A simplified theory of the effect of strain on the acceptor states in GaAs is used to account for observations made on electroluminescent diodes, the optical transition being between the conduction band and the acceptor states. The acceptor states are described as having a hydrogenic envelope inkspace, and as being constituted primarily of states of the heavy mass band. The calculated changes in intensity and the line splitting are in fair agreement with experiment, but no explanation of the observed line shift has yet been found.