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Homosexuality has a central place in the history and development of psychoanalysis. Freud correctly identified ‘difference’ as a starting place for an investigation into the dynamics of sexuality. Unwittingly he also instigated thinking that raised, among some analysts, a desire for curative action. The absence of insights from the countertransference debate influenced psychoanalytic thinking for a period, obscured the benefits that might accrue from the analyst's recognition of his intrinsic bisexuality and, more recently, fuelled a popular reaction which argues that homosexuality is not a matter for psychoanalytic investigation but a healthy extension of the personality. The profession similarly has been divided. This paper contends that homosexuality should remain an area for psychoanalytic consideration. There are transference and countertransference issues to examine that include shame, disgust, anger and revenge.
While such emotions and reactions are not unique to the area of homosexuality they may lead to particularly destructive effects if left unobserved in our work and in ourselves.