ABSTRACT
Although I shared the social and religious experiences of the group, however, I was not “of them ” in total involvement because of their sexual orientation. Distance was always maintained. The paradoxical role of the participant observer requires both detachment and per sonal involvement, as I learned in the process o f observation. I estab lished, through my behavior, a detachment that did not hinder inter action with the group but did allow me to maintain my own bounda ries as a married heterosexual in the midst o f a totally gay com m uni ty.
