Author Description

"Based on the work of seventy researchers in fifteen countries, The Dictionary of Homophobia is a comprehensive book that documents the history of the treatment of homosexuals in all regions of the world: a study that traces the political and social emancipation of a culture." "The book is the first English translation of Dictionnaire de L'Homophobie, published in France in 2003 to world-wide acclaim. The Dictionary includes over 160 essays on various aspects of gay rights and homophobia as experienced in all regions in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the South Pacific, from the earliest epochs to present day. Subjects include religious and ideological forces such as the Bible, Communism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam; historical events such as AIDS and Stonewall, personalities such as J. Edgar Hoover, Matthew Shepard, Oscar Wilde, Pat Buchanan, Joseph McCarthy, Pope John Paul II, and Anita Bryant; and other topics such as coming out, adoption, deportation, ex-gays, lesbophobia, and bi-phobia." "In an era when gay marriage is a hot-button political issue, and in a world where adults and even teens are still being executed by authorities for the "crime" of homosexuality, The Dictionary of Homophobia is a both a revealing and necessary document for our times."--Jacket.