Books & Selected Writings

Image : Beth Richie, P. Catlin Fullwood, Suzanne Pharr, Val Kanuha, March on Washington in 1993

Books

Published in 1988, Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism, shifted the conversation about gender oppression. Building on the framing of interconnected oppressions presented in the 1977 Combahee River Collective Statement, it illustrates how homophobia and sexism are intertwined and serve male authority and domination. At the center of the book is an analysis of how all oppressions are connected by economic power and control and by common methods of limiting and controlling lives and destroying civil liberties.

In the Time of the Right: Reflections on Liberation (1996) constructs a progressive view of the politics of our time that will make sense to students, activists and all who are trying to understand the current threat to democracy. A long-time economic and social justice worker from the South, Pharr blends personal anecdote and contemporary cutting-edge analysis — along with a vision of a multi-issue, multi-racial movement — to create a powerful call to action for each of us.

Transformation: Toward a People’s Democracy is a movement book for anyone working for an expansive vision of social justice. Here, Suzanne Pharr speaks in a clear and compelling voice to find clarity and a vision for action amid social and political turmoil. Drawing on decades of work on the frontlines of social movements, Pharr’s writings create a real-time chronicle of on-the-ground organizing and the historical significance of struggles for freedom and democracy.

This study guide is for students, activists, and scholars who wish to engage more deeply with the topics in Transformation on their own or with groups.


Additional Selected Writings

Stimulating Social Change, Then and Now

2009 was the year I had great hope that the combination of a new President and a vigorous social justice movement could bring a significant change in the lives of our people. This article describes the plan that holds that hope. Originally published in the Fall 2009 edition of On The Issues.

Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Our Families & Relationships – July 1, 2006

At the invitation of Queers for Economic Justice in 2006, eighteen activists from around the country met in New York to create an alternate vision to the national argument to gain legal same-sex marriage. Richard Kim and I agreed to draft the statement that the group would shape and which ultimately became “Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Queer Families and Relationships.”

Movement Building for the 21st Century – December 1987

(c) 1980-2021 Suzanne Pharr