The Course of Gay and Lesbian Lives: Social and Psychoanalytic Perspectives

by Cohler, Bertram J.

• ISBN13: 9780226113036
• ISBN10: 0226113035
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: UNIV OF CHICAGO PRESS

Summary

We live in a society obsessed with tracing the cause of homosexuality. Is there a gene that can be identified? Or do the origins lie outside of biology in the cultural context of childhood or adolescence? Most importantly, should we care about any of these questions? Drawing on their own work with gays, lesbians, and bisexuals as well as other pertinent studies, psychoanalysts Bertram J. Cohler and Robert Galatzer-Levy have written a groundbreaking work that examines how psychological development and clinical intervention as well as social and historical change across generations contribute to how we think about sexuality. The authors argue that there is little support for assuming that homosexuality has a biological basis. Recognizing the many pathways that lead to same-gender sexual orientation, the authors conclude that the cause is much less important than understanding the meaning of being homosexual. They consider the destructive nature of an intolerant society that fosters so-called conversion psychotherapy and stress the importance of helping to rebuild a sense of coherence and personal integrity among homosexuals.

Author Biography

Bertram J. Cohler is the William Rainey Harper Professor of Social Science at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xvii
Part One Homosexuality and Psychological Inquiry
Gay and Lesbian Lives and Psychoanalytic Inquiry	3	(16)
Perspectives on the Study of Sexual Orientation	19	(33)
Part Two The Question of Origins and the Course of Psychosocial Development
Biology, Sexuality, and the Foundation of Human Sexual Orientation	52	(35)
Storied Accounts and Psychoanalytic Understandings of the Childhoods of Gay Men and Women	87	(57)
Adolescence and Youth: Realizing Gay and Lesbian Sexual Identity	144	(49)
Lesbian and Gay Lives across the Adult Years	193	(62)
Part Three Gender Orientation and Issues in Psychoanalytic Intervention
Sexual Orientation and Personal Distress: Shame, Stigma, and Homophobia	255	(30)
Sexual Orientation and Evaluation of Personal Adjustment	285	(27)
Psychodynamics of Sexual Orientation	312	(27)
``Ego-Dystonic'' Homosexuality and the Issue of Reparative Therapy	339	(23)
Psychoanalytic Intervention among Gay Men and Women	362	(33)
Self, Sexual Identity, and the Psychoanalytic Situation	395	(26)
Conclusion Toward a Developmental Perspective on Gay and Lesbian Lives	421	(10)
References	431	(82)
Author Index	513	(14)
Subject Index	527