LGBT Book, Film & Video Blog

No laughing matter: Richard Mohr puts his philosophical training to work, examining a variety of roadblocks on the path to equal rights for gays.

‘The Long Arc of Justice: Lesbian & Gay Marriage, Equality & Rights’
By Richard D. Mohr Columbia University Press 142 pages

reviewed by Johanna Lunglhofer in the Washington Blade

THE LATEST BOOK by Richard D. Mohr, a gay professor of philosophy at the University of Illinois-Urbana, is a clever and insightful explanation of how and why political and social conservatives opposed to gay civil rights are wrong about gay and lesbian issues.

But sometimes the book, “The Long Arc of Justice: Lesbian & Gay Marriage, Equality, & Rights,” is debatably too clever for its own good.

Mohr’s arguments feel tricky and even distracting at times, although in the end, they support his position well. The peculiar and colorful analogies scattered throughout the text are accessible and interesting, but generally more memorable than the author’s conclusions.

FOR EXAMPLE, MOHR points out that derogatory slurs fall into several categories, including those that refer to a person’s actions and those that refer to their social/cultural status. He draws this distinction to advance the argument that gay people, especially gay men, are called names that point out their place in society, rather than their actions. Examples of these slurs include “pansy,” “fruit,” and “fruitcake,” terms most likely heard among much older generations. Read the full review in the Washington Blade. Order The Long Arc of Justice: Lesbian & Gay Marriage, Equality & Rights’.

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posted by Tom Jackson @ Saturday, March 26, 2005