ABSTRACT
Gender is an issue of particular importance and relevance to the homosexual. Recognizing a homosexual person as one who defines self in terms of sexual preference for a same-sex partner, this chapter considers that homosexual choice, whether syntonic or stressful, is different from biologically determined or culturally expected choice. The formulation of gender identity illuminates the conscious and unconscious relevance of gender issues for the homosexual. Whether homosexuality is considered a function of identification and repression, conflict resolution, unchallenged merger, pregenital fixation, or ego-striving, the historical and intrapsychic components of gender identity are inextricable aspects in the determinants of homosexual choice. The homosexual’s initial transference response, for example, seems less reality bound, less affected by culturally assumed gender implications of the analyst than that of the heterosexual patient. Recognizing the importance and the influence of gender in the analysis of the homosexual will serve to illuminate the path of treatment.
