Homophobia and sexism have flourished in our cultures since before the U.S. Political Right began to use them as tools to mobilize its base. But the Right, with its current control of many state systems, has successfully influenced both public opinion and public policy about LGBTQ people and their allies. In this interactive workshop, political analysts and queer activists will break down how this happened and why assimilationist campaigns are not enough to break the hold of the Right. We will consider what grassroots queer groups are doing to challenge demonization, scapegoating, and violence.

Queer activism, and especially trans activism, challenges the usefulness of a Right/Left paradigm, since opposition to queer issues originates from all parts of the political spectrum. This workshop will review this debate in light of the work PRA and others have done, using the experience of current queer activists and others in the room We will examine how the LGBTQ community has been characterized, and how anti-LGBTQ issues have skillfully targeted not only sexuality but also race, gender, and class bigotries.

We will introduce social movement concepts like frames and narratives (more often used to describe the Left) as methods of understanding these heterosexist campaigns. Participants will analyze anti-LGBTQ case studies as a way to better understand how the Right uses homophobia to build and maintain power. Finally, we will look at some promising progressive strategies.