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Presents a narrative analysis of heterosexuality in New York, between the period of 1931-1941. Origins of sexual binary in the American culture; Primary reason for the construction of sexual identities in American culture; Why homosexual activists were disappointed at the publication of the `Sex Variants' monograph.

Honmosexual identity is conceptualized as a life-spanning developmental process that eventually leads to personal acceptance of a positive gay self-image and a coherent personal identity. J. Habermas' theory of ego development is utilized to provide a synthesis and understanding of the literature on the construction and maintenance of the homosexual idenity. It is concluded that the homosexual idenity generally emerges in a three-stage process in which the person progresses from an egocentric interpretation of homoerotic feelings to an internalization of the normative, conventional assumptions about homosexuality to a post-conventional phase in which societal norms are critically evaluated and the positive gay identity is achieved and managed.