Frederick Lee "Fred" Whitam (February 7, 1933 – July 10, 2009) was an American sociologist who studied

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

from a cross-cultural perspective.LeVay S, Nonas E (1997)
''City of Friends: A Portrait of the Gay and Lesbian Community in America.''
MIT Press, Scholar Paul Vasey described Whitam as "an

essentialist Essentialism is the view that objects have a set of attributes that are necessary to their identity. In early Western thought, Platonic idealism held that all things have such an "essence"—an "idea" or "form". In '' Categories'', Aristotle s ...

during a time of rampant

social constructionism Social constructionism is a term used in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory. The term can serve somewhat different functions in each field; however, the foundation of this Conceptual framework, theoretical framework suggests ...

."Vasey, Paul L; Bartlett, Nancy H (2011). Frederick L. Whitam (1933-2009). ''

Archives of Sexual Behavior The ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research. History The journal was established in 1971 by Richard Green, who served a ...

''. Aug 2011. Vol. 40, Iss. 4; p. 671.

Life and career

Whitam was born in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

. He studied at

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded ...

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, where he received a master's degree, followed by a Ph.D. in 1965. In 1960, he was appointed assistant professor and chair of the department of sociology at Millsaps College. In 1962, he took a position at

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college under the State University of New York, in New York City. It focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It was founded in ...

. After a brief appointment at

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 20 ...

, he accepted a position at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 1966 and taught there the remainder of his career. He established the department's doctoral program in 1972, became a full professor in 1986, and retired in 1997. Whitam's early work focused on the

sociology of religion Sociology of religion is the study of the beliefs, practices and organizational forms of religion using the tools and methods of the discipline of sociology. This objective investigation may include the use both of Quantitative research, quantit ...

before he moved into researching commonalities in

male homosexuality Human male sexuality encompasses a wide variety of feelings and behaviors. Men's feelings of attraction may be caused by various physical and social traits of their potential partner. Men's sexual behavior can be affected by many factors, inclu ...

in different cultures. Whitam told ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', "If you look at all societies, homosexuality occurs at the same rates with the same kinds of behavior. That suggests something biological going on. The biological evidence has been growing for 20 or more years."Gelman, David, ''et al.'', (February 23, 1992).
Born Or Bred?
''

'' He also studied trans women, reporting that in many cultures "these persons regard themselves as homosexuals and are regarded by more masculine homosexuals as a natural part of the homosexual world."Whitam FL (1987). A cross-cultural perspective on homosexuality, transvestism, and trans-sexualism. In Wilson, Glenn Daniel (ed.) ''Variant sexuality: Research and theory'', Johns Hopkins University Press, Whitam's published books included ''The Protestant Spanish Community in New York'' in 1960 and ''

Male Homosexuality in Four Societies ''Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines and the United States'' is a 1985 work about male homosexuality by the sociologists Frederick L. Whitam and Robin Mathy. Summary The authors discuss male homosexuality ...

: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the United States'', co-authored with

Robin Mathy Robin Michele Mathy (born July 21, 1957) is an American researcher and activist who has published four books and more than 50 peer-reviewed articles or book chapters. Her first book, ''Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the ...

in 1986. Whitam died in

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

Selected publications

*Whitam FL, Daskalos C, Sobolewski CG, Padilla P (1998). The emergence of lesbian sexuality and identity cross-culturally: Brazil, Peru, the Philippines, and the United States. ''

Arch Sex Behav The ''Archives of Sexual Behavior'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research. History The journal was established in 1971 by Richard Green, who served as ...

''. 1998 Feb;27(1):31-56. *Whitam FL, Daskalos C, Mathy RM (1996). A cross-cultural assessment of familial factors in the development of female homosexuality. ''

Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality The ''International Journal of Sexual Health'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research on sexual health as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being. It is the official journal of the World Association for Sexua ...

'' Volume 7, Issue 4, 1996 pages 59-76 doi 10.1300/J056v07n04_04 *Whitam FL, Diamond M, Martin J (1993). Homosexual orientation in twins: a report on 61 pairs and three triplet sets. ''

''. 1993 Jun;22(3):187-206. *Whitam FL (1992). Bayot and Callboy: Homosexual-Heterosexual Relations in the Philippines'. In Murray SO (ed.) ''Oceanic Homosexualities''. London, Garland Publishing, *Whitam, FL (1991). From sociology: Homophobia and heterosexism in sociology. '' Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy'', 1(4), 31-44. *Whitam FL, Mathy RM (1991). Childhood cross-gender behavior of homosexual females in Brazil, Peru, the Philippines, and the United States. ''

''. 1991 Apr;20(2):151-70. *Ernulf KE, Innala SM, Whitam FL (1989). Biological explanation, psychological explanation, and tolerance of homosexuals: a cross-national analysis of beliefs and attitudes. '' Psychol Rep''. 1989 Dec;65(3 Pt 1):1003-10. *Wolf WS, Weitz R, Whitam FL (1989). ''Sexual Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors: A Study of Gay and Bisexual Men in Maricopa County: Final Report.'' *Whitam FL (1987). A cross-cultural perspective on homosexuality, transvestism, and trans-sexualism. In Wilson, Glenn Daniel (ed.) ''Variant sexuality: Research and theory'', Johns Hopkins University Press, *Whitam FL (1987). Os entendidos: Gay life in São Paulo. In Murray SO (ed.) ''Male Homosexuality in Central and South America''. Instituto Obregon, *Whitam FL, Mathy RM (1986). ''Male homosexuality in four societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the United States.'' Praeger Publishers, *Whitam FL, Zent M (1984). A cross-cultural assessment of early cross-gender behavior and familial factors in male homosexuality. ''

''. 1984 Oct;13(5):427-39. *Whitam FL (1983). Culturally invariable properties of male homosexuality: tentative conclusions from cross-cultural research. ''

''. 1983 Jun;12(3):207-26. *Whitam FL (1981). A reply to Goode on "The Homosexual Role." ''

The Journal of Sex Research The ''Journal of Sex Research'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of human sexuality and the field of sexology in general. It is published by Routledge on behalf of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. In 1963, th ...

'' Vol. 17, No. 1, Feb., 1981 *Whitam FL (1980). The prehomosexual male child in three societies: the United States, Guatemala, Brazil. ''

''. 1980 Apr;9(2):87-99. *Whitam FL (1980). Variant sexuality: Ellis, Freud, Hirschfeld, Kinsey. In Forleo R, Pasini W. (eds.) ''Medical sexology'', Elsevier/North Holland Biomedical Press *Whitam FL (1979). Occupational choice and sexual orientation in cross-cultural perspective. '' International Review of Modern Sociology'' 9: 137-149 *Whitam FL (1979). The entendidos: middle class gay life in São Paulo. '' Gay Sunshine: A Journal of Gay Liberation'' 38-39: 16-17 *Whitam FL (1978). Rejoinder to Omark's comment on "The Homosexual Role." ''

'', 1978 *Whitam FL (1977). Childhood indicators of male homosexuality. ''

''. 1977 Mar;6(2):89-96. *Whitam FL (1977). The homosexual role: a reconsideration. ''

''. Vol. 13, No. 1, Feb., 1977 *Whitam FL (1968). Revivalism as institutionalized behavior: An analysis of the social base of a Billy Graham Crusade. ''

Southwestern Social Science Quarterly The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

'', 1968 *Whitam FL (1965). Adolescence and Mass Persuasion: A Study of Teen-age Decision-Making at a Billy Graham Crusade. Doctoral dissertation. *Whitam FL (1962). Subdimensions of religiosity and race prejudice. ''

Review of Religious Research The ''Review of Religious Research'' is a quarterly journal that reviews the various methods, findings and uses of religious research. It contains a variety of articles, book reviews and reports on research projects. It is published by the Relig ...

'', Vol. 3, No. 4, Spring *Whitam FL (1962). New York's Spanish Protestants. ''

Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews ...

'', vol 99, 162–16 February 7, 1962 *Whitam FL (1957). Subdimensions of Religiosity as Related to Race Prejudice. MA thesis, Indiana University, 1957

References

External links

Frederick L. Whitam obituary
via Arizona State University {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitam, Frederick L. 1933 births 2009 deaths American sociologists