I think much homosexual attraction is purely situational. Studies suggest that men (especially young me) in ships, lumbercamps, boys schools, armies, prisons, where they have little access to women far more often engage in homosexual sex than they did under more "normal" condiitons. There is much evidence that many of the English ruling class became active homosexuals and committed homosexuals in exclusive public schools and later were married and lived, perhaps exclusively, as married heterosexuals. Skidelsky's books on Lord Keynes go into some detail on the question, and particular show that a society of homosexuals devoted to homosexual life style -- The Apostles -- existed for many years and attracted the most intellectual of the men at Kings and Trinity at Cambridge. There were also homosexual societies of future spies (drawn from a somewhat different class, perhaps.
One of the terrible things about autobiography and biography is that, since homosexuality was degrading or criminal -- until very recently -- no biographer or autobiographer would describe his subject as homosexual. As a result, we have a sorry record of the sexual propensities of many people, especially famous and productive people.
More important, we don't know how common or important period homosexuality might be. Kinsey suggested (from his biased sample -- I don't have it with me but O can check and correct it) that 40 % of males had some homosexual activity to climax. The proportion with a period of exclusively or largely homosexual life style was smaller. Other studies have shown much less. But almost none of the studies have been done under conditions that would permit accurate appraisal of men's homosexual propensities. There have been many societies where homosexual conduct was criminal and laws against it were enforced. No one in his right mind would answer a questionnaire truthfully. There are towns and cities where homosexuality is very common and even the police are in part recruited from gay people.
My own experience is that there were many admitted, if not open, homosexuals in my highschool -- maybe 10 per cent. This is not based on suspicion, but on invitiations or memberships in small groups in which one or more members had invited me. About half of these have been married and most have had children. I don'y know about the rest of them. Only a small number of my college acquaintances who I suspected were gay, identified themselves as such or hung with gay crowds. Nearly all of the other "closet" gays married and passed into the sober ranks of the middle class. Now this was many years ago when it took real courage to me gay. I believe that many of these converts or semi converts would in more recent times have engaged in more gay activities and many of them might have come out as gays. It is possible that most of those who did would have been somewhat happier as open gays than as closeted gays or gay converts. I just cannot about an individual. I had several very close friends who were exclusively homosexual when young. There was almost no heterosexual fornication in my school when I was young. I cannot recall a single boy bragging about his conquests, or a single girl dropping out to get married or to conceal her bastard. I never heard of an abortion mill.
I always believed that if girls had been more accessible that more of the marginal or homosexual boys would have been more interested in girls.
I know many will disagree, but I would like to see heterosexual sex play promoted among young (well sexually educated) kids. I remember it as tremendous fun, and while it was pretty much essential that the boy complete the act (in any one of a number of different ways) the girls did not seem to need completion to enjoy the fun. Of course, if a girl wished to complete the act I am strongly in favor of that too. I strongly encouraged my sons to keep their sexual activity at home in their teen years, and insisted on their advanced sexual education. It seems to have worked out well.
I believe it is inhumane to deny children sexual outlets. The age of consent in Hawaii is 14, and I think its a year high. If parents do not want their children to have sex, it is there responsibility to coerce them or teach them not to. The school can't do it. For myself, I believe that sexual activity can be very innocent and loving and fun. Boys must be taught absolutely to respect a girl's refusal. Girl's should be taught to take all precautions and to say no if either the parent or the child has a strong opinion. I would not deny my daughter the right to make love to her friend if she knew what she was doing and understood how uncertain and shortlived most such affairs are. |
