Problems in defining cross-cultural "kinds of homosexuality" --and a solution

Cross-cultural typologies of male homosexuality categorize widely different cultural expressions of same-sex behavior and orientation, but often without a deeper consideration of what it means for there to be kinds of homosexuality, or what the existence of separate kinds means for the category "homosexuality." In this paper the methods and results of these typologies are described and criticized, and a new interpretation of cultural expressions of homosexuality is offered in their place. The kinds of homosexuality are seen in terms of an activity of male consciousness, whereby male consciousness becomes progressively more oriented toward itself through each general kind. Finally a plan for a future systematic study of homosexuality is suggested, into which the reorganized typologies and other cultural material may be integrated.