BOOKS in review

THE HOMOSEXUAL AND HIS SOCIETY: A VIEW FROM WITHIN, by Donald Webster Cory and John P. LeRoy. N.Y.: Citadel Press, 1963. Pp. 276. $5.95. Reviewed by William Parker.

Cory, in collaboration with LeRoy, has turned out another informative and reflective book on homosexuality. He and his co-author, employing both psychological and sociological data and methods, seek to avoid distortion of their subject by regarding it as but one of many facets of human sexuality and by pursuing a middle course between those who think of it as only good or only evil. In order to provide frank and factual data which will lead to intellligent discussion and to an eventual improvement in the lot of the homosexual, an attempt is made to answer the following questions about homosexuals: who are they, what do they do, why do they do it, what do they feel, and how do they feel about their own

Room 229, Philadelphia, Penn. 19013 Publication: Drum.

KAMP PUBLISHING LTD., 457 Church

Street, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada. Publication: Twṛ, monthly.

LOS ANGELES MATTACHINE SOCIETY, INC., 806 S. Robertson, Los Angeles, Calif. 94135, Telephone: 625-2282 MATTACHINE SOCIETY, INC., 693 Mission Street, Suite 311, San Fran-

cisco, Calif. 94105, Telephone: (415) 362-3799, Publications: Mattachine Review, Mattachine Interim. MATTACHINE SOCIETY of NEW YORK,

1133 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010 Telephone: (212) 924-7743, Publication: New York Mattachine Newsletter MATTACHINE SOCIETY of WASHINGTON, P.Q Box 1032, Washington 1, D.C. Publication: The Gazette

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NATIONAL LEAGUE FOR SOCIAL UNDERSTANDING, 414 Sunset-Vine Towers, Hollywood, California. Publication; NLSU Newsletter ONE, INC. 2256 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 94106, Telephone: (213) 735-5252, Publications: One, One Confi, One Institute Quarterly PAN GRAPHIC PRESS, 693 Mission

Street, San Francisco, Calif. Publication: Town Talk

SOCIETY FOR INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS,

(S.I.R.) P.O. Box 5526, San Francisco, Calif. Publication: Vector STRAIT & ASSOCIATES, 471 Minna Street, San Francisco, Calif. Telephone (415) 362-6422, Publication: Citzens News.

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Suggested revisions to this list by those concerned is invited

feelings?

In surveying the present situation, major attention is given to the homosexual in the milieu of society in general, in the in-group, and in the organized group. The latter, aptly called "the voice of social protest," provide the leaders to whom this book is dedicated. Most of the many matters dealt with are thoughtfully treated, and the opinions and the interpretations of the authors seem pertinent and convincing, although there inevitably arise opportunities for disagreement. After all, serious study of homosexuality is still in its infancy.

The queens and body-beautiful boys are seen as but two sides of the same coin--each reacting in their own way to the seemingly insoluble problem of playing the masculine role expected of them by society. Similarly, hustlers and bisexuals are found in the disturbing middle position of being rejected by both homosexuals and heterosexuals and often of not knowing their own true preferences. Gay bars (and other such places) are viewed as necessary and helpful despite the outrage of upholders of traditional morality. The hypocrisy and futility of official governmental discrimination against homosexuals is strongly pointed out, as also are the inconsistency of the arguments used to justify the policy, the invalidity of the tests used to measure emotional instability, the irony of prosecuting individuals for desiring to commit acts they did not commit, and the absurdity of putting persons in the position of having to hide their condition and then punishing them for hiding it. A reasonable and workable five-point program to meet the problem of venereal disease is proposed, but its implementation is probably not possible because of the opposition of moralists. Albert Ellis' strictures on creativity among homosexuals are challenged as being vague, undefined, unscientific, and biased. Books and articles (especially the recent study by Bieber and associates) which talk rather flippantly about homosexuals being cured, if they really want to be, are criticized for the dangerous and misleading manner in which a few successes are being publicized as if they were many, and many failures are being disguised as if they were few. One of the last chapters, entitled "The Homosexual in his