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William Mary Bill of Rights Journal Volume 14 | Issue 4 Article 9 From Stonewall to the Suburbs? Toward a Political Economy of Sexuality Angela P. Harris Repository Citation Angela P. Harris, From Stonewall to the Suburbs? Toward a Political Economy of Se xuality, 14 Wm. Mary Bill Rts. J. 1539 (2006), /wmborj/vol14/iss4/9 Copyright c 2006 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. /wmborj FROM STONEWALL TO THE SUBURBS?: TOWARD A POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SEXUALITY Angela P. Harris* INTRODUCTION In their articles, Carlos Ball and Sonia Katyal step back from the heat of the moment to place two recent United States court cases concerning the rights of sexual 2 and Lawrence v. Texas3 minorities - Goodridgev. Department ofPublicHealth - into a broader perspective. Ball takes up the dimension of time. Comparing the Massachusetts Supreme Courts decision in Goodridgeto the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Brown v. Board 4 ofEducation, he examines the phenomenon of social and legal backlash against controversial judicial opinions in the arena of civil rights, and reminds us that backlash is foreseeable, for civil rights struggle in the United States typically consists of moments of heartening progress followed by instances of discouraging setbacks. 5 Katyal takes up the dimension of space, examining pos- sible implications of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Lawrence for the civil rights struggles of sexual minorities in post-colonial nations, India in particular. Both Ball an