Coming out in the gay world

Abstract

In Spite of the recent sociological interest in the study of the transition from primary to secondary deviance, few empirical studies have been addressed to this question. It is in essence posited that at one point in time the actor can be described as being at the “primary stage/’ in which he engages in rule-breaking behavior and still regards himself as “normal”; at a later point in time he may reach the secondary stage, in which he may engage in overtly the same behavior but regard himself as “deviant,” or at least in some way different from the average, ordinary person. For example, at one point in time a person may furtively take goods from a store and regard himself as a borrower, but at a later time he may take similar goods and regard himself as a thief (Cameron). This paper is devoted to exploring the emergence of a particular deviant identity—the male homosexual identity. © 1971 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.