Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology

by John F. Galliher, Wayne Brekhus, Wayne H. Brekhus

Laud Humphreys (1930–1988) was a pioneering and fearless sociologist, an Episcopal priest, and a civil rights, gay, and antiwar activist. In graduate school during the late 1960s, he conducted extensive fieldwork in public restrooms in a St. Louis city park to discover patterns of impersonal sex among men. He published the results in Tearoom Trade. Three decades later the book still triggers many debates about the ethics of his research methods. In 1974, he was the first sociologist to come out as gay. Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology examines the groundbreaking work through the life of a complex man and the life of the man through his controversial work. It is an invaluable contribution to sociology and a fascinating record of a courageous life.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 23, 2004

Reviews

[Nelson Minar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting book, but only of interest to folks wanting inside baseball on sociology and research ethics. Or my oddball interest, which was reading Tearoom Trade as a gay document. It's a reasonably thorough and fair treatment of Humphrey's career, I'm grateful it was written.