ABSTRACT
Sociologists, in keeping with a tradition of sympathy for deviants, have been more charitable in their theoretical treatment of the “homosexual” than many other social scientists, notably psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. In the last few years as the medical model – which all too often influenced sociological theorizing – has been shaken, the concept “role” has emerged as dominant in sociological reinterpre-tations of homosexuality. Mcintosh for example has staunchly argued that “the homosexual should be seen as playing a social role rather than having a condition” (Mcintosh 1968). More recently, a study emanating from the Institute for Sex Research advocates that “homosexuality be conceptualized in terms of social statuses and roles rather than as a condition” (Weinberg and Williams 1974).
