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INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION

REPORT

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Floris van Mechelen, Amsteźdam, Holland, is president of the International Committee for Sexual Equality with headquarters in that city. For the past three years, ICSE has held an annual congress at which progress of the organization is evaluated, and reports on various subjects re lated to the homophile are given. The following article is a condensation of van Mechelen's opening address to the 1954 congress, a discussion on the problems of administering 'an international organization.

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From: HOMOSEXUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH:. Report of the Third International Congress for Sexual Equality [I. C. E. S.), September 12-14, 1953, Amsterdam. "Tasks of an International Organization in its Present State," by Floris van Mechelen..

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We must say that in our days. the global problem is the individual one. This means that the problem of reforming the law, the problem of the scientific explanation, the religious and 'social problem of the homophile will never be solved, without having investigated and understood the soul and the spirit of the homophile as an individual. The homophile must explore and enlighten his own innermost, feelings in order to be able to, accept himself, in order to make himself understood and accepted by the others, by the majority.

...the question arises: "What is a homophile?" Is he normal or, abnomal? Is he acceptable or not? Can he or she reach individual and social maturity? As it is, we find that the reply to this question is different for each country, for each social group, and for each individual observer, depending . . . on their prejudgment.

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I therefore come to the astounding conclusion: WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT A.HOMOPHILE IS... we have, of course, a whole set of ideas and characteristics, but none amongst them satisfies me, none gives the essence, the pivot and real criteron. [Here van Mechelen summarizes the biological, psychological, social and metaphysical approaches to the subject.]

We cannot say that the human sex serves primarily for procreation nor even that the desire for children does not exist in the inmost homophile union of both sexes; we can only say that there are close and complicated interactions and that we will only know the human being by observing his way of living.

In fact, the [homophile] can only live in a certain way if he accepts himself in that way; this is the paradox-the homophile will only make himself acceptable once he has certain freedom, [yet] he can only acquire this freedom after he has made himself acceptable [to] himself as well as by the others.. he will only know his potentialities after attaining a social position, but he will not attain it if he fails to realize first his potentialities, or maturity and dignity, as a homophile.

The only solution in my opinion is the creation of national groups of homophiles . . . so that the homophile 'may learn to know himself and his equals. We have had the experience in the few countries where a serious group exists since the war and even before: this group creates an atmosphere of wonder first, then of astonishment, relaxation, of self-confidence, moral courage, sense of collective responsibility [which]{

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