From the closet to the classroom: Homosexuality in abnormal psychology and sociology of deviance textbooks

This article examines the role of contemporary academic sociology and psychology in the development and maintenance of public attitudes towards homosexuality, by investigating the presentation of homosexuality in abnormal psychology and sociology of deviance textbooks. The sample consisted of the latest editions of 22 psychology and 8 sociology textbooks; all were published in the United States and are currently in print. The findings indicate that the few sociology texts that discuss homosexuality tend to be somewhat more accurate and hence more positive than psychology texts and that psychology texts published since 1974 are more accurate and sympathetic about homosexuality than older texts.