Towards a gay communism

Drawing heavily upon Marx and psychoanalysis to arrive at a dazzlingly original vision, Towards a Gay Communism is a hitherto neglected classic that will be essential reading for all who seek to understand the true meaning of sexual liberation under capitalism today. 1 Revolutionary queer theorist Mario Mieli is the author of one of the most important works ever to address the relationship between homosexuality, homophobia and capitalism. I read Mieli alongside other works of gay liberation, psychoanalytic theory, and feminism during those heady days of university in the late eighties. 2 Towards a Gay Communism, more than being an essay or a political manifesto, is an experimental roadmap of sexual politics that alternates theoretical arguments and intuitions with virtually ethnographic obser-vations about homosexual activism in the s, along with experiential narratives, at the crossroads of autobiography and auto-fiction. 3 Your support keeps us publishing. Follow this link to subscribe to our print magazine. 4 Mario Mieli was a leading figure in the Italian gay movement of the s, respected as one of the movement's most profound intellectuals. He committed suicide in at the age of His work Towards a Gay Communism (Pluto, ) was considered a controversial classic of the era. 5 by Mario Mieli. Mario Mieli was a leading figure in the Italian gay movement of the s, respected as one of the movement's most profound intellectuals. 6 A leader of the Italian gay liberation movement in the s, Mario Mieli combined a radical theoretical perspective with a courageous (and often provocative) public persona. He is best known for his Marxist account of homosexuality and homosexual oppression, Elementi di critica omossuale (), translated into English in as Homosexuality and Liberation: Elements of a Gay Critique ( 7 The joint translation is timely for English-speaking queer and trans communities. Mieli could be a touchstone for making sense of—and confronting—the aestheticized and spectacular acts of pinkwashing through which banks and businesses signal support for gender and sexual diversity where they stand to profit. 8 The gay liberation movement arose in the context formed by all these currents, and itself contained various different political strands. Some activists sought to develop links to the wider left, such as the Panthers or the working class. More moderate voices called for civil rights, and self-help groups and phone lines were established. 9 Find out more. Go back. 10 . 11 . 12