Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Dallas Way: Gay Rights in a Conservative City

The Dallas Way: Gay Rights in a Conservative City

Dotson, M. Rhys

Hardcover

General LawGLBTQIA StudiesRegional: Southwest

ISBN10: 1479839418
ISBN13: 9781479839414
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: Jun 2 2026
Pages: 208
Weight: 1.05
Height: 0.90 Width: 6.10 Depth: 9.10
Language: English

Uncovers the untold story of LGBT activists in the American South as they navigated faith and politics

For more than forty years, historians have researched the formation of gay communities and activism in the United States. Yet, the vast majority of scholarship on gay activism in the United States focuses on liberal urban areas like San Francisco, New York City, and Chicago, as opposed to conservative regions.

In The Dallas Way, M. Rhys Dotson examines the development and impact of Dallas's queer community throughout the twentieth century. The book explores the unique challenges and values that impacted queer residents' experiences in conservative regions, from the interplay of traditional family structures, to religious values, and skepticism of rapid social change. Responding to these circumstances, Dotson highlights how early gay activists adopted a nuanced form of activism that both challenged and aligned with their city's conservative values, forging a distinctive path to equality through their own Dallas Way.

Moreover, the book illustrates how activists utilized strategies that complemented existing social and political structures in Dallas to further their advocacy for collective equality. From the formation of the state's first homophile organization, the Circle of Friends, in 1966, to the establishments of a gay-affirming church and the Dallas Gay Political Caucus in the 1970s, the book showcases the way Dallas' queer activism used religious communities and political activism to foster community and circumvent law enforcement raids. Offering a fresh perspective on the history of LGBT activism in the United States, The Dallas Way displays the unique strategies Southern gay activists leveraged to effect meaningful change and equality in Dallas.

Also in

Regional: Southwest

View All