Psychology of sex - Total No. of Records in System :: 2032

CHAPTER VHOMOSEXUALITYSexualInversionWHEN the sexual impulse is directed towards persons ofthe same sex we are in the presence of an aberration variouslyknown as "sexual inversion/' "contrary sexual feeling/'"uranism," or, more generally, "homosexuality/* asopposed to normal heterosexuality. "Homosexual! ty" isthe best general term for all forms of the anomaly, in distinctionfrom normal heterosexuality, while "sexual inversion"is best reserved for apparently congenital and fixedforms. It is the most clearly defined of all sexual deviations,for it presents an impulse which is completely andfundamentally transferred from the normal object to anobject which is normally outside the sphere of sexualdesire, and yet possesses all the attributes which in otherrespects appeal to human affection. It is a highly abnormalaberration, and yet it seems to supply a greater satisfactionthan any other aberration can furnish. It is probably thischaracteristic of sexual inversion which renders it so important.This importance is manifested in three ways:(i) its wide diffusion and the large place it has played invarious epochs of culture; (2)itsfrequency in civilizationtoday, and (3)the large number of distinguished personswho have manifested the aberration.The fundamental and what may be called"natural"basis of homosexuality is manifested by its prevalenceamong animals. It is common among various mammals,