Towards a Gay Communism: Elements of a Homosexual Critique

Among the most important books ever to address the relationship between homosexuality, homophobia, and capitalism, Towards a Gay Communism is an early landmark of revolutionary queer theory. Decades later, Mario Mieli’s work continues to pose a radical challenge to today’s mainstream queer theory and politics. First published in English in 1980, this groundbreaking book is now available in an updated and unabridged English translation, with a new introduction by Massimo Prearo and a foreword by Tim Dean.
 
With extraordinary prescience, Mieli exposes how capitalism co-opts and markets “perversions.” In his view, the liberation of homosexual desire requires the emancipation of sexuality from both patriarchal sex roles and capital. Drawing heavily upon Marx and psychoanalysis to arrive at his highly original vision, Towards a Gay Communism continues to be essential reading for all who seek to understand the true meaning of sexual liberation under capitalism today.