HOMOSEXUALITY

HOMOSEXUALITY

 In some instances, homosexuality, which makes deep emotional and sexual attachment possible only with a member of the same sex, may be the result of glandular malfunction. Usually, however, it is of psychic origin. While many theories have been suggested to explain homosexuality, there is fairly general agreement along the following lines: A child normally tends to identify with the parent of the same sex. A little girl wants to be like (and to rival) her mother; a boy, his father. If, for some reason, identification is with the parent of the other sex, the child may be oriented in the direction of homosexuality at an early age. Homosexuality may also develop another way.

Usually, for a time, shortly before and during early adolescence, children prefer members of their own sex. Boys enjoy being together, have male heroes, look down upon girls; girls "detest" boys, have crushes on girls, and love some "best friend" intensely. With the advent of sexual maturity, sexual drives are directed-not always without some conflict-toward members of the opposite sex. During this difficult period, unfortunate experiences may have a devastating effect on some young people who have emotional problems. Whether the experiences are obvious or subtle, they set up a barrier on the road to normal sexual development.

Homosexuality can be looked upon as a detour on that highway, and some people never find their way back to the main road, especially if their homosexuality has brought added problems of guilt and fear to confuse them. Homosexuals often are lonely, unhappy people. They are certainly not to be regarded as wicked or depraved. Amateur psychiatrists have done much harm by speaking too glibly about "latent homosexuality" and "bisexuality." To avoid needless worry, let us state emphatically: (a) A homosexual experience or even several experiences, especially during adolescence, do not mean that an individual is homosexual; nor does a homosexual dream or fantasy. (b) In any normal individual, there is a certain amount of basic homosexuality as a carryover from the period during which one preferred the company of one's own sex; perhaps this was expressed about as well as it can be by a high-school girl who remarked to her mother: "I'd ever so much rather be with girls except for the fact that men are so attractive." (c) Homosexuality is a complex problem and in itself only one aspect of a maladjusted individual's personality.