Abstract

In the history of lgbt movement the attitude towards the legal system fulfills a decisive role in the creation of multiple gay identities. This article aims at describing legal perspectives internal to the western homosexual movement and, then, at demonstrating the extent to which these theoretical paradigms constitute an extremely weighty critical legal standpoint. Adopting a historical perspective the author iden¬tifies and analyzes four main trends: homophile, radical, reformist and queer. The distance between the latter two shapes the actual arrangement of lgbt movement and quite often it triggers harsh and potentially disruptive debates. Though recognizing the political and social gap between reformist and queer paradigms, the article suggests that the pursuit of a constructive dialogue still represents the essential precondition to maintain homosexual legal perspectives suitable to sharply understand the international legal system.