I was recently reading a lot of historical resources on the LGBTQ rights movement to learn more about the history of my identity in activism, and one thing that struck me was just how radical the major gay rights organizations were in the 1960s and 1970s in comparison to those of the 1990s and into the present.

The Gay Liberation Front, the Combahee River Collective, other organizations, etc. were almost all explicitly anti-capitalist, very left wing, and in many cases rejected the nuclear family and marriage itself, far from desiring to earn marriage rights as the modern gay marriage movement sought. Many of these organizations main goals revolved around restructuring society itself rather than law changes within the already extant structures of society.

By the 1990s however, much of the modern movement, like the Human Rights Campaign, had become highly integrated with a capitalist and centrist (Democratic) political party and their demands were generally centered around law changes and in particular gay marriage.

What caused this shift? Were COINTELPRO or similar government programs utilized to disrupt the gay liberation movement in the same way as they were on the Black Power movement? Was the AIDS crises influential in killing the previous generation of radical leadership? Was the incorporation of the movement into the non-profit structure and government/business funding sources a reason for the rightward shift (I.e. Gay Inc. book)? The question particularity interests me as a gay leftist who draws a lot of inspiration from the early gay liberation groups.

Any explanation or even sources for reading are appreciated. Thanks in advance.