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Cohler and Galatzer-Levy provide a comprehensive overview of the present state of our understanding of homosexuality. The book covers so many topics so extensively that I find myself referring to it as a textbook. It takes into account the historical context as well as the social context, and presents a multitude of research studies of diverse nature. It integrates life course theory with psychoanalytic theory, and gives us a view of the developmental course of the gay and lesbian individual. It addresses psychoanalytic intervention and understanding. It proposes that we consider the impact of stigma and shame, rather than resorting to formulations of narcissistic pathology and inherent deficiencies. Three major topics are explored: the search for etiology, the developmental course, and psychoanalytic intervention.
The search for etiology is explored and dismissed following a review of pertinent biologic research. Genetic, anatomic, twinship, hormonal, and brain structure studies, as well as prenatal influences and maternal stress, are reviewed and presented as inconclusive. The fact that sexual orientation is fluid across the life course, and awareness of same-sex sexual orientation often appears in midlife, points away from a purely biological determination. Biological factors may be necessary, but are in and of themselves not sufficient determinants. The pressure toward the search for origins is attributed to the twentieth-century need for an objective scientific explanation, as well as a sociopolitical pressure to counter discrimination.
The intertwining of the twin focuses of this book, psychoanalysis and life course social science, allows for an appreciation of the influence of culture on science. This is noted in the review of the development of our understanding of homosexuality over the past one hundred years. Cultural changes have strongly impacted our scientific understanding. Homosexuality became an entity in the late 1800s, resulting in its becoming more