Representations of Homosexuality in Health Science Textbooks

Discussions of homosexual behavior in 35 publications (textbooks, trade books, pamphlets) in the fields of health science and sex education were reviewed. Ten books referred to the subject. Major findings of the study were: homosexual behavior receives significant attention in only 1 of the 10 publications; discussions of homosexuality contain a number of hidden biases; a large number of factual errors can be identified in most publications; and most authors seem to believe that homosexual behavior may be tolerated during adolescence but, at the same time, should be a source of concern to teenagers.