The struggle to remove the stigma of sickness surrounding same-sex love has a long history. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its diagnostic classification of mental illness, but the groundwork for this pivotal decision was laid decades earlier. In this new study, Henry L. Minton looks back at the struggle of the American gay and lesbian activists who chose scientific research as a path for advancing homosexual rights. He traces the history of gay and lesbian emancipatory research from its early beginnings in the late nineteenth century to its role in...

The closet takes its toll on its dwellers through their experiences of isolation, fear, paranoia, potentially increased internalized homophobia, and dissonance between role and identity; yet many people in the helping professions do not feel that it is desirable or even appropriate to disclose their sexual orientation to those receiving help. Gay and Lesbian Professionals in the Closet explores the different positions people take on this provocative issue, the arguments they use to support their positions, and why the issue may not be as clear-cut as it sometimes seems.

While complex...