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Draws on documentary & academic/popular writings & research on friendship among gay men & lesbians to focus on the nature & functions of friendships in the gay male community, highlighting their potential for enacting sociopolitical change in the larger heteronormative society. The nature of communities as potential bases for social action is discussed, & the unique sense of community created among homosexuals, particularly in urban areas, is described. Gay males' perceptions of friendship are reported, drawing on narrative data obtained via interviews & questionnaires from 191 respondents, emphasizing the sense of belonging, acceptance, & identity that they foster. 40 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

The emergence of new social movements focused on gay and lesbian issues during the past 25 years has been well documented in American society. The diffusion of a gay and lesbian socio-political movement in other Western cultures and many developing societies has been the subject of more recent inquiries. This article assesses the globalization of the international gay and lesbian social movement by focusing on Europe and Italy, in particular, and raises questions about the socio-political conditions that might be necessary for the development of a new social movement—one based on sexual orientation identity concepts rather than one based on age-structured or gender-structured relationships. Historical information about social and legal changes in Italy and in the rest of Europe is presented along with current issues facing the increasingly visible gay movement in Italy. What emerges is a portrait of a culture changing and questioning its relationship to traditional patriarchal, religious, and gender concepts while becoming interconnected with global gay and lesbian communities and issues.