights Revolution

Over the past half century, the gay rights movement in the West has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. It is widely assumed that its victories are now secure. Ronan McCrea's important new book argues that, in fact, the forces that drove the advance of gay rights - such as the wider cultural shift towards greater sexual freedom - are weakening while a host of political, cultural and demographic changes mean that sources of opposition, both old and new, are gaining strength. The gay rights movement appears ill-equipped to meet this challenge. Rather than protecting the unprecedented freedom that has been won, campaigners have fallen prey to the complacent assumption that they are on the winning side of history. This has led the movement into hubris: expanding its aims and making new enemies while refusing to entertain the notion that elements of the gay rights revolution, such an over-prioritisation of sexual freedom, may be both political liabilities and impediments to true flourishing for gay men. If the gay rights revolution is to endure, a fundamental reconsideration of its goals, its history and its limits is required. Anyone wanting to understand the future challenges faced by gay rights needs to read this timely warning.

Ronan McCrea is Professor of Constitutional and European Law at Faculty of Laws, University College London.