I recently started reading the deviant’s war, a book that narrates the history of homosexual legal fight starting in the 20th century.
It is written by Eric Cervini, in a very easy to access prose. These books can generally be very boring to read, however Eric does a great job in relaying exciting stories that interweave very naturally. I devoured through the more than 300 pages in less than a week. Cervini does a great job in weaving personal stories alongside important legal breakthroughs in the battle for equality of rights.
The book takes us to an era that seems archaic by today’s standards. Cervini describes how the act of organizing a public lecture on homosexuality, was deemed extreme, and was surveilled by people from the FBI and the Pentagon. The United States that Cervini portrays, feels like a modern day autocracy.
I find that this book is essential not only to understand the progression of the gay fight in the last 50 or 60 years in the US, but also to understand it across the world. I wasn’t aware of a book that uncovered so many of the foundational acts that built the momentum for the gay rights movement. Cervini takes us all the way from the first gay march (which was diligently organized by an astronomer with an OCD), to the watershed Stonewall protests.
The book presents the history of some self-asserting truths. For instance, nowadays it is common for gay people to express pride on who they are. Back in the day, that wasn’t the case. Indeed, it was a novel argument that was advanced by the book’s protagonist. Early in the 1960’s it was dismissed by the U.S. government. However, the argument gained traction, and over time it became a cornerstone of gay discourse.
Just like any other book of its type, there is a deluge of names, and it is very hard to keep track of all of them. There is no solution to that other than keeping a small registry of all of them.
The book follows the life of an astronomer who fights the U.S. bureaucratic system, which has denied him the opportunity to work at a critical moment in time, for projects of National security, due to his suspected homosexuality. At a time where the US was fighting head to head with Russia for superiority in the space, people like him were of critical importance to the country. It is saddening to see him throughout the book do menial jobs, and think of all of the wasted talent that the country let go. Mr. Kameny sees himself being unemployed and starve himself almost to death due to government intransigence and anachronism.
Some of my favorite moments revolve around these radical acts that homosexuals took to fight disinformation. In the 1960’s a lot of medical professionals understood homosexuality as a disease that could be cured. There were several lectures advancing this point of view. The book narrates a moment when NY homosexuals demand a replica on a radio station to demonstrate to its listeners that homosexuals were not ‘sick’. That was perhaps the first radio show in the US that allowed open homosexuals to speak up.
Reading it, is like reading a a description of homosexuality in backboard places like Uganda. It is really incredible to think that only 70 years ago the United States have such criminal views around homosexuality. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about humanity’s long fight against prejudice.