In 1935, Sigmund Freud penned a response to a mother who had asked
him for help with her gay son. Despite the broader perceptions of
homosexuality at the time, Freud took a different approach, telling the
woman it's "nothing to be ashamed of."
"I gather from your letter
that your son is a homosexual. I am most impressed by the fact that you
do not mention this term for yourself in your information about him.
May I question you why you avoid it?" he wrote. "Homosexuality is
assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no
degradation; it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be
a variation of the sexual function, produced by a certain arrest of
sexual development. Many highly respectable individuals of ancient and
modern times have been homosexuals, several of the greatest men among
them."
While the this correspondence sheds light on his personal
communications, it has long been known that Freud did not view
homosexuality as a pathology. He believed everyone was born bisexual and later became either straight or gay
because of the relationships with those around them. In the letter,
Freud does suggest "treatment" for homosexuality may be possible, but
says the result "cannot be predicted."
The letter currently appears on display in London as part of an exhibition at Wellcome Collection called "The Institute of Sexology."
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