“The Most Dangerous Voice”: Paul Cameron, Anti-Gay Science, and Christian Conservatism, 1980–96

This paper examines Nebraska psychologist Paul Cameron as a case study for understanding the relationship between science and political homophobia during the AIDS crisis. Despite being expelled by the American Psychological Association and condemned by the American Sociological Association, Cameron emerged as a leading producer of anti-gay “research” in the 1980s, testifying in custody cases, consulting for members of Congress, and advocating for the quarantine of LGBTQ people.

Drawing on Science and Technology Studies scholarship on boundary-work and counter-expertise, this paper asks how Cameron constructed scientific authority after his professional expulsion and how conservative political and religious groups selectively adopted or rejected his work. Through analysis of Cameron’s publications, court records, and right-wing organizational archives, the paper argues that Cameron’s carefully projected image as a scientist enabled him to become a counter-expert for the religious right during a period when conservatives sought empirical justification for their AIDS policy positions. The study contributes to historiography on conservative responses to AIDS by documenting intra-movement tensions over scientific credibility and illuminates the network of right-wing counter-knowledge institutions that emerged in response to perceived exclusion from mainstream academia. By tracing Cameron’s influence across organizations ranging from the Family Research Council to the Traditional Values Coalition, this research reveals how the AIDS crisis catalyzed the formation of a homophobic conservative epistemic infrastructure that continues to shape political discourse today.