Gender in homosexual boys: some developmental and clinical considerations.

Each of the homosexual men I have worked with has described gender-discordant traits during childhood that made him feel "different." In this article I illustrate that early parental admonitions and interventions to curb or replace these traits with more typically male behaviors may be harmful to the child's development, particularly to his emotional resilience. As a result, some gay adults have lost their capacity to recognize and express a variety of affects, and some attempt to avoid intimate relationships that evoke these and other repudiated "feminine" traits.

Heterosexually married homosexual men: clinical and developmental issues.

Based on clinical experience with 16 homosexual men married to women, this paper suggests that the motivation of such men for entering into marriage is associated with early self-esteem injury that has made social compliance important and acceptance of sexual orientation impossible. The typical course of these marriages is described, case histories of three married men who entered treatment in their forties are presented, and principles for therapeutic intervention are outlined.

The homosexual analyst. Clinical considerations.

Some aspects of the work of the homosexual analyst with gay and heterosexual patients are discussed. The author examines the reasons most homosexual patients prefer to work with gay therapists, why it is usually beneficial for them to do so, and the related question of the appropriateness of revealing sexual orientation to one's patients. Manifestations and elaborations of transference and countertransference when the gay analyst works with homosexual and heterosexual patients are also discussed.