Homosexual Demography: Implications for the Spread of AIDS

Journal of Sex Research, Nov, 1998 by Christopher Hewitt

Type V: Situational Homosexuals

Men in this group would include Humphreys' (1970) "tea room trade," made up of "men with heavy emotional commitments to families and jobs [who] may not be able to afford investment in other than the most transient and impersonal types of extramarital sex," (pp. 153-154). This type of homosexuality is linked to the unavailability of female partners, and is common in prisons and other all male settings (Brecher, 1984; Humphreys, 1970). Whitam (1986) notes that this involves heterosexual men "using" homosexual men, and typically the men involved do not define themselves as gay. Experimental and situational homosexuals differ in age and marital status, with the former being young and unmarried and the latter usually older and married. Humphreys (1970) found that 89% of the trade category were married with a mean age of 38. Figure 1 summarizes the characteristics of each type.

Figure 1. A Typology of Homosexuality

                            Type I            Type II

                                                Repressed
Characteristics         Open Preferential       Preferential

Self Identity           Gay/bi                  Denial-Claims to
                                                be heterosexual

Social Disclosure       Open Participation      Closeted
                        in Gay Community

Age/Marital Status      Unmarried               Often Married

Homosexual Behavior     Frequent                Intermittent and
                                                Infrequent

Heterosexual Behavior   Very Rare               Moderate

                        Type III                Type IV

Characteristics         Bisexual               Experimental

Self Identity           Gay/bi                 Uncertain

Social Disclosure       Varies                 Varies

Age/Marital Status      Often Married          Young Unmarried

Homosexual Behavior     Frequent               For a short duration

Heterosexual Behavior   Frequent               Infrequent

                        Type V

Characteristics         Situational

Self Identity           Heterosexual

Social Disclosure       Hides Behavior

Age/Marital Status      Middle-aged
                        Usually married

Homosexual Behavior     Intermittent

Heterosexual Behavior   Infrequent

FINDINGS

A reasonable estimate is that currently about 3% of males are preferential homosexuals or bisexuals, and that another 4% are experimental or situational homosexuals. This distribution by type is consistent with two separate surveys. According to Michael et al. (1994), the number of men who identify themselves as homosexuals or bisexuals is almost the same as the number who report that they have had sex with men, but identify themselves as heterosexuals. Presumably the latter group is largely made up of situational homosexuals and those who experimented with homosexuality in the past. It is also compatible with the 1970 Kinsey data on lifetime incidence of homosexual contacts since the age of 21, with 1.4% reporting fairly often, 1.9% reporting occasionally and 3.4% reporting rarely or only once or twice. (Klassen, Williams, & Levitt, 1989). Given that some of these will go on to have more extensive experiences, and since preferential homosexuals and bisexuals have a more extensive history of homosexuality, the breakdown corresponds to our 3% preferential/bisexual group and 4% experimental/situational.