Mary McIntosh (1936-2013)

Citizen of Change: Campaigner who pioneered sociological studies of homosexuality

Mary McIntosh, a lecturer and influential sociologist, was a founding member of the Leicester Campaign for Racial Equality and involved in setting up the Gay Liberation Front.

In 1967, male homosexuality was partly decriminalised. That year, Mary McIntosh wrote ‘What is a homosexual?’ for student newspaper The Ripple.

She later wrote a pioneering sociological study called ‘The homosexual role’, in which she objected to homosexuality being regarded as a set of ‘symptoms’.

This was a significant leap forward that empowered the possibilities of and for the sociological study of homosexuality,” says Professor John Goodwin of the Sociology Department.

Mary McIntosh also played a crucial role campaigning to get the local Sikh community registered to vote.