ABOUT THIS BOOK

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.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

John F. Galliher is professor of sociology and direct of the Peace Studies Program at the University of Missouri–Columbia. Wayne H. Brekhus is assistant professor of sociology at the University of Missouri–Columbia. David P. Keys is assistant professor of sociology at the State University of New York–Plattsburgh.

REVIEWS

"This book beautifully captures the turbulent events of a complex and intense person. It is written in a clear and readable style and I predict it will become a classic."—Martin S. Weinberg, coauthor of Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality

"No book traces Humphreys' biography and attempts to decipher fact from fiction as thoroughly as this book."—Valerie Jenness, Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California-Irvine

"Galliher, Brekhus, and Keys fill in some significant gaps in our knowledge about sociology in the latter part of the twentieth century. Their work is highly relevant to present-day sociology."—Gideon Sjoberg, University of Texas at Austin

TABLE OF CONTENTS






     Acknowledgments                                          viii
     Prologue                                                  ix

     Introduction                                               3
1    Birth and Beginnings                                      13
2    Becoming an Instant Icon                                  I9
3    Historical and Intellectual Context of Tearoom Trade:
     The 1960s and Washington University                       23
4    Published Criticism and Use of Tearoom Trade              36
5    Upward Professional Mobility and Continuing
     Activism                                                  65
6    The Long (and Rapid) Road Down                            84
7    The Legacy of Laud: Politics, Substance, and
     Professional Ethics                                       93
     Epilogue                                                 105

     AppendixA: LaudHumphreys's Vita                          109
     Appendix B: Laud Humphreys's FBI File                    117
     Appendix C: Posterfrom the Washington University
        Bulletin Board                                        189
     Appendix D: Systematic Observation Sheet                 193
     Appendix E: Data Sources and Methods                     197
     References                                               201
     Index                                                    213

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