A special oedipal mechanism in the development of homosexuality in high functioning neurotic men—the plicate Oedipus complex—is described, in which the father serves simultaneously as both the object and the prohibitor of erotic excitement in the oedipal-age boy. This mechanism, it is argued, replaces the more widely recognized negative and positive oedipal mechanisms and functions correspondingly in superego formation and general psychosexual development. The consequences of the plicate Oedipus complex for the homosexual male are described in terms of later sexual behavior, interpersonal relations, superego functioning, and transference paradigms. Guidelines for psychoanalytic therapy with homosexual men are suggested.