Generations and paradigms: mainstreams in lesbian and gay studies

The development of lesbian and gay studies is traced from the Stonewell period of the late sixties and early seventies to the present. The effort to establish lesbian and gay studies has brought together several generations of scholars who have produced a variety of conceptual worldviews. These generational mainstreams of thought in lesbian and gay studies include the search for authenticity (1969-1976), the social construction of identity (1976-present), essential identity (1975-present), difference and race (1979-present), and cultural studies (1985-present).