From tolerance to equality : how elites brought America to same-sex marriage / Darel E. Paul.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paul, Darel E., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Same-sex marriage--United States.

Same-sex marriage.

United States.

Gay couples--Legal status, laws, etc--United States.

Gay couples.

Gay couples--Legal status, laws, etc.

Physical Description:

pages cm

Place of Publication:

Waco, Texas : Baylor University Press, [2018]

Summary:

Over the last twenty-five years, a dramatic transformation in the American public's view of homosexuality has occurred, symbolized best by the movement of same-sex marriage from the position of a fringe few to the pinnacle of morality and a cornerstone of establishment thought. From Tolerance to Equality explores how this seismic shift of social perspective occurred and why it was led by the country's educational and business elite. Rejecting claims of a commitment to toleration or a heightened capacity for moral sympathy, author Darel E. Paul argues that American elites use opinion on homosexuality as a mark of social distinction and thus as a tool for accumulating cultural authority and political power. Paul traces this process through its cultural pathways as first professionals and, later, corporate managers took up the cause. He marshals original data analysis and chapters on social class and the family, the ideology of diversity, and the waning status of religious belief and authority to explore the factors behind the cultural changes he charts. Pauldemonstrates the high stakes for same-sex marriage's mostly secular proponents and mostly religious opponents--and explains how so many came to fight so vigorously on an issue that directly affects so few.In the end, From Tolerance to Equality is far more than an explanation of gay equality and same-sex marriage. It is a road map to the emerging American political and cultural landscape.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

2 The Elite Embrace of Normalization and Same-Sex Marriage 13

3 Normalization as a Class Value 43

4 Beyond Tolerance 67

5 Normalization and the Family 89

6 Diversity without Tears 115

7 Class Culture Wars 133

8 Conclusion: The Revolution beyond Tolerance 151.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Paul, Darel E., author. From tolerance to equality

ISBN:

9781481306942

1481306944

9781481306959

1481306952

OCLC:

1000050430