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Synopsis

In June 1969, a police raid on a West Village bar sparked three days of unrest, and with the Stonewall riots the modern queer movement was born.

The first manifestation of that new activism was the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). Activists marched, organized and generally made trouble. They wore fabulous outfits, parading in what they called "genderfuck": and in 1970, a bearded man in an evening gown, makeup and army boots was a sight to be seen.

Beyond the outrageousness, gay liberation was about defining a new form of community and politics for queers. Those early trailblazers were not looking for marriage and a corporate job or acceptance into the military or the church. They flaunted their difference and made no apologies. Like their countercultural counterparts, they embraced communal living and multi-partnered sexual arrangements; they wanted to end the war and eradicate capitalism.

Smash the Church, Smash the State! captures the history and spirit of that revolutionary time. Personal essays explore the philosophy of the movement, views on marriage, religion and gender, its internal problems with racism, sexism and ageism, and its relationship to other liberation movements. Manifestos, cartoons, poetry and photos of marches, rallies and outrageous antics document the GLF's vibrant culture.

Here is a highly informative and celebratory chronicle of a movement and an ideology whose lasting influence has profoundly shaped today's LGBT community.