This edited book is a text that well integrates research from many disciplines, especially psychology, and applies it to questions facing public policy decisions. It is quite valuable as a textbook in classes on gay and lesbian studies, and as a summary for those wishing an update of behavioral science research. Chapter 1 - The Definition and Scope of Sexual Orientation, by John C. Gonsiorek and James D. Weinrich. Although many people think that homosexuality cannot be explained by evolution, that belief is incorrect. Psychological interests and feelings of substantial number of homosexuals are intermediate between the modal patterns for heterosexual men and heterosexual women.
Homosexuals have normal levels of circulating sex hormones.
Weinrich and Pillard suggest that homosexuals are more androgynous than heterosexual individuals - that instead of having less of one kind of social sex role behavior pattern, they simply have a greater balance. The more a culture is studied, the more different patterns of homosexuality emerge. The social constructionists feel that sexual orientation cannot be properly understood apart from the social milieu in which it is embedded. The religious metaphor on page 57 is an excellent parallel to homosexuality. His solution is to provide memorable examples of gay people that contradict existing stereotypes is good, but not complete.