The Psychoanalytic theory of Male Homosexuality. Kenneth Lewes. New York:  Simon and Schuster, 1988.  301 pp.

This is an interesting book filled with a wealth of theoretical concepts and clinical observations. Dr. Lewes comprehensively reviews the psychoanalytic literature on homosexuality: he both presents the

scope of psychoanalytic thinking on the subject and gives the reader a sense of the dynamics underlying the formation of the theory. He traces theoretical developments from Freud and his circle to current times. His work provides an informative overview of a subject that is still not fully grasped.

Dr. Lewes divides his overview into four sections. The first, beginning with Freud and extending into the 1930s, presents the oedipal theory of homosexuality. This era is overlapped by the “oral period,” which was inaugurated by the work of Melanie Klein and added to by the theories of Glover and Bergler. During this stage, homosexuality was viewed as an expression of preoedipal dynamics. This is followed by a “conservative period,” marked by the publication of the Kinsey Report and extending into the 1960s to the publication of the Bieber study: the focus is on environmental factors, which represents a shift in emphasis to the examination of interpersonal relations and social interaction. The fourth and final section encapsulates developments from the 1970s into the 1980s under the headings “The Turnaround” and “New Beginnings.” The integration of theories highlighting both oedipal and preoedipal factors as well as the roles of the aggressive and libidinal drives are discussed, as is the influence of social forces on psychoanalytic thinking.

The growth and development of the psychoanalytic theory of male homosexuality is reflective of the growth and development in psychoanalysis in general from classical to modern thinking, and illustrates the ongoing struggle that analysts have engaged in to rise above personal and cultural resistances to achieve objective understanding.

It is interesting to note that the term homosexuality did not come into popular usage until the twenti