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.
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"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
About the Author
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.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a "must read" for those interested in Qualitative Methodology,
This review is from: Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology (Paperback)
For anyone that has read Tearoom Trade, this biography helps to answer a lot of questions about Laud Humphreys life and work. Extremely well written, deeply insightful and thoroughly researched.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great and Useful Book,
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This review is from: Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology (Paperback)
This is a very compelling book. Laud Humphreys was a remarkable sociologist, and Tearoom Trade, a remarkable study. This book is a simple straightforward biographical text, that does a lot to clarify the various rumors that surrounded Laud Humphreys's career. It is not really a critical theory text, as it is biography. However, it contains a very smart analysis of academia and marginality. And it goes a long way to discuss the way Humphreys was marginalized, why it happened, the context, and how it effected him, and at what cost to both to his career and life, but also and in this case more relevantly what was lost by relegating Tearoom Trade to the textbook example of ethical problems in research, when it was in fact a profoundly significant study of a group of a social network/ informal organization that had not been addressed, and certainly not been addressed with such an evident lack of homophobia, and so many careful distinctions, and explanations. Humphreys not only records many of the now tropes of gay culture from the closet to the queen, but perhaps more radically studies and theorizes on men who do not identify as gay, men who use tearooms out of socio economic need for sex. He presents a socio economic critique of sexuality and to some extent gay culture far in advance of anyone else.... (just a note a theory of homophobia in the US has to do with a perception/myth of the sexual freedom and financial success of gay men.... there is very little written which examines money and power and its history in gay male culture/ Humphreys touches on this) Also Tearoom Trade could easily have offered some clues to the spread of HIV had it not been so marginalized, and instead excepted as a valuable piece of research.
This very straightforward book is a kind of memorial, praise, and long overdue defense of Laud Humphreys life and work. Its a humble work, but its clearly written with a great deal of respect, affection, and admiration. (Also additional biographical information and photographs are fantastic.)
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
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This review is from: Laud Humphreys: Prophet of Homosexuality and Sociology (Paperback)
The "Tea Room Trade" was my introduction to Sociology in 1985. However, there was a lot of criticism about his methodology. Critics regarded it as voyeuristic. He was able to obtain the registration numbers of the participants
and in disguise went to their homes and asked them questions. The interesting point is that most of the participants were married heterosexuals having oral sex on the sly in public toilets. He was rather unstable going from episcopal priest to gay. He was charged for being in violent demonstrations during the Vietnam War. Alvin Gouldner hit him on one occasion. The times have changed.
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