ABSTRACT
In this section * the term semiotics is not used in the usual sense of a science of signs and symboIs, but refers to repertoires of nonverbal tokens of coramunication • As the homosexual subculture has become less clandestine, the character of such tokens and gestural patterns has shif ted from that of the carefully guarded possession of an in sider culture to that of a more open and accessible reper toire (as seen, for example, in the lambda symbol, which is often worn to elicit comment). With the advancing social pluralism of Western industrial societies, it was perhaps inevitable that subcultural groups be more and more identified with distinctive and visible lifestyles. The increasing salience of male homosexuals and lesbians has become part and parcel of this development.
