NOVEMBER 10, 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 27

EVENINGS OUT

The state of the lesbian-gay movement: A leader's view

Virtual Equality:

The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation by Urvashi Vaid Anchor/Doubleday, $24.95 hardcover

Reviewed by Timothy Robson

Urvashi Vaid, raised by Indian immigrant parents in upstate New York and Vassar educated, was first public information director, then executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force from 1986 to 1992. After she left NGLTF she became in 1993 the object of a bidding war then raging among mainstream publishing houses to capture "big" gay books. (Another of these books is New Republic editor Andrew Sullivan's Virtually Normal.)

This feeding frenzy among publishers, many of whom paid advances to authors considerably above what previous sales might have indicated, or to first-time authors such as Vaid, aptly illustrates one of Vaid's principle contentions in Virtual Equality. Following the 1992 presidential election, and before the debacle to lift the ban on gays and lesbians in the military, there was a moment in which gay activists believed that we had achieved a kind of parity and equality with other groups. We were fashionable. We had raised millions of dollars for Clinton's election; we seemed to have a friend in the new president; gay activists were invited to the White House; others met with prominent administration staff members.

Yet this was "virtual equality": we had access to power, but no real power (as the gays in the military issue proved); visibility, but no security from discrimination; Congress passed tax bills coupled with bills forbidding the "promotion" of homosexuality. And the elections of 1994 were enough to dissuade anyone of a sense of security about our rights. These are very serious times indeed.

Virtual Equality is Urvashi Vaid's personal documentation of the history of the gay civil rights movement, her own history as a gay activist, and her proposal for reinvigorating the movement from the grass roots. She examines thoroughly the theories of the new gay conservatives and so-called "assimilationists" (for example, Bruce Bawer, author of A Place at the Table), the gay Republicans ("we vote for our pocket book like everybody else"), and the struggle between the legitimation camp (“we're just like anybody else”) and liberation activists (“the

differences between gays and straights can change the world.")

Vaid examines at length how money-or lack of it-drives current national gay activist groups such as NGLTF and the Human Rights Campaign Fund, and how competing agendas among these tiny groups (their combined budgets are dwarfed beside that of the Christian Coalition or any number of other right-wing groups) prevent the movement from making real progress. Wealthy closeted gays may contribute, so long as the "G" or "L" word doesn't appear on the check. (Note how much easier it has been for AIDS-related charities than for openly gay organizations to raise money. It is possible to give to a worthy cause, but not be identified.) Vaid reserves her greatest scorn for billionaire mogul David Geffen, whom she attempted to meet formally for months, then ran into at a party and alienated almost immediately. (In other published reports, Geffen has denied ever meeting Vaid.) It was not until he was outed that Geffen began to be a major contributor to primarily AIDS-related causes.

The expository material in Virtual Equality about the history of the gay movement is perfunctory, and seems hastily assembled from a variety of pre-existing sources. It is nothing special, although concise. It is not until Vaid gets into her main discussions of the status of current activism that she hits her stride. Hers is the best in-depth description to date of the machine the Christian right wing has built against us.

Vaid gives a stunning indictment against current leaders of the gay movement. Where is our Dr. King, our Malcolm X, our Gloria Steinem? At the 1993 March on Washington, who was there to give the gay "I have a dream" speech? Who will inspire closeted gays and lesbians in rural America to come out of the closet, to organize grassroots support, to contribute the kinds of money the Christian right has gathered, to insist that our elected officials work on behalf of all the citizens?

Vaid doesn't have the answers, but she ends the book with three groups of things people can do. The first set is for the "antipolitical" (Vaid believes that many people don't understand how easy it is to "be political.") She encourages them to start a discussion group with friends or acquaintances to read and discuss hot topics; to register to vote and find out what candidates are gayfriendly; to find out what gay activist groups are out there, and to consider volunteering for them; to read at least one local and one

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national gay or lesbian publication on a regular basis; to stop collaborating and come out of the closet in more and more aspects of their lives. For those who are already political she suggests focusing and streamlining commitments (many activists, she believes, are over-committed and overwhelmed); mentoring local activists; and attempting to mend fences with other activists.

Vaid then calls upon "the brave" to take up some bigger challenges facing the movement. These, which require resources, experience and contacts, include a direct-communication movement of people reaching out to people at the most grassroots level; national media campaigns; and better ways to mobilize and motivate our families.

VIRTUAL EQUALITY

THE MAINSTREAMING OF GAY & LESBIAN LIBERATION

Vaid does not discount the good work of PFLAG; however, it is largely disconnected from the queer political movement. Finally, Vaid believes that we must work for a common movement across the lines of identity-based politics. Gays must work with mainstream civil liberties groups such as the ACLU and People for the American Way to

URVASHI VAID

Urvashi Vaid

build new coalitions equivalent to the strength of the Christian Coalition.

This is a big book by a major activist. Urvashi Vaid dissects the gay liberation movements, and includes herself among the failures so far. Yet the strong sense of moral purpose which informs this book leads us to believe that Vaid's days as a national leader in the gay rights movement are not over. Perhaps she is the one to give that speech which will inspire us to come out, vote, open our check books, and work for something more than virtual equality.

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