AWARENESS OF

I ST. HOMO.

2

HOMO. TENDENCY

EXP.

65

60

55

50

PERSONS

30

25

20

공 40

S 45

35

PERARO

15

10

5

UNDER 5-10

5

IST HETERO.

粥

EXP.

11-15

16-20 21-30 31-40 OVER

40

AGE

FIG. 6-AGE OF FIRST AWARENESS, FIRST HOMOSEXUAL EXP. & FIRST HETEROSEXUAL EXP.

First awareness of homosexual tendencies occurred on the whole earlier than actual experience, as would be expected. The age range for awareness is from 4 years to 44 years, with more persons becoming aware in the 11 to 15 year bracket than in any other ago bracket. The me an age, however, is between 16 and 17.

These relationships are shown in Fig. 6, which compares the age distribution for earliest awareness of homosexual tendencies, first homosexual experience, and first heterosexual experience.

(There is considerable ambiguity in the phrase "awareness of homosexual tendencies." It seems likely that some persons may have taken this to me an awareness of deviant psycho-sexual identification, rather than awareness of attraction to the same sex. Still other interpretations may have been made, but it is not altogether useless to have this estimate of earliest awareness of some kind of deviation from the expocted sex role.)

A large majority of the group (72%) is presently engaged

20