Brings together autobiographies, poetry, film studies, maps, documents, laws, and other texts to explore the meaning and practice of the word queer. This work means queer as both a form of social violence and a call to political activism; and queer as played by Robin Williams and Sharon Stone. It shows what it means to be queer in America.

Contextualizing these contemporary stories with ones from the past, and understanding them through the analytic tools of feminist social criticism and history, the authors show what it means to be queer in America.

Introduction
1. Faggots, Bulldykes, and Fairies, Oh My!
2. Are We Free to Be You and Me?
3. "Why Do They Need Their Own Bars and Neighborhoods?"
4. The Birds and the...Birds
5. Where are Our White Picket Fences?
6. To See and Be Seen
7. Sticks and Stones
8. I Am That Name
Conclusion: We're Here, We're Queer, Now What?