Over the past half century, the gay rights movement in the West has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams. It is widely assumed that its victories are now secure.

Ronan McCrea’s important new book argues that, in fact, the forces that drove the advance of gay rights -such as the wider cultural shift towards greater sexual freedom – are weakening while a host of political, cultural and demographic changes mean that sources of opposition, both old and new, are gaining strength.

The gay rights movement appears ill-equipped to meet this challenge. Rather than protecting the unprecedented freedom that has been won, campaigners have fallen prey to the complacent assumption that they are on the winning side of history. This has led the movement into hubris: expanding its aims and making new enemies while refusing to entertain the notion that elements of the gay rights revolution, such an over-prioritisation of sexual freedom, may be both political liabilities and impediments to true flourishing for gay men.

If the gay rights revolution is to endure, a fundamental reconsideration of its goals, its history and its limits is required. Anyone wanting to understand the future challenges faced by gay rights needs to read this timely warning.

Praise

‘This timely book asks challenging questions of the gay rights movement. Whether we agree or disagree, all members of the LGBTI+ community and our allies need to consider the author’s analysis’
Leo Vardakar

‘Ronan McCrea has written a brilliantly argued book that mixes pragmatism and principle seamlessly. He shows that standing up for unlimited personal freedom is perilous in practice and unwise in principle, and that such a stance does not even serve the well-being of those who argue for it. His focus is on gay rights, but the lessons he offers apply across many areas of our collective social, cultural, and political lives. People engaged in the struggle for personal liberation should pay close attention.’
Barry Schwartz, professor emeritus at Swarthmore College, author of The Paradox of Choice and the co-author of Practical Wisdom

‘A fabulously timely book… A convincing wakeup call… I urge you to read it.’
Stephen Fry

‘Did the movement for gay equality overreach by embracing freedom without responsibility? Did it induce a backlash by mortgaging itself to an alphabet soup of radical causes? Ronan McCrea’s manifesto for moderation is sure to be controversial—and, for just that reason, deserves attention and debate.’
Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, author of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights and Good for America among other books.

” Ronan McCrea poses questions from the heart, urgent questions designed to help secure a safe and egalitarian future for all gay people, for though there has been welcome progress there is visible, audible push back. The stomach churning awfulness of the opening story of his savage public humiliation at age thirteen will never leave you. Nor should it. The future has to be homophobia free and this book will play a significant role in ensuring it is. “
Mary McAleese, Lawyer and former President of Ireland

“This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book. Ronan McCrea never shies away from challenging readers to reconsider their assumptions, and setting out some difficult realities for the gay rights movement as well as charting the extraordinary progress it has made in a few short decades. In making the case that progress is not irreversible – and indeed, is today at risk – and that this is a product not just of external conservative forces, but internal tensions within the gay community, this book has important insights and implications not just for gay rights but for all civil rights movements as they mature and confront the need to consolidate their early wins.”
Sonia Sodha, columnist and broadcaster