Frederick Lee "Fred" Whitam (February 7, 1933 – July 10, 2009) was an American sociologist who studied homosexuality from a cross-cultural perspective.^[1] Scholar Paul Vasey described Whitam as "an essentialist during a time of rampant social constructionism."^[2]

Life and career

Whitam was born in Natchez, Mississippi. He studied at Millsaps College, University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Indiana University, 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. After a brief appointment at University of Texas, Austin, he accepted a position at Arizona State University 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 before he moved into researching commonalities in male homosexuality in different cultures. Whitam told Newsweek, "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."^[3] 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."^[4] Whitam's published books included The Protestant Spanish Community in New York in 1960 and Male Homosexuality in Four Societies: Brazil, Guatemala, the Philippines, and the United States, co-authored with Robin Mathy in 1986. Whitam died in Tempe, Arizona.

Selected publications