UW Sociologist Philip Blumstein Didn't Want To Hide He Had Aids

AIDS was responsible for Philip Blumstein's death. He and his friends wanted to be up front about that.

``He wanted to make a political statement,'' said Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Dr. Blumstein's longtime friend and colleague on the University of Washington's sociology faculty. ``He wanted to let people know what they're losing every day that we don't have better medication to treat this disease.''

Dr. Blumstein, 46, nationally known for his research in human sexuality and relationships, died early yesterday (March 15) at his Leschi home, surrounded by friends. A memorial service probably will be held in several weeks, but has not been scheduled yet.

Schwartz said Dr. Blumstein contracted Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome several years ago, but complications did not begin to incapacitate him seriously until last fall. He is survived by his lifetime partner, Gerry Jordan.

``He hit the wrong moment of time epidemiologically,'' said Schwartz. ``It's the irony of a generation.''

With Schwartz, Dr. Blumstein wrote ``American Couples,'' a best-selling 1983 book that is considered a landmark study of relationships and what makes them succeed or fail.

It was based on responses to 12,000 38-page questionnaires, and 600 follow-up interviews that covered everything from how often couples had sex to who did the housework.

``Never before have American couples' relationships been so intimately explored,'' a Times reviewer wrote. ``It is a look so close that it may change some readers' lives.''

A graduate of Reed College and Vanderbilt University, Dr. Blumstein joined the UW faculty in 1969. ``He was a demanding teacher, well-liked by the graduate students and the best of the undergraduate students,'' said Herb Costner, chairman of the sociology department.

While sex was the topic for which Dr. Blumstein was best known, he also was a social psychologist skilled at analyzing everyday encounters, friendships and business relationships, Costner said. He helped many students understand their lives better, but didn't dictate changes. ``I think he'd be the last one to tell people what to do with their lives,'' Costner said.

Dr. Blumstein began studying sexual behavior with Schwartz in 1972, a partnership that would last 18 years. ``It was one of those fateful experiences that changed my life,'' Schwartz said. ``It's almost like a marriage . . . Phil and I never could stop talking.''

She said Dr. Blumstein was known for fastidious methodology, and had a talent for interpreting data. ``He would just make that stuff jump off the pages.''

His many professional activities included membership on the National Research Council's Committee on AIDS Research and the Behavioral, Social and Statistical Sciences in 1989.

In addition to numerous professional publications, Dr. Blumstein also wrote articles with Schwartz that appeared in such popular magazines as Ladies' Home Journal, Playboy and Redbook.