December 20, 2000
Phelan (political science, Univ. of New Mexico; Playing with Fire: Queer Politics, Queer Theories) approaches gay rights in an intriguing new way. Instead of viewing such hot-button political debates as gay marriage and gays in the military as matters of public or social policy, the author argues that these issues are matters of citizenship. If granted to one citizen, they should be granted to all. Unfortunately, although the premise is appealing, it is based on a rather obtuse interpretation of feminist political theory, making what would otherwise be a challenging new treatise on gay rights a dense and cumbersome read. Moreover, detours into "phallic citizenship" and the "heterosexist regime" dilute the power of this promising new approach. In the end, the author concedes that in a democratic system, society's rules will change only when a majority finds the need for such change, a grudging acknowledgment of the power of our heterosexist regime. Academic libraries, particularly those with queer studies collections, will want to add this title, if only for the intriguing novelty of its approach.--Jeff Ingram, Newport P.L., OR
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