Actual existence of original congenital homosexuality — Its distinction from pseudo-homosexuality — Homosexuality an anthropological phenomenon, not a manifestation of degeneration — Secondary origin of “homosexual neurasthenia” — Rarity of stigmata of degeneration among homosexuals — Early spontaneous appearance of homosexuality — As an essential product of personality — Homosexuality in the child — Physical and mental characteristics of completely developed homosexuality — Effeminate and virile urnings — Physical peculiarities of the homosexual — Mental peculiarities — Diffusion — Numbers — Ethnology of homosexuality — Earlier history and literature — Celebrated homosexual individuals — Modes of activity of homosexual love — Relations between homosexual and heterosexual individuals — Mode of sexual intercourse — Examples — Social relationships of the homosexual — Places of rendezvous — The “Allée des Veuves” of Paris — An adventure of Victor Hugo’s — Urning clubs in the Second Empire — Urning balls at Paris — Social relationships of the homosexuals of Berlin — Meeting-places of urnings — Men’s balls in Berlin — Male prostitution — Male brothels — Blackmail — § 175 — Criticism of this section — Demonstration of the necessity for its repeal — Blackmail of homosexuals and suicide — Need for the diffusion of general enlightenment regarding homosexuality — Activity of the Scientific Humanitarian Committee — Homosexuality in women — The smaller percentage of genuine female homosexuals — “Thoughts of a Solitary Woman” — Relations of homosexual women to men — The Woman’s Movement and homosexuality — Sexual relationships of tribades — The “protectrices” — Social life of tribades — Lesbian prostitution.
Appendix: Theory of Homosexuality. — Homosexuality a heterogeneous sexuality — Insufficiency of the theory of intermediate stages — My own theory of homosexuality — The significance of homosexuality in relation to civilization.
CHAPTER XIX
Homosexuality—love between man and man (uranism), or between woman and woman (tribadism), a congenital state, or one spontaneously appearing in very early childhood—I consider “a riddle,” because, in fact, the more closely in recent years I have come to know it, the more I have endeavoured to study it scientifically, the more enigmatical, the more obscure, the more incomprehensible, it has become to me. But it exists. About that there is no doubt.
In the years 1905 and 1906 I was occupied almost exclusively with the problem of homosexuality, and I had the opportunity of seeing and examining a very large number of genuine homosexual individuals, both men and women. I was able to observe them during long periods, both at home and in public life. I learnt to know them—their mode of life, their habits, their opinions, their whole activity, not only in relation to one another, but also in relation to other non-homosexual individuals and to persons of the opposite sex. This experience taught me the indubitable fact that the diffusion of true homosexuality as a congenital natural phenomenon is far greater than I had earlier assumed;[502] so that I find myself now compelled to separate from true homosexuality the other category of acquired, apparent, occasional homosexuality, of the existence of which I am now, as formerly, firmly convinced. I denote this latter by the term “pseudo-homosexuality,” and treat of it in a separate chapter.
Formerly I believed that true homosexuality was only a variety of pseudo-homosexuality—in a sense larval pseudo-homosexuality. Now, however, I must recognize that true homosexuality constitutes a special well-defined group, sharply distinguishable from all forms of pseudo-homosexuality. From my medical observations, which have been as exact and objective as possible, I must draw the conclusion that among thoroughly healthy individuals of both sexes, not to be distinguished from other normal human beings, there appears in very early childhood, and certainly not evoked by any kind of external influence, an inclination, and after puberty a sexual impulse, towards persons of the same sex; and that this inclination and this impulse are as little to be altered as it is possible to expel from a heterosexual man the impulse towards woman.
Above all, in this definition of true original homosexuality I lay the stress upon the word “healthy”; for von Krafft-Ebing, though he admits the existence of congenital homosexuality yet regards it as a morbid degenerative phenomenon, as the expression of severe hereditary taint and of a neuro-psychopathic constitution; and this view is shared by many alienists.[503] Now, we must admit that a portion of genuine homosexuals—just as is the case with a portion of heterosexual individuals—possess such a morbid constitution; and we must acknowledge that yet another portion exhibit manifestations of nervousness and neurasthenia, which, beyond doubt, have developed during life out of an originally healthy state, in consequence of the struggle for life, the painful experience of being “different” from the great mass of people, etc.; but we ascertain that a third, and, in fact, the largest, section of original homosexuals are thoroughly healthy, free from hereditary taint, physically and psychically normal.
I have observed a great number of homosexuals belonging to all ages and occupations in whom not the slightest trace of morbidity was to be detected. They were just as healthy and normal as are heterosexuals. At an earlier date, though I was not yet aware of the relatively great frequency of true original homosexuality, it had become clear to me, on the ground of my own anthropological theory of sexual anomalies, that homosexuality might just as well appear in healthy human beings as in diseased. Therein I have always agreed with Magnus Hirschfeld, the principal advocate of this view, in opposition to the theory of the degenerative nature of homosexuality. For me there is no longer any doubt that homosexuality is compatible with complete mental and physical health.
It is very interesting to note that von Krafft-Ebing himself later came to the same view, and thus formally abandoned the degenerative hypothesis. In his “New Studies in the Domain of Homosexuality” he writes:[504]