ABSTRACT
Organized psychiatry came into conflict with psychoanalysis around the twin issues of the nature of evidence and the nature of psychopathology. A gay/activist psychiatrist/psychoanalyst who discusses homosexuality in the psychoanalytic literature was "outraged" that a "heterosexual" should lead such a discussion. There is no discussing the issue of homosexuality in psychoanalysis without being aware of ideological influences on psychoanalytic thought, political correctness, bias, and prejudice—the latter sometimes denied and acted out. Psychoanalysts made many assertions about homosexuality and bisexuality in men and women and usually disregarded the problem of selection bias. The behavioural genetic literature is quite relevant for psychoanalysis, however, and genetic influences on homosexual orientation—at least in men—seems to be important in subgroups. The term "sexual orientation" refers to a person's potential to respond with sexual arousal or excitement to persons of the same gender, the opposite gender, or both.
