ledge (and, usually, to that of most of us) involved at some time in unequivocal homosexual behaviour. I have no hesitation in making this statement. I should assume that the proportion was much the same in people of whom I knew nothing personally, and also that several people I did know took part in homosexual behaviour without being detected. Thus the proportion of boys who were ever overtly homosexual was over 50%; indeed the approximate figure I should put forward as a personal opinion is between 60% and 70%. This may seem absurdly high to people who went to co-educational or day schools, but I doubt if it will surprise anyone who went to a segregated boarding school and didn't keep his eyes shut all the time.

It will of course be argued that a large number of boys will doubtless be involved at some time or other, but that this phase is superficial and short-lived. This is certainly true of many boys, perhaps half of those in question; this leaves between a quarter and a third of all boys whose homosexuality is deep or lasting or both. Most of these were probably initiated when young (10-12) and went on to initiate others; some stopped quite soon (14-16), but a few will have gone on longer-even up to leaving school. Any boy who is homosexual for more than a very short time is almost bound, because of the nature of adolescent sexuality, to be more or less promiscuous. Permanent relationships often arise; these may still involve physical activity, or may be entirely platonic. Otherwise very puritanical boys often form romantic attachments; one such boy collected a veritable harem of platonic boy-friends, called "The Clan" and addicted to embarrassing practices which provoked much amusement.

The factors acting against physical homosexuality were disgust, guilt, disapproval — by parents (when they knew), by masters (when they bothered) or by the more censorious boys and, for the lucky ones, the company of the girls at home in the holidays (four months a year), a very few were able to enjoy relationships with local girls, despite all the difficulties. The factors acting mattachine REVIEW

in its favour were pleasure and excitement (both all the greater for the presence of guilt and disapproval), habit (a potent influence), a feeling of inferiority or emotional deprivation (common among adolescents, especially among those sent away from home as we were), and the simple recurrence of sexual feelings at a vigorous age in the absence of the opposite sex. It should, however, be remembered all the time that the normal routine way of securing sexual release was by masturbation. This was, as it were, the equivalent of regular marital intercourse. homosexuality taking the place of adultery and also being the only way of expressing in reality those sexual emctions unaffected by solitary orgasms.

A peculiar feature of boys' homosexuality is that it takes several distinct forms; this differentiates it from adult heterosexuality and girls' homosexuality alike. The former is characterised by its various forms shading into each other; the latter seems to be chiefly manifested as a "crush" on an older girl or teacher or as a romantic friendship between girls of similar ages. The forms of homosexuality among boys, according to my own observations, are as follows:

A. Relatively unemotional genital experimentation among young boys (10-14) of the same age, which is a normal phenomenon even when there are girls in the environment and is usually soon passed by.

B. Temporary genital activity between boys of very different ages (the gap increasing as the senior gets older), at the instigation of the elder boy for his own gratification and more emotionally exciting for him than his partner, whose chief pleasure is masochistic. This is habit-forming, and younger partners tend later to become elder ones. It is paralleled in adults by relationships with prostitutes and pick-ups, and there is also a danger of habitual participants becoming pederasts*.

C. Full-scale and often long-term ((up to a year or more) romantic affairs between boys of slightly different ages (a gap of 1-3 years), involving considerable time together and emotional pleasure for both partners, and ac-