The Faggot*-Lover

Recently, I came across a copy of a letter written by an Austrian therapist to the mother of a homosexual in 1935. It was written in English, and mailed to America. I reproduce the complete text of the letter below[1]. Mind you, this was way back in 1935!

This perhaps shows why the man was considered ahead of his time, and why his work is considered one of the four most significant contrubutions of the 20th Century.

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"Wien IX, Berggasse 19, April 9th, 1935

Dear Mrs....

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 yourself in your information about him. May I question you why you avoid it? 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. (Plato, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, etc.) It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime--and a cruelty, too. If you do not believe me, read the books of Havelock Ellis.

By asking me if I can help, you mean, I suppose, if I can abolish homosexuality and make normal heterosexuality take its place. The answer is, in a general way, we cannot promise to achieve it. In a certain number of cases we succeed in developing blighted germs of heterosexual tendencies, which are present in every homosexual; in the majority of cases it is no more possible. It is a question of the quality and the age of the individual. The result of treatment cannot be predicted.

What analysis can do for your son runs a different line. If he is unhappy, neurotic, torn by conflicts, inhibited in his social life, analysis may bring him harmony, peace of mind, full efficiency, whether he remains homosexual or gets changed.

If you made up your mind that he should have analysis with me!! I don't expect you will!! he has to come over to Vienna. I have no intention of leaving here. However, don't neglect to give me your answer.

Sincerely yours with kind wishes

Freud

P.S. I did not find it difficult to read your handwriting. Hope you will not find my writing and my English a harder task."

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*Note: intentionally used.
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Main Entry: faggot
Pronunciation: 'fa-g&t
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
usually disparaging : a male homosexual
- fag·got·ry /-g&-trE/ noun, usually disparaging
- fag·goty /-g&-tE/ adjective, usually disparaging
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[1] Source: http://javari.com/FreudPsa/prod01.htm#LETTER2