Reflections on the Nature of Homosexuality

Homosexuality still poses many unsolved questions. In spite of its past history and present research in the fields of genetics, biology and psychoanalysis, the essence of its enigmatic nature still eludes us. The basis for selecting homosexuality as a clinical symptom is part of the larger problem relating to the choice of symptom in psychiatric syndromes generally. This paper expresses reflections¹ on the nature of homosexuality, its genesis, function and meaning.

Homosexuality has been known and described throughout the ages and has been observed in almost all cultures. The prevailing attitude toward it has ranged from prideful acceptance to punitive rejection, depending on the mores of the particular culture. It has been traced back to some of the earliest writings—to the laws of Hammurabi and to the Old Testament. Throughout the Dark Ages, the Renaissance, and into modern times, homosexuality has continued to manifest itself in various forms, in spite of repeated efforts to suppress it. Havelock Ellis² pointed out that medieval Christianity regarded it as a form of heresy and it has been considered an ecclesiastical offense for centuries.

Kinsey's³ statistical compilation of behavior among males and females has given us enlightening information. He states that sixty per cent of those males interviewed admitted having experienced some sort of homosexual activity by the age of forty-five, and about thirty-seven per cent had had some post-pubertal homosexual experience which ended in orgasm. Among the females, the accumulated evidence of homosexual responses reached twenty-eight per cent, and those to the point of orgasm reached thirteen per cent. This indicates that homosexual responses occurred in about one-half as many females as males, and that contacts which had proceeded to orgasm occurred in about one-third as many females as males. Moreover, compared with the males, there were only about one-half to one-third as many females who, in any age group, were primar