Will Roscoe
Encyclopedia
Will Roscoe is an American scholar, activist
, and author based in San Francisco, California
. He grew up in Missoula, Montana
and helped found the Lambda Alliance at the University of Montana, that state's first LGBT
organization in 1975, although he is heterosexual - Roscoe was inspired to campaign for gay rights after the murder of his younger brother in a homophobic attack. He served as an intern at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
in 1976, and the following year he formed the Oregon Gay Alliance, a statewide coalition of LGBT groups. After relocating to San Francisco in 1978, he organized a successful campaign to obtain United Way membership for the Pacific Center for Human Growth
in Berkeley
, the first LGBT social service agency in the nation to receive that status. He subsequently worked with Harvey Milk
in the "No on 6" campaign against the Briggs Initiative. After attending the first Radical Faerie gathering in Arizona
in 1979, he became colleagues with Harry Hay
, co-founding Nomenus, which operates a LGBT retreat center in southern Oregon
. In 1995 he edited and published a selection of writings by Milsene Hay, the founder of the gay liberation movement.
Roscoe's first book, "The Zuni Man-Woman", received the Margaret Mead
Award of the American Anthropological Association
and the Society for Applied Anthropology
, as well as the Lambda Literary Award
for gay men's nonfiction. In 2003, he received a Monette-Horowitz Achievement Award for research and scholarship combating homophobia. His book, "Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love", received a Lambda Literary Award in 2005..
Edited volumes
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, and author based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He grew up in Missoula, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
and helped found the Lambda Alliance at the University of Montana, that state's first LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
organization in 1975, although he is heterosexual - Roscoe was inspired to campaign for gay rights after the murder of his younger brother in a homophobic attack. He served as an intern at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force builds the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from the ground up. The Task Force is the country’s premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of LGBT people, and working to create positive, lasting...
in 1976, and the following year he formed the Oregon Gay Alliance, a statewide coalition of LGBT groups. After relocating to San Francisco in 1978, he organized a successful campaign to obtain United Way membership for the Pacific Center for Human Growth
Pacific Center for Human Growth
The Pacific Center for Human Growth, or simply the Pacific Center, is a community center focusing on LGBT people. The center operates from a Victorian house on Telegraph Avenue south of the University of California in Berkeley, California.-History:...
in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, the first LGBT social service agency in the nation to receive that status. He subsequently worked with Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
in the "No on 6" campaign against the Briggs Initiative. After attending the first Radical Faerie gathering in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in 1979, he became colleagues with Harry Hay
Harry Hay
Henry "Harry" Hay, Jr. was a labor advocate, teacher and early leader in the American LGBT rights movement. He is known for his roles in helping to found several gay organizations, including the Mattachine Society, the first sustained gay rights group in the United States.Hay was exposed early in...
, co-founding Nomenus, which operates a LGBT retreat center in southern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. In 1995 he edited and published a selection of writings by Milsene Hay, the founder of the gay liberation movement.
Roscoe's first book, "The Zuni Man-Woman", received the Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
Award of the American Anthropological Association
American Anthropological Association
The American Anthropological Association is a professional organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 11,000 members, the Arlington, Virginia based association includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, biological anthropologists, linguistic...
and the Society for Applied Anthropology
Society for Applied Anthropology
The Society for Applied Anthropology is a U.S.-based professional association for applied anthropology, established "to promote the integration of anthropological perspectives and methods in solving human problems throughout the world; to advocate for fair and just public policy based upon sound...
, as well as the Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
for gay men's nonfiction. In 2003, he received a Monette-Horowitz Achievement Award for research and scholarship combating homophobia. His book, "Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love", received a Lambda Literary Award in 2005..
Selected publications
Books- Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love. San Francisco: Suspect Thoughts Press, 2004.
- Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America. Palgrave/St. Martin's Press, 1998.
- Queer Spirits: A Gay Men's Myth Book. Boston: Beacon Press, 1995.
- The Zuni Man-Woman. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1991.
Edited volumes
- Boy Wives and Female Husbands: Studies of African Homosexualities, edited by Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe. St. Martin's Press, 1998.
- Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature, edited by Stephen O. MurrayStephen O. MurrayStephen O. Murray , is a gay sociologist, anthropologist, and independent scholar based in San Francisco, California. A member of the second class at James Madison College within Michigan State University, he had an undergraduate double major in social psychology and in Justice, Morality, and...
and Will Roscoe. New York: New York University Press, 1997. - Radically Gay: Gay Liberation in the Words of Its Founder, by Harry Hay. Boston: Beacon: 1996.
- Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.