sonal adjustment and the need to learn to work in a team. It would be especially beneficial for you to participate in group discussions with other homosexuals. It would be possible for you to modify some of your mannerisms so you would not feel so "different." Just sharing in free flow of conversation in a group where you can let off your feelings about being homosexual might be of great benefit to you. We hope that eventually there will be therapeutic groups and vocational guidance available for folks with problems like yours in our homosexual organizations.

Sincerely,

Blanche M. Baker. M.D., Ph.D.

Dear Dr. Baker,

I have always tried to live discretely, but John Q. Public is so ready to believe the worst about the homosexual that I have decided to get married as a cover-up.

Recently I met and have been courting a country girl who is beautiful but dumb and I hope to get married soon. Already I have noticed people's attitudes changing toward me. People who formerly wouldn't speak to me now go out of their way to be friendly. But I ask you. have I proven to be a coward by taking this step or just wise? Is it wrong for me to channel my passions and desires along the accepted lines?

I am gay and I always will be. but with effort I can manage to perform as an acceptable husband. I would appreciate hearing your views on this.

Dear C. M..

Mr. C. M. Massachusetts

Any marriage, to be lasting, must be based on a minimum of mutual understanding, respect and admiration. The marriage you are proposing does not seem to have any of

one

these basic ingredients, therefore, it would seem to be doomed to failure. The advantages you note at present are but temporary and may soon be replaced by ugly clutching or resentments once the ceremony is over. You will not really better your position but will only court more trouble by using another person as a cover-up for your own selfish desires. I am sure that many readers of this column have tried the same "escape" method and can tell you what an unsatisfactory solution this was. Do you really think you can channel your passions and desires along the accepted lines? You say you are gay and always will be. Then just how many people are you going to fool and what have you really gained when you get a few more to speak to you? Wouldn't it be a lot more comfortable and agreeable to work out a partnership in good taste and discrimination with one of your own sex? Perhaps you should study yourself more deeply and consider the positive values of homosexualism as a way of life before you take such a drastic step.

As a matter of fact, your letter shows a great deal of aggressive hostility toward women since you refer to your prospective wife as a country girl who is beautiful but dumb. What an explosion there will be when she finds out how she has been dupedfor no girl is so dumb that she cannot feel rejection in intimate relationships. The only way you could work out a satisfactory marriage with a woman would be to know that you have enough bisexual potential and can have satisfactory heterosexual relations with the woman concerned while she is broadminded, tolerant and has enough understanding of your "gay" side to permit it to express itself at times.

Sincerely,

Blanche M. Baker. M.D.. Ph.D.