Pink Triangles: Radical Perspectives on Gay Liberation

by Pam Mitchell (Editor)

Though the interpretations of the interplay between sexism and capitalism, between the personal and the political, vary across this spectacularly wide-ranging collection, each essay shares two fundamental premises. First, that the oppression of gays and lesbians is not an isolated case, and therefore their struggle is necessarily part of a larger movement for social liberation. And, second, that the experience of gays and lesbians uphold the basic tenets of a foundational Marxism, and that they are uniquely placed to contribute to a revitalisation of Marxist theory.

Genres: Queer, Nonfiction, Feminism, LGBT, Politics, Theory, Sexuality

187 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Luke]

3.5 rounded down (for the pedophilia essays of course). With any essay collection some of them we better than others. In fact some of them were easy 5 stars. One of the lasting things I think I will take away from this collection is the concept of “economizing” revolution and how it denies the realities of oppression based on identity are baked into our psyche so deeply that simply getting rid of capitalism will not alleviate all oppressions. I also love the concept of using unattractive ness as a revolutionary tool. However, the essays did at times feel unnecessarily dense and a bit repetitive.

It couldn’t be a review of this collection without mentioning the two essays on pedophilia (and another that mentions it). While I do think it is worthwhile to have these kinds of discussions within the queer community (in good part because they’ve been thrust upon us by a heterosexual society that somehow claims to other itself with the phenomenon?) I don’t think these particular conversations were fruitful or came to real conclusions. They ignore the fundamental power imbalance that will always occur simply due to development and experience with the world. No one who seriously views to rid society of the exploitation in power imbalances can ignore this in the name of equality of sexual preference. Again these conversations are difficult but the idea that removing hierarchy will change the way we view pedophilia just isn’t it.

Anyway, the book does reaffirm the idea that there will never be liberation in a system which demands exploitative hierarchy so the lgbtq+ community will always be better served by fighting capitalism than trying to placate into giving us individual rights- and that’s a message I can get behind.

[Katelyn]

The book is split into three parts - part 1 was *very* weird, capped off with two separate essays on pedophilia; though interesting in parts, I largely felt the essays in this part ranged from largely pointless to uncomfortable. Parts 2 and 3 are much more in line with what I expected from the book, consisting of essays analyzing gay liberation from a Marxist lens; these are all well-written essays, but all roughly boil down to the same core ideas becoming repetitive after the first few. One would be able to pick almost any one essay from parts 2 and 3 and walk away from the rest of book missing very little. Overall, an interesting read, but one that could have been vastly shortened

[Caris]

*Content warnings for this book: graphic sexual content, paedophilia*

This is not a proper review, just some notes for potential readers. This is a collection of essays divided into 3 sections. Parts 2 and 3 were great, and would have made for a five star book on their own. Part 1, however, (with the exception of Pam Mitchell’s essay) ranged from bizarre to obsolete to very problematic—the other reviews of this book explain why.

[Izzy]

Yeah, 4 for the goods essays, but the pro-pedophilia ones should've gone to shredder 🤢🤢🤮

[Eleanor]

In general an interesting collection of essays and manifestos linking the struggle for socialism to gay rights.
Minus 1 star for the two essays on p*d*philia which I thought were unnecessary
Minus 1 star for how the essays get repetitive especially in making the point about how Capitalism encourages hetero-patriarchy in the nuclear family

[Chelsea]

I enjoyed the book afterwards which allowed me to learn from how stories of multiple authors allows for barriers to broken down but relearned by connecting with different opinions and styles that work for them in that moment that reflects themselves best.
Reading this for class gave me a greater understanding and appreciation of having a respect for people in LGBTQ community that you can be an ally but knowing what your doing why of being an ally or an advocate is greater than your ability to ignore the livelihoods of the community.

[Jess Saravia 🧚‍♀️✨]

Amazing anthology of precisely what the title promises. Different perspectives on sex, intimacy, and what queer life really is.

[Eurethius Péllitièr]

Some of the essays are quite interesting, all are insightful

[Caitlin Clift]

Very much outdated. To be used more as a historical reference than to be put into practice. Very much appreciated the Marxist lens of queer liberation!