Relating to Children: Gays as Role Models

Abstract

Within the framework that same‐sex sexual preference can be a positive outcome, the developmental aspects of sexual identity are traced. It seems that gender identity is fixed in early childhood, rigid sex‐role identity has questionable effects while more flexibility in sex‐role behaviors has definite advantages, and sexual preference choices continue to evolve throughout one's lifetime. A review of the literature on role modeling leads to the conclusions that children internalize particular traits from a variety of models, and that gays are more likely to serve as nontraditional sex‐role models than as determiners of same‐sex sexual preference.