Dorais and Lajeunesse analyse the adverse ways being stigmatized as homosexual affects personality and behaviour, discerning four types of reaction: the 'perfect boy,' whose perfectionism and asexuality are an attempt to minimize the difference between how he is perceived and what he is supposed to be; the 'chameleon,' who attempts to keep everyone from suspecting his secret but constantly feels like an impostor; the 'token fag,' who serves as a scapegoat to his peers, especially at school, and suffers a consequent rejection and lack of self-esteem; and the 'rebel,' who actively rejects any stigma based on his sexual orientation and non-conformity. They show that those who are heterosexual but suspected of being homosexual are most at risk of suicide and make recommendations for suicide prevention.

Michel Dorais has spent many years working with victims of sexual abuse and juvenile prostitution as a clinical social worker and is now a professor of social work at Laval University in Quebec City. He is the author of ten books dealing with sexuality.Patrice Corriveau is assistant professor in the Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa and the author of La répression juridique des homosexuels au Québec et en France.

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