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Acknowledgments

From a distance, writing a book appears to be a pretty solitary affair, and in many ways it is. But my worldview and ideas about sexuality and socialism have been shaped by many political collaborators over the years. I have the great fortune of working alongside some excellent Marxist writers, thinkers, and activists who are among my dearest friends. First and foremost, I must thank Paul D’Amato, my editor, for his insights and questions that forced me to clarify concepts and refine some rough edges. I’ve no doubt that working with me is a trial, and whatever faults this book has are surely my own, though I’m certain some of its attributes are due to Paul’s prodding editorial comments. In addition to Sharon Smith’s writings and speeches on women and socialism, U.S. labor, and a jaw-dropping range of topics, conversations with Sharon helped form many of the ideas that wound up in this book. I must also thank Ahmed Shawki for asking me to write the book—and thinking that I could, despite the fact that I’d never written one before.

Regular discussions with Joel Geier, Elizabeth Schulte, Alan Maass, Lee Sustar, Marlene Martin, Bill Roberts, Shaun Harkin, Lance Selfa, and Eric Ruder forced me to think more sharply about the audience and goals for this work. I must also thank Jesse Sharkey, Jason Yanowitz, Annie Zirin, Julie Fain, Lauren Fleer, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, and Susan Dwyer for mercifully saving me from having to endure my own cooking these last months; and also for pounding me with questions, arguments, rebuttals, and quizzical looks over many dinners. I’m not sure if they all realized they were helping me with the book as I ate their food and sipped wine, but those free-flowing discussions propelled me back into the library stacks more times than I care to admit. On a couple of chapters, I called upon the expertise of Dana Cloud, Aisha Karim, Matt Swagler, Phil Gasper, and David Whitehouse, all of whom made extremely useful comments. I also must acknowledge my new friends, Inside Higher Ed’s Scott McLemee and Ohio State’s Christopher Phelps, for sending along helpful articles.

Thanks also to Barry Sheppard for introducing me to the folks at the Holt Labor Library in San Francisco. Dave Florey’s sleuthing on my behalf in NYU’s Tamiment archives was a great help as well. And Dave Zirin’s advice to not think of it as writing a book, but just to work on seventy-two articles instead, was the kind of silly and spot-on help I needed from my pal the sportswriter for politicos who hate sports and athletes who hate politics.

Finally, I’d like to thank the folks at Haymarket Books, who accomplish extraordinary feats of publishing with a passion and persistence that live up to their mission of creating “books for changing the world”: Julie Fain, Anthony Arnove, Sarah Macaraeg, Rachel Cohen, Joe Allen, Bill Roberts, and Dao Tran. It’s an honor to be added to your list of authors.