view. But why say it represents "Special pleading?" There may be something "special" but certainly Ano "pleading" în facing up to a few solid facts about ourselves.

In Shakespeare's "Hamlet" Polonius, in giving counsel to his son, Laertes, spoke these words of remedy for the hypocrisy disease: "This above all-To thine own self be true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."Mr. E. B. California.

Review Editor:

One can sympathize with the New York correspondent who reacted with much vehemence to the Albert Ellis articles. The doctor probably made his point with too much intensity. Homosexuals, understandably, 'are sensitive about criticism. And as Freud said, "Neurosis is the price of civilization." Every person in our society carries some psychological. burden or other, and nearly everyone probably could benefit from psychotherapy.

•

It must be admitted that a surprising number of homosexuals exhibit behavior patterns which might be termed neurotic. Many of us seem to spend our lives in chatter that never goes nay deeper than that, and in incessant social activity that never goes any deeper than that.' A great many feel "safe" and "secure" only when mixing in groups. composed exclusively of homosexuals, and find it distinctly uncomfortable to attempt to mix socially and intimately with the world of heterosexuals. Some find it difficult to mix with women; some can mix with women but not with men. A 'surprising number never hold any one job, for long, and are always changing their address. Many,· though persons of wide culture and discrimination, hold menial positions and steadfastly avoid engaging in 34

;

any sort of work that would demand

a greater share of responsibility and growth.

Most of the emotional relationships are extremely brief. To a certain extent this is environmental since the writer has been told that they quite often last for several years in those countries where the legal penalties are light, but are shortest in the two countries where the legal penalities are severest, England and America. And yet it is hard not to feel as one surveys oneself and one's fellows that if we were willing to stand still for just one moment and quietly look at ourselves, our lives would be very different.

•

Much more could be spoken of, including our frequent religious conflicts. Most of us do 'have problems that could be greatly lightened by psychiatric guidance-Mr. J. P. L. California.

Review Editor:

The Review continues to be interesting and provocative. Dr. Ellis did a good writing job but his premise is narrow. He assumes all people are born near 50-50 in the mating instinct and go one way or other to produce neurosis. Reality isn't so pat. Some people are so fully hetero, and others so fully homo, that we'd create a neurosis if we tried to make them bisexual, let alone the opposite. Dr. Ellis' "cure" article dealt only with bisexual mating instincts, but it was presented as though it dealt with every human. He seems to be a one-base psychologist.

As to the now quiet hassel between Allen and Harding, Allen put Harding in a corner he couldn't double talk his way out of. Many people

prefer to be homosexual! Who prefers to be a cripple? The answer to

that question makes the word "crip-

ple" non-relative to homosexuality. -Mr. N. B., Toronto, Ontario.

HL REVIEW

Dr. Alfred

KINSEY

པ་

appears for the first time in MATTACHINE REVIEW as the author (in conjunction with Research Associates Wardell B. Pomeroy and Clyde E. Martin of the Institute for Sex Research, Indiana University) in ? a significant selection of quotations from previous works....

Toward a Clarification of Homosexual Terminology

PLUS a second leading article by Carl B. Harding-Suggestions for an answer to the age-old problem...

Whom Should We Tell?

Both of these articles will be published in the August issue, along with additional features, book ON NEWS reviews, letters, quotes and comment.

STANDS JULY 25th--DON'T MISS YOUR COPY!

Mattachine REVIEW