More than fifty contributions of poetry, prose, interviews, articles and artwork make this collection fascinating and important.

    Since 1967 - two years before the Stonewall Riots, usually seen as the beginning of gay liberation - The Advocate has been the nations publication of record for the gay community. From its humble beginnings as a newsletter covering Southern California's homosexual subculture to its prominence today as a newsmagazine read around the world, The Advocate has mirrored the astonishing growth of the community it's served. Now the remarkable history of the modern gay and lesbian movement - a quarter century of rebellion and reform, tragedy and triumph - fills the hundreds of pages of news, photographs, essays, cartoons, and interviews culled from The Advocate. From first-person accounts of the Stonewall Riots to the tragic last day of Harvey Milk's life, from the crisis of AIDS to the controversy over outing, the milestones of the movement are presented as they happened, along with accounts of the lighter side of gay life, from disco divas to the politics of drag. Each year is introduced by a distinguished gay or lesbian historian or movement leader. Martin Duberman, Lillian Faderman, Allan Berube, Felice Picano, Urvashi Vaid, Joan Nestle, John Preston, Torie Osborn, and Randy Shilts are among those interpreting this revolutionary movement that has affected millions of people across the world.

    This community is defined by a common interest in styles of sexuality that are broadly described by the term "leather/SM/fetish." With the emergence of this fledgling community, as with any other, struggles to delineate common goals, definitions and political agendas are inevitable. Beneath the Skins, by Ivo Dominguez, Jr., examines such issues in a forum that, from the start, embraces the concept that people may define themselves and the community to which they belong by their erotic orientations and preferences. This special community is coming of age, and this book helps to pave the way for all who are part of it.