I’m reading some excerpts here and there — not specifically from Freud himself (yet) but synthesized through others. An interesting point that I felt worthy of sharing (and inviting discussion) is that one writer, in a post on a NARTH page, asserts that Freud did not see homosexuality as a mental illness, per se, that is, not on the same level of illness as, say, schizophrenia. Instead, he saw it as more of a developmental disability, an indication of an arrested emotional development, “an intermediary stage between self-love and heterosexuality.”
I don’t know about heterosexuality being a “stage.” Every little boy I’ve ever known, no matter his age, has been fascinated with women’s breasts.
But the idea of homosexuality being a condition of arrested emotional development intrigues me. It certainly fits in what I’ve observed in gay behavior, not only my ex-husband’s but others’ as well.
What’s been your experience? Does this resonate with you? or do you think it’s a bit far-fetched?
Surviving The Rainbow 