Queer Movement

[From introduction] Queer activism is distinct from lesbian and gay activism as a result of its celebration of difference and challenge to normative social relations. This chapter examines the emergence, development and diffusion of queer social movements since the late 1980s. It takes a sense of movement seriously, not only studying queer as a social movement, but tracing the movement of the concept of ‘queer’ activism across time and space from its development in the metropolitan centres of North America. From its origins in the AIDS direct action activism of ACT UP (New York) in the 1980s, to queer anarchist gatherings in Europe in the 2000s, queer has sought to challenge and question regimes of the normal.