Using archival material that has largely been ignored, as well as interviews with Canadian activists, Smith investigates the ways in which the Canadian lesbian and gay movement has changed in response to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Miriam Smith is Professor in the Law and Society Program in the Department of Social Science at York University. She is a political scientist who has published widely on LGBTQ politics in Canada and the US, among other topics. She is the author of Political Institutions and Lesbian and Gay Rights in the United States and Canada (2008) and Editor of Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada (2014).

'Miriam Smith asks crucial questions about the direction taken by Canada's sexual diversity activists, and provides incisive, thought-provoking answers. In the process, she adds significantly to social movement analysis and critical legal studies. She does so in highly readable and engaging ways, firmly grounded in the experience of activists across Canada.'

Becki Ross, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia:

'Miriam Smith asks crucial questions about the direction taken by Canada's sexual diversity activists, and provides incisive, thought-provoking answers. In the process, she adds significantly to social movement analysis and critical legal studies. She does so in highly readable and engaging ways, firmly grounded in the experience of activists across Canada.'

Janine Brodie, Chair and Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta:

'Miriam Smith asks crucial questions about the direction taken by Canada's sexual diversity activists, and provides incisive, thought-provoking answers. In the process, she adds significantly to social movement analysis and critical legal studies. She does so in highly readable and engaging ways, firmly grounded in the experience of activists across Canada.'