We've been here all along: Wisconsin's early gay history

Abstract

"Much of gay history as recorded and written appears to happen only on the coasts. Without denying the significance of developments in major cities on the coasts, there remains a largely untold story of gay history in the upper Midwest. And the Wisconsin gay community's roots extend back to the pre-Stonewall era. Positive identity affirmation and the establishing of social networks during that time would lead to astounding accomplishments in both state and national gay rights after Stonewall. In 1982 the state would pass the nation's first gay rights bill, the result of decades of activism, nonpartisan political efforts, and the support of the church. This first volume in a two-book history tells the stories of those pre-Stonewall efforts"--