Report

to the

In 1950 the California State Legislature appropriated $100,000 for an extensive study of the problems of sex crimes by the Langley Porter Clinic in Berkeley, California. There followed the publication of an outline on the means of research to be used which included a lecture by Dr. Karl M. Bowman given at New York University under the title, "The Problem of the Sex Offender." Below is the section, slightly abridged, in which Dr. Bowman treats of homosexuality. A copy of this 54 page report can be obtained by writing the Langley Porter Clinic, Berkeley, California.

The problem of homosexuality is extremely complex, and opinions vary as to its importance in antisocial sex behavior. American culture has given little attention to female homosexuality and has been over-concerned with male homosexual relations. There are many variations in homosexual behavior. One group are normally heterosexual but resort to homosexual behavior when a partner of the opposite sex is not available. Another group of individuals are ambisexual and regularly indulge in both heteroand homosexual relations and do not seek one form of sex behavior to the exclusion of the other. A third group desire only partners of their own sex. They can be divided into two groups. One group, the smaller, regard themselves as females and often ask for cas-. trative operations. Male homosexuals of

one

California

this type are called "Queens" and seem to differ markedly from the main group of homosexuals who are more nearly like the average man. Here we have an extremely interesting field for further investigation.

We are therefore setting up a careful plan to study a group of these so-called "Queens," carrying out the studies of body build as outlined by Kretschmer and Sheldon, making a thorough endo-* crine study, carrying out a thorough psychiatric history and a mental examination including use of . . . various psychologic tests . . . A physical and anatomic difference in this particular group still remains possible and study either to prove or disprove this point should be made.

Viewpoints as to the causes of homosexuality vary, with resulting differences in opinion as to the chances of successful treatment.

Freud felt that homosexuality is a disorder in psychosexual development. In each case of homosexuality, at any point, the development could have taken a different turn if the situation had been different. However, because of many conditioning experiences, the condition of homosexuality became fixed and the chances for cure small. ..

The other viewpoint is that homosexuality is a deeply fixed pattern, either inherited or determined very early in life by psychologic factors. Midway is the

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