News reports regarding the relationship between Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank and a male prostitute reflect a growing willingness to hold public officials responsible for private acts. The incident triggered a classic example of apologia--a speech of self-defense. As critics have long suggested, the intangible nature of the…

Prior research on observer perceptions of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients has concluded that there is a strong tendency to assume that homosexuals are patients of AIDS while heterosexuals are patients of anything but AIDS. This study sought to determine if there was a greater tendency to diagnose AIDS among female homosexuals…

Although investigations of college student sexual attitudes and behaviors have appeared in the literature since the 1960s, assessing long-term attitudinal and behavior patterns is difficult when comparing studies which have employed different populations and different settings. In an attempt to provide information about such long-term patterns…

This review examines previous research on societal attitudes toward homosexuality. It notes that sex-role rigidity in society has an impact on societal attitudes toward homosexuality; in societies with rigid sex-roles, gay men and lesbian women are disliked and rejected more than in societies with liberal sex-roles. Society's stereotypes of gay…

This specialized bibliography was prepared for students and teachers interested in the growing literature which describes, directly or indirectly, homosexual liberation as a rhetorical movement. Thirty-eight references are annotated in the areas of (1) autobiographical accounts; (2) quantitative research; (3) history; (4) law; (5) literature; (6)…

Research supported by Research Grant MH-07987 from the National Institute of Mental Health.

This mediagraphy is a compilation of items considered to be pro-gay in content and outlook, i.e., the works consider homosexuality to be neither better nor worse than heterosexuality. The section on methodology discusses problems encountered while searching literature guides to collect the materials and clarifies the terminology used in the…

The struggle for a positive self-image in the gay community has been keynoted by confrontations between gays and the censuring public, and by their own introspection. Since the risks demanded by self disclosure are greater for gays than for heterosexuals, a nonsupportive environment may force a strategy of nondisclosure on gays. This often…

Discrimination against women in public employment may soon be coming to an end. Since 1972, when the Equal Opportunity Act was expanded to include public schools, the cause of women's rights has been gaining momentum. Today, although there are no quotas for women and men in education, many districts are under affirmative action mandates to move…

According to a questionnaire study of 127 lesbians, differences in values regarding relationships reflect two distinct dimensions: dyadic attachment and personal autonomy. These relationship values were associated with women's social characteristics and feminist involvement. (Author/WI)

Areas of psychological theory relevant to the coming out process are discussed, including identity formation, self-disclosure and self-validation, and socialization. Differences are noted in the experiences of men and women with regard to conformity to and violation of sex-role expectations, as well as to political and legal issues. (Author/WI)

Psychotherapeutic work with lesbians is confounded by both sexist and heterosexist factors. In this paper, three aspects of women's socialization--self-concept, feminine sex-role behavior, and sexuality--which have particular implications for lesbians, are discussed in terms of their implications in therapy. (Author/WI)

Continued research into the sex-role expectations which therapists hold toward clients is an issue of particular relevance to the gay community. The training of psychotherapists should pay attention to both sex-role expectations and homosexual stereotypes as potential sources of bias in therapists' perceptions and evaluations of homosexual…

Discusses the events leading to the National Women's Conference, 1977 and the resolutions passed at the conference on the many aspects of women's rights. (AM)

Field research in the gay world is shaped by two factors: the secrecy of many gay groups, and the stigmatization both of gays and of researchers who study them. Some relevant strategies and tactics of field research are discussed. (Author/AM)