by psychiatrists than by others, for judiced in favor of one's own way of they ought to know better.

I have held the above point of view for some time, although had never had it crystalize so clearly before. At least, I hope I've formulated it clearly! But I realize now that I had never examined the "emotional cripple" attitude in itself, never analyzed it and thought it out. My exchange of letters forced me to do so, and at the same time made it easy.

This "emotional cripple" thing is pure nonsense. Homosexuality is not blindness in the least. It is, on the contrary, a basis for deeper vision, awareness, and perceptiveness. To put it in simplest terms, every time I walk down the street, Lord knows I am not blind! Any more than the heterosexual male is.)

It just plain makes me feel happy to see a good looking guy The world is full of them. By their mere existance they enhance my life. Nor am I blind to the beauty and charm of women. I do not admire them as passionately as I admire mén, but I am far from visually dead where

women are concerned.

life. We usually think of prejudicepre-judgment-as being invariably of a negative kind, prejudice against this or that. But remember, we can be prejudiced in a positive way, in favor of something. Pro-heterosexual prejudice is the reverse of the antihomosexual coin. Naturally, the heterosexual is prejudiced in favor of his own mode of sexual happiness. It is only when the heterosexual assumes that what is happiest and best for him would be happiest and best for everyone else that fault-finding is justified. Then prejudice is getting out of bounds.

Why not regard homosexuality as merely a difference in the direction of the sexual instinct? Why not view the heterosexual life as the sexual superhighway, the homosexual way as one of the by-roads of love? I'm all for superhighways, I see their value, of course; but I personally prefer the by-ways, for all their bumps, their unexpected twists and turnings, and their unmarked intersections.

Being homosexual is a social Perhaps, then, one might say, that handicap, to be sure.. But that is the homosexual is like a person with something else again. The social a kidney or a lung removed. Alpressures exerted against the homothough something important for comsexual can be mighty crippling. But plete functioning is lost, he still reit is not the sexuality of the homotains plenty of physical and emotionsexual that causes him so often to. al equipment to provide quite a full wind up beaten down and spiritlife. But above all, it is SAFER to broken. The Negro and the Jew are have a pair each of lungs and kidalso socially handicapped, although neys. Granting that, it appears to not considered criminal freaks as be less than a half-truth. homosexuals are, and in many cases their social predicament does have crippling effects, but one is not INTRINSICALLY a psychological cripple because one is a Negro or a Jew, Their handicap is not essentially an internal but an external one. We all know that in many places in this country the white man has held the Negro down with one foot planted It's probably natural to be preon his chest, then, because the Negro

This recalls Karl Menninger's wonderful remark: "To talk about homosexuality is like discussing New York City, or love, or political economy, or something of the kind." Homosexuality ranges from Jean Genet's "Our Lady of the Flowers" to Plato's "Phaedrus" and "Symposium," and let's never forget it.

8

mattachine REVIEW

does not rise, has called him shiftless, lazy and ignorant. I believe that the heterosexual world likewise often blames the homosexual for defects which that world itself has created.

tributing members of society. By making life livable for the invert, they also made it possible for him to serve society. That's social engineering.

By contrast, when we were both 21 my closest friend, an unusually talented young man, shot himsel chieily because he was homosexual and believed that the combined forces of Church, State and Public

In my opinion the Western world, Christendom, has shown less social intelligence in dealing with the homosexual problem than certain primitive American Indian tribes have done. Those Indians made a place in society for their homosexuals and by so doing they made it possible Opinion, including that of his own for the homosexuals to become con! family, were right to condemn with

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY

TO START THINKING ABOUT

THAT SPECIAL GIFT...

Yes, there's always the problem of a SPECIAL GIFT for someone close to you. This year, why not aid someone's understanding of human social problems with a handsome, bound first volume of MATTACHINE REVIEW? Six complete issues (including an index which will appear in the November-December 1955 issue), permanently bound in cloth and stamped in gold for only $5.85. It will be mailed to you

December 1st.

There's a limit to the number of bound volumes. Only the first 50 orders can be honored, so DO IT NOW!

mattachine REVIEW

P. O. Box 1925

LOS ANGELES 53, CALIF.

MONEY-SAVING PACKAGE:

Include two subscriptions (for yourself or anyone) at the regular rate of $2.50 each, and the "package" is yours for $10

REMEMBER THE NUMBER OF COPIES IS LIMITED ORDER TODAY!

9