This book examines the relationship between LGBTIQ communities and law in Australia from colonial times to the present day, with a particular concentration on the last 40 years. Using a socio-legal analysis that combines legislation, case law, media reports, policy materials and government data, it traces the historical shift from criminalisation and erasure to conditional legal recognition. The book develops a critical queer perspective, analysing how sexual and gender minorities moved from being classified through the figure of the criminal ‘homosexual’ to being recognised as members of LGBTIQ communities with a status of almost legal equality. Structured historically, its chapters examine distinct phases of legal reform, governance and LGBTIQ activism. The book covers key issues in sexuality, gender, family, embodiment and sex classification, while offering an extended account of the legal questions affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people. Although focused on Australia, it speaks to wider debates across post-colonial jurisdictions, Commonwealth countries and the United States. It will be of interest to students and academics in socio-legal studies, queer legal theory, sexuality and gender studies, law reform, and LGBTIQ politics and activism.

Allen George is Lecturer in Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he has lectured since 2009. His research focuses on law, sexuality, gender and LGBTIQ communities. He has also taught sociology and criminology at the University of Newcastle.