Herdt is a research scholar, advocate for human sexuality, and a gay activist who has taught at
Stanford University, the
University of Chicago, the
University of Amsterdam, and the
University of Washington. In 2000, Herdt cofounded the
Institute on Sexuality, Social Inequality and Health that studies all forms of sexuality and discrimination that affect community building, sexual culture and sexual health. He specializes in the anthropology of sexuality, sexual orientation, sexual cultures, and the development of gender identity and sexual expression. His studies of the '
Sambia' people — a pseudonym he created — of
Papua New Guinea analyzes how culture and society create sexual meanings and
practices. The Sambia are unique in that in the past they require males to undergo three specific sexual phases in their lives. Boys must provide sexual service to
young men, adolescents must then receive
oral sex from boys, and males enter adulthood by becoming
heterosexual. Herdt also wrote about the
binabinaaine of
Kiribati and
Tuvalu, describing how they are known for their performances and their ability to comment on the appearance and behaviour of Tuvaluan men. He also wrote that some Tuvaluans view binabinaaine as a "borrowing" from Kiribati, whence other "'undesirable' traits of Tuvaluan culture, like sorcery, are thought to have originated". He also described how, in
Funafuti, young women are often friends with older binabinaaine. In the United States, Herdt has also studied
adolescents and their families, the emergence of
HIV and
gay culture, and the role that
social policy plays in
sexual health. He has written and edited some 36 books, and more than 100 scientific papers. He is also the general editor of
Worlds of Desire, and an associate editor of
Journal of Culture, Sexuality, and Health,
Journal of Men and Masculinities, and
Transaction: Journal of Social Science and Modern Society. == Awards ==