You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
The aim of this paper is to study and trace the psychosexual development of a female in reference to those factors which lead to homosexual maladjustment. The patient, hereafter referred to as C, has been under psychoanalytic treatment for more than eighteen months. C has never had any hereterosexual experiences, but on various occasions was the passive partner in sexual relations with other women.
We do not propose to draw any conclusions or to make any generalizations concerning homosexuality. The instinctual drives, the Ego capacities and environmental factors differ widely quantitatively and qualitatively, so one cannot say that in this or that type of family constellation this or that type of personality will develop. This does not mean, however, that the study of a single individual is interesting and valuable only for the understanding of that particular person, for often the study of the individual can be helpful in appreciating the problems of others. We will elucidate and stress only those factors which prevented our patient from leading a physiological heterosexual existence and why homosexuality was more acceptable to her, although even here she was not successful.
C was a nice looking girl. There was nothing masculine in her appearance, although she was tall and angular. At the first interview she impressed us as being a seducing sort of person. There was no real foundation for this impression, but perhaps we were influenced by her selection of clothing, dresses for example that were rather tight and tended to accentuate the contour of her thighs. At the age of 20 she entered a hospital for a nurse's training. Her years there were very unhappy. She felt that every nurse was either homosexual or a prostitute. Numerous sexual advances were made to her by the other girls but the patient pretended ignorance and acted as though she did not know what was expected of her, thus leaving the would-be seducer bewildered. Prior to the completion of her training cours