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The subtle influence of alcoholic intoxication on the sexual instincts of man has been known for centuries: in a vague way it has been expressed in the language and even in the poetry of many peoples. With the advent of a more far-going method of instinct study it has been possible to see more clearly the extent of this influence on the instinctual organization. Psycho-analytic studies have given us insight into the psycho-sexual and personality organization of the alcoholic. These studies point to the general conclusion that intoxication by alcohol serves to bring into clearer view the elements already present in the psycho-sexual organization of the drinker; it even seems likely that a special type of psycho-sexual organization must be present for an individual to become an alcoholic addict. Ferenczi, Freud, Juliusburger and others have pointed out the strong homosexual trends in alcoholics. Freud and Rado have indicated the strong oral libidinal tendencies in drinkers and Rado compares the satisfaction got by imbibing with the satisfaction the child gets by the ingestion of food (alimentary orgasm).
Although in the early phases of alcoholic intoxication there is often evident an expression of increased heterosexuality, in the later stages and during prolonged drinking the sexuality that comes to the surface differs from that which is ordinarily predominant in a given individual. We see this in the chronic tippler where heterosexual potency is affected and an otherwise latent homosexuality appears. Tausk and Kielholz have studied the symbols involved in the vivid symptomatology of delirium tremens. They found that the activity in the delirium is sometimes related to an aroused desire which cannot be satisfied; that the hallucinated animals have a phallic significance, and that anal