Latent homosexuality: paranoid delusions, anger and anxiety
The discussion about latent homosexuality reached the public arena when the July 26 issue of MSNBC promoted Ann Coulter’s interview with host Donny Deutsch, who said former President Bill Clinton exhibits “some kind of latent homosexuality.” When the host asked Coulter if he was really calling Clinton a “latent homosexual,” Coulter replied, “Yes.” “Clinton’s level of rampant promiscuity shows a certain level of latent homosexuality.” In support of his assessment of Clinton, Coulter mentioned “passages” he had memorized from the Starr Report resulting from the investigation into the Monica lewinsky controversy.
Latent homosexuality it is an erotic tendency toward members of the same sex that is neither consciously experienced nor expressed in overt action. The term was originally proposed by Sigmund Freud. According to Freud, the “latent” or “unconscious” homosexuality that derives from the failure of the defense of repression and sublimation allows or threatens the emergence in consciousness of homosexual impulses, which give rise to conflicts that are manifested in the appearance of symptom. These symptoms include fear of being homosexual, dreams with overt and “latent” homosexual content, conscious homosexual fantasies and urges, homosexual panic, disturbance in heterosexual functioning, and passive-submissive responses to other males.
The Freudian position on latent homosexuality is summarized in this quote from Karl Abraham: “In normal individuals, the homosexual component of the sexual instinct undergoes sublimation. Among men, feelings of unity and friendship are stripped of all sexuality. The man of normal feeling is repelled “. for any physical contact that implies tenderness with another of the same sex … Alcohol suspends these feelings. When they are drinking, men throw themselves on the necks and kiss … when they are sober, the same men will call such behavior effeminate … The homosexual components that have been repressed and sublimated by the influences of education become unequivocally evident under the influence of alcohol “.
According to this line of thought, it is not unusual that people who exhibit latent homosexual characteristics are often attracted to ultra-masculine professions, such as police and firefighters; to name a few. Many professional sports also serve as a magnet for latent homosexuals, especially the more violent and aggressive sports. The two sports boxing and rapture of latent homosexuality is quite evident. And where many of the characteristics that intervene in the sexual act between two lovers are present in the ring. For example, in both boxing and fighting, the participant hugs, hugs, caresses the sweaty and sparsely covered body of the opponent like any partner who engages in sexual activities. Many psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapists posit the theory that both boxer and wrestler experience deep anger and guilt for their exhibitionistic behavior and for giving in to their homosexual desires. Therefore, each participant is highly motivated to punish each other, sometime ending in death, for gratifying the unconscious homosexual desire to hug and make love to another man.
However, the term latent homosexuality, as it is commonly used in clinical practice, assumes psychological characteristics. It is important to emphasize that the term is not used in reference to an overt homosexual who tries to repress his homosexuality and tries to lead a heterosexual life, it applies only to heterosexuals. Many writers and some researchers have questioned the validity of latent homosexuality on both theoretical and clinical grounds. Others have expressed the view that latent homosexuality has been a convenient “general” psychopathological category in which many types of pathology are assigned, often with little or no relation to homosexuality.
Many of those who questioned the term “latent homosexuality” were skeptical of the concept of “latency.” In an effort to end this concern, a group of scientific researchers led by Irving Bieber published their conclusion in 1963 titled; Homosexuality. A psychoanalytic study: by Irving Bieber, et al. This study was very large and extensive. Bieber and his associates demonstrated beyond any doubt that the concept of “latency” was an appropriate criterion by which latent homosexuality is usually diagnosed.
Yet more than four decades after Bieber’s study was published, skepticism about the vileness of latent homosexuality is generating lively discussions in the public arena. The gladiators at the Freudian door must know that help is on the way. A modern version of Bieber and his associates in the form of three psychologists: HE Adams, LW Wright, Jr., and BA Lohr, who conducted an experiment to test Freud’s hypothesis. The conclusion was published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology 105 (1996), under the title, “Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal?” The finding of this study concluded that those who exhaled the most hostile and negative attitudes towards homosexuals demonstrated the high level of sexual arousal when exposed to homosexual pornography. In other words, their homophobia was a “reaction formation” designed to protect them from their own internal homosexual desires.
Paranoid delusions Since the publication of Freud’s analysis of the Schreber case in 1911, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts have accepted the theory that there is a strong connection between latent homosexuality and paranoid delusions. Freud provided a skillful exposition of the theory that paranoid delusions represent various means in which the paranoid individual denies his latent homosexual desires. Freud’s theory had been repeatedly confirmed in many clinical studies by all researchers working with paranoid clients. An intense homosexual conflict is always present in the paranoid male and is clearly obvious in the history of the individual and in the clinical material in the early stage of the disease.
Homophobia
Hostility and discrimination against gay people are well-documented facts. Too often, these negative attitudes lead to acts of verbal and physical violence against homosexual people. In fact, more than 90% of gay men and lesbians report being subjected to verbal abuse and threats, and more than a third are survivors of violent attacks related to their homosexuality. These attitudes and behaviors toward homosexuals are labeled homophobia. Homophobia is defined as the terror of being around gay men and women, and an irrational fear, hatred, and intolerance by heterosexual individuals toward gay men and lesbians.
Psychoanalysts use the concept of the repressed or latent homosexuality Explain the emotional distress and irrational attitudes exhibited by individuals who feel guilty about their erotic interests and struggle to deny and repress homosexual impulses. In fact, when these individuals find themselves in a situation that threatens to excite their own unwanted homosexual thoughts, they may overreact with panic, anger, or even murderous rage. To better understand this rage, I direct the reader to what happened in Jenny jones Show. On March 6, 1995, Scott Amedure (who is openly gay) appeared with Jonathan Schmitz on the Jenny Jones talk show. Amedure revealed that he had a secret affection for Schmitz. Schmitz was not flattered, rather, he felt ashamed and humiliated; Off camera, Schmitz expressed anger and rage. Three days after the show, Schmitz bought a shotgun. He drove to Amedure’s caravan and shot him twice in the heart, killing him.
Most researchers agree that anxiety about homosexuality does not typically occur in individuals who are oriented toward the same sex, but it generally involves individuals who are ostensibly heterosexual and have difficulty assimilating their homosexual feelings and urges. .
Adams, HE, Wright, LW and Lohr, BA, Is homophobia associated with homosexual arousal? “Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105 (1996): 440-445.
Bieber, Irving et al. Homosexuality: A Psychoanalytic Study: Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 32: 111-114.