Neda Ulaby Interviews James Polchin for HERE AND NOW on WBUR

“Riots at the Greenwich Village gay bar 50 years ago brought momentum and visibility to the gay liberation movement, after decades of discrimination and violence. James Polchin’s new nonfiction book takes a close look at a certain kind of violence: the murder of gay men in circumstances that allowed their attackers to claim their homicide was justified.

“The other man came on to me,” Polchin says, explaining how the perpetrators would testify in court. “I had to defend myself. It was an indecent proposal. I had to kill him.”

"Indecent Advances" traces the history of so-called homosexual panic, starting in the 1920s, when gay men were classified as sex criminals, and lumped with rapists and pedophiles. Just being gay could land a man in jail. “You have to remember sodomy was a criminal offense – a felony in 50 states at the time,” Polchin says.”

Listen to the interview at WBUR.