The story of gay rights has been told as the story of unrelenting perseverance in the struggle for sexual freedom. Yet, Ferguson shows how queer liberation came from a variety of rebellions in the politics of gender, identity, class and sexuality, related to colonial issues, imprisonment and capitalism. He claims that the one-dimensional perception of queer has erroneously left the criticism of racism, capitalism and the state outside the spectrum of gay liberation. Recent activism has shown that this one-dimensional heritage marginalizes the non-white queer, the poor and the transgender person. Roderick A. Ferguson is a Professor of African-American Studies, Gender Studies and Women’s Studies in the University of Illinois in Chicago and President of the American Studies Association.