Jason Pierceson, professor of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, has published a book about a recent landmark LGBTQ rights case, Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), the first such book to address the case and its background at length. Published by the University Press of Kansas, “Before Bostock: The Accidental LGBTQ Precedent of Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins” explores the ways in which courts and activists used the concept of sex-stereotyping under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to expand LGBTQ rights protections and how the Supreme Court arrived at its ground-breaking decision.

According to one reviewer, “history comes alive in this story of the legal roots of protections from workplace discrimination against LGBTQ people. This is no dry academic text, it is storytelling: a fascinating journey with fresh insights and new details that will delight everyone from those new to the case to those more familiar with the Bostock decision and its legal precedents.” Another referred to the book as, “must-read for LGBTQ politics scholars, students and legal advocates.”

Pierceson is the author or co-author of seven books and an encyclopedia on LGBTQ politics. His commentary has appeared in such media outlets as NPR, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, PolitiFact, The Associated Press and NBC News. He has also served as an expert witness in federal civil rights litigation.

For more information on the book, contact Jason Pierceson at 217-206-7842 or jpier2@uis.edu. Visit the publisher’s website for more information about the book.