Bio: (1946-2022) British sociologist. Kenneth Plummer has taught at the University of Essex and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Plummer is best known for his study of homosexuality from the perspective of symbolic interactionism. Plummer further developed the labeling theory of deviant behavior given by Howard Becker. Plummer distinguishes social deviance, as behavior that the majority in society considers deviant, and, on the other hand, situational deviance where the same behavior can be considered deviant or not, in relation to the situation and the person who exhibits such behavior. Plummer believes that the critiques of interactionism, which claim that this approach does not study the causes of deviant behavior and that this approach is deterministic, are unfounded. He points out that the interactionist perspective studies the choices that people make, and the struggle that people, who are labeled as deviants, have, so they can avoid such a status.

Plummer sees sexual preferences as a social construction. Sexual practices are less a matter of biology and are more defined by a complex network of social interactions and definitions. He states that ‘‘Sexuality has no meaning other than that given to it in social situations. Thus the forms and the contents of sexual meanings are another cultural variable, and why certain meanings are learnt and not others is problematic’’ (1981).  In this context, he also develops the idea of ​​“sexual citizenship” or "intimate citizenship" to emphasize the social and political aspects of sexuality in the conditions of heteronormativity that permeates all social institutions. In the study Sexual Stigma (1975), he singled out the four most common types of homosexual behavior in Western culture: incidental homosexuality, situational activities (in isolated situations, such as prisons), personalized homosexuality (homosexuality practiced in private life but hidden from public) and homosexuality as a way of life. Plummer proposes that the process of building different kinds of individual sexual identity goes through four stages: sensitization, signification, subculturalization, and stabilization.

In Telling Sexual Stories (1995), Plummer explores, from a postmodern perspective, the biographical narratives of individuals. He concludes that sexual identities are becoming more fluid, and "big stories" about sexuality (biology, religion, psychology) have less and less influence, to which modern technologies also contribute.

Main works

Sexual Stigma (1975);

The Making of the Modern Homosexual (1981);

Documents of Life (1983);

Symbolic Interactionism (1990);

Modern Homosexualities (1992);

Telling Sexual Stories (1995);

The Chicago School (1997);

Sexualities: Critical Assessments (2002);

Sociology: A Global Introduction (2002); 

Inventing Intimate Citizenship (2003);

Criminology: A Sociological Introduction (2004).