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.
