Accommodationism is
usually a term of derision hurled by gay or queer movement militants
like the Gay Liberation Front in the 1970s, or Queer Nation in the 80's
and 90's, against entrenched progressive elements in the movement.
In the 1960s, for example, Gay
Liberationists demanded that society accept gays and lesbians just
as they are and ridiculed earlier homophile
groups for encouraging gay men to act "normal" and lesbians to
wear dresses and fit in.
Tension between
progressive and militant elements is not unique to the gay/queer
movement. The movement for African American civil rights, for
example, exhibits the same tension. In the late 1960s, that
tension exploded into a rift when militant Black Panthers derided the
progressive NAACP leaders as sellouts and "Uncle Toms."
