{"product_id":"the-end-of-the-gay-rights-revolution-how-hubris-and-overreach-threaten-gay-freedom-hardback-9781509569991","title":"The End of the Gay Rights Revolution; How Hubris and Overreach Threaten Gay Freedom (Hardback) 9781509569991","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe End of the Gay Rights Revolution\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eHow Hubris and Overreach Threaten Gay Freedom\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eRonan McCrea (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781509569991, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 10 October 2025\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e208 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.1 x 15.8 x 2.3 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"What a fabulously timely, well-researched and argued book. The gay world has to be ready for the coming fight. It is hard to doubt that much of what has been achieved in a lifetime (mine for example!) is threatened by a new tsunami of authoritarian rightists. McCrea lays out a highly convincing wake-up call for the whole LGBTQI community. Queer or ally, I urge you to read it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephen Fry\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"I hope this important book sparks a conversation rather than a cancellation. While many of the book’s ideas are controversial, it is high time the LGBT community holds an open discussion about its core values and political strategies\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eYuval Noah Harari, author of \u003ci\u003eSapiens\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary McAleese, former President of Ireland\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A thoughtful and timely reckoning with the triumphs and vulnerabilities of the gay rights revolution. Lucid and provocative, Ronan McCrea shows how far we’ve come – and how easily it could all unravel.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eYascha Mounk, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, author of \u003ci\u003eGay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights and Good for America\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"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.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBarry Schwartz is Professor Emeritus at Swarthmore College and the author of\u003ci\u003e The Paradox of Choice\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"This is a fascinating and thought-provoking book. Ronan McCrea never shies away from challenging readers to reconsider their assumptions, and from 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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSonia Sodha, Guardian columnist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLeo Varadkar, former Prime Minister of Ireland\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Progress is neither inevitable nor self-perpetuating, and authoritarianism, division, and disinformation are threats we must overcome. Whether you are fearful or, like me, still hopeful about the power of strategy and engagement, Ronan McCrea's vivid depiction of the forces behind those threats and his cautions against complacency and rhetorical excesses are bracing and important. Agree or not with his prescriptions, the information he marshals and the urgency of his call to action should inform the activism needed now in defense of freedom and liberal values.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEvan Wolfson, founder of Freedom To Marry and author of \u003ci\u003eWhy Marriage Matters: America, Equality and Gay People's Right to\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMarry\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"I opened Professor McCrea's book to see the case put so... cogently, with so much better supporting evidence. \u003ci\u003eThe End of the Gay Rights Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e is a warning call.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMatthew Parris, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A heartfelt attempt by an insider to honestly assess the movement\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Gospel Coalition\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gay rights movement in the West has succeeded beyond its wildest dreams – but this success seems suddenly fragile.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRonan McCrea's important book argues that this is no blip. Forces favourable to gay rights – such as the wider cultural shift towards greater sexual freedom – are weakening, while political developments, cultural changes and migration patterns mean that sources of opposition, both old and new, are gaining strength. The gay rights movement is ill-equipped to meet this challenge. Convinced that history is on its side, the movement has expanded its aims and made new enemies while refusing to consider whether elements of the sexual freedoms it fought for have had unforeseen downsides, including for gay people themselves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor the gay rights revolution to endure, a fundamental reconsideration of its goals, its history and its limits is required. Anyone wanting to understand the challenges faced by gay rights and the wider liberal project needs to read this timely warning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlso available as an audiobook.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eTerminology \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI Deliverance?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eII An Incidental Revolution\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIII Sexual Freedom and the End of History: The Post-Liberal Moment\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIV The Illusion of the Universal Appeal of the Sexual Revolution\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eV Hubris: The Gay Movement Over-Reaches\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVI The King Is Dead! Now What? Radical and Moderate Versions of Gay Freedom\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVII The Downside of Anything Goes\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVIII The Truth Will Set You Free? The Challenges of Honesty in a Hostile World\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIXA Dose of Modesty\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eX Conclusion: Reform from Revolution\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Sociology \u0026amp; anthropology [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Sociology \u0026amp; anthropology\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Sociology%20\u0026amp;%20anthropology%20%5BJH%5D%22\"\u003eJH\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52475097252120,"sku":"9781509569991","price":45.78,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781509569991.jpg?v=1785805105","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-end-of-the-gay-rights-revolution-how-hubris-and-overreach-threaten-gay-freedom-hardback-9781509569991","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}