John Alan Lee
| John Alan Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 24, 1933 Maxville, Ontario |
| Died | December 5, 2013 (aged 80) Toronto, Ontario |
| Occupation | sociologist, activist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto (B.A.), University of Sussex (Ph.D.) |
| Period | 1970s–2000s |
| Subject | psychology and sociology of love and sexuality |
| Notable works | The Colours of Love, Getting Sex |
John Alan Lee (August 24, 1933 - December 5, 2013) was a Canadian writer, academic and political activist, best known as an early advocate for LGBT rights in Canada, for his academic research into sociological and psychological aspects of love and sexuality, and for his later-life advocacy of assisted suicide and the right to die.
Born in Maxville, Ontario in 1933, he grew up as a ward of the provincial Children's Aid Society after his father abandoned the family and his mother was financially and emotionally unable to care for Lee and his brother David on her own as a single mother.
He was a factory worker and trade unionist in his youth, and ran as a Cooperative Commonwealth Federation candidate in the electoral district of Broadview in the 1958 election.
He completed an undergraduate degree in sociology at the University of Toronto in 1956, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Sussex in 1971. He then joined the University of Toronto as a faculty member in 1971. Teaching at the university until his retirement in 1999, he was the author of over 300 books and articles in sociology, predominantly focusing on sociological study of the LGBT community and on the broader psychology of love and sexuality.
His articles appeared in publications including the Canadian Journal of Higher Education, the Journal of Homosexuality, Psychology Today, The Body Politic, Canadian Forum and Christopher Street. His most noted books were The Colours of Love (1973), the first prominent work of research into the concept of love styles, and Getting Sex (1978), a study of gay sexual cruising.
...
Wikipedia