Encyclopedia Now Addresses Same-Sex Marriage and Other Issues at
Stake in the 2004 U.S. Elections

CHICAGO, (March 3, 2004) -- www.glbtq.com, the world's largest encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer culture, celebrated its successful first year of operation on March 3, 2004 with the launch of a new section devoted to History and the Social Sciences. The new History and Social Sciences Department extends the encyclopedia's scope to include worldwide GLBTQ history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, religion and politics.

Like the 900-plus entries in glbtq.com's existing Art and Literature Departments, the 300-plus entries in the new History and Social Sciences Department present the work of dozens of experts who have contributed signed entries to the encyclopedia.

The list of History and Social Sciences contributors includes noted GLBTQ historian and activist Susan Stryker; sexologist, author and Kinsey Award recipient Vern Bullough; distinguished scholars Eugene Rice and Louis Crompton; attorney and Professor Greg Johnson who acted as co-counsel in a ground-breaking Alaskan gay marriage case; and many others.

glbtq.com Now Addresses Contemporary Social and Political Topics

"The release of new entries on such topics as gay marriage, civil union, domestic partnerships, United States Supreme Court rulings and the movements for GLBTQ civil rights and social equality is especially timely as these issues have risen to new prominence in this U.S. election year," said Claude Summers, general editor of glbtq.com. "While glbtq.com's existing Arts and Literature departments have found a large following on university campuses and in the GLBTQ community, the addition of the Social Sciences department will help us reach an even larger audience."

A Successful First Year

During its first year of operation, glbtq.com served more than 3.5 million Web pages to more than 775,000 unique visitors. Thousands return regularly to read the site's semimonthly features which have highlighted such topics as "Lesbians in Hollywood," "African-American Literature: Gay Male" and "Latin American Art and Literature."

"The rapid development of such a large audience shows that www.glbtq.com fills a need in our community and has found a unique niche among GLBTQ publications," said Frédérique Delacoste, a founder and publisher of Cleis Press, a GLBTQ publishing company.

About glbtq

Chicago-based glbtq.com was founded in 2000 to build the most comprehensive, accessible and authoritative encyclopedia of GLBTQ culture. The executive and editorial staff includes General Editor Dr. Claude J. Summers, William E. Stirton Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, University of Michigan-Dearborn; Copy Editor Dr. Ted-Larry Pebworth, Professor Emeritus of English, University of Michigan-Dearborn; and President Wik Wikholm, a seasoned IT professional and an accomplished writer whose articles have appeared in dozens of publications.