homocrat

English

Etymology

Blend of homosexual +‎ democrat. Coined or popularized by lesbian author and activist Sarah Schulman.

Noun

homocrat (plural homocrats)

1. (US, LGBT, chiefly historical) A gay person who supports slow and assimilationist movement toward equality, working politically with the Democratic Party; an assimilationist (as contrasted with a radical).
   • 2005 October 9, L.M. Bogad, Electoral Guerrilla Theatre: Radical Ridicule and Social Movements, Routledge, →ISBN, page 128:

     Although assimilationist gays, or “homocrats” in Sarah Schulman's parlance (Shepard 2001), were beginning to be elected and appointed to positions of power around the country, this incorporation (or co-optation) did not extend to […]

   • 2001, Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine:

     Some, such as author Sara Schulman, blame the problem on the “homocrats” seduced into inaction by Bill Clinton. Yet, the phenomenon is not unique to the last decade. Since the birth of the modern gay liberation movement in 1969 […]

   • 2013 October 15, Craig A. Rimmerman, Gay Rights, Military Wrongs: Political Perspectives on Lesbians and Gays in the Military, Routledge, →ISBN, page 283:

     56 These political insiders, called "homocrats" by lesbian activist Sarah Schulman, were like many others in the early days of the Clinton Administration: virtual political newcomers to Washington. In an interview following the […]

   • 2015 November 18, Urvashi Vaid, Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation, Anchor, →ISBN:

     In the seventies, the argument raged between grassroots activists and homocrats. In the 1980s, the fight was between those favoring direct action and the gay lobbyists. In the early nineties the term assimilationist was popularized by […]

   • 2018 September 24, Sarah Schulman, My American History: Lesbian and Gay Life During the Reagan and Bush Years, Routledge, →ISBN:

     Wealthy gays were outraged by our tactics, homocrats accused us of being counterproductive. Many people who felt that they owned or defined the gay movement were threatened by ACT UP. Within the organization there was a uniting […]