Latent homosexuality

The phrase "latent homosexuality" was used three times by Sigmund Freud : ^[1]

1. The statement of homosexuals or inverts that they are exceptions collapses as soon as we learn that homosexual impulses are invariably detected in every neurotic and that a fair number of symptoms express this hidden inversion. Those who call themselves homosexuals are only conscious and open inverts, the number of which is negligible compared to the number of latent homosexuals. However, we are forced to consider the choice of the object of our sex as a deviation in erotic life, which has a definite constant manifestation, and we are increasingly learning to attach special importance to it.
2. Thus, a strong innate bisexual disposition becomes one of the prerequisites or reinforcements of the neurosis. Such an intention must certainly be assumed by Dostoevsky, and it manifests itself in a viable form (like latent homosexuality) in the important role of male friendship in his life, in his strangely tender attitude to his rivals in love and in his wonderful understanding of the situations that are explained only repressed homosexuality, as shown by many examples from his novels.
3. Heterosexuality men will not put up with any homosexuality, and vice versa. If the former is stronger, it will keep the latter in a latent state, preventing its satisfaction in reality. On the other hand, there is no greater danger to a person’s heterosexual function than her disorder by his latent homosexuality.

Neuropsychologist Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, in the book “After the Ball” ^[2], recommended using the term “latent homosexuality” as one of the strategies to change the attitude of society towards homosexuality:

Quote from the propaganda announcement (leaflet): “If you struggle with gays with all your strength, then psychiatrists have a definition for you. ... latent homosexual. "

STRATEGY: Muffle homophobia and discourage the pursuit of gay men, associating it with latent homosexuality. Force readers to silently doubt their own homophobic motives. Make them believe that the manifestation of homophobia can lead not to public approval, but to personal embarrassment and loss of status.

COMMENTARY: You might think that this announcement is aimed at the thugs and bullies from the camp of irreconcilable enemies. Such announcements will make them calm down over time, but the main goal here is undecided skeptics. If such advertising proves to be effective, skeptics will begin to censor their homophobia. Moreover, the visual image of the ad continues to denigrate homophobia by associating it with menacing gangsters - another unpopular group of outsiders.

At the end of the 20th century, a theory emerged that homophobia is the result of latent homosexuality. In 1996, a study was conducted at the University of Georgia , which showed that a certain number of men who expressed homophobic views showed latent homosexuality ^[3] . The study involved 84 people, of whom 35 positioned themselves as homophobes, and 29 did not express such views, the remaining 20 were tolerant. The subjects were shown pornography of various kinds and measured the level of penile erection during its viewing. When viewing heterosexual and lesbian pornography, there was almost no difference in reaction between the two groups, but when viewing homosexual pornography, there were sharp differences.

According to the researchers' report, among the group that did not express homophobic views, only 24% of the subjects had an erection noticeable, while among the homophobic group of such people 54% turned out to be. In addition, 66% of the non-homophobic group did not appear at all erections, while in the homophobic group there were 20%. When the subjects were asked to evaluate for themselves how much homosexual pornography aroused them, most members of the homophobic group significantly underestimated their level of arousal.

In 2012, scientists from three universities (the University of Rochester, the University of Essex, and the University of California, Santa Barbara) conducted a study that shows the link between an individual's homosexuality, his authoritarian education, and homophobia. In particular, it says:

When individuals grow up with authoritarian parents, they may not be able to explore their intrinsic values ​​and identities, as a result of which they do not accept certain aspects of their own personality. Given the stigmatization of homosexuality, individuals who feel the insecurity of their own autonomy from their parents may be particularly motivated to conceal their own homosexual desires ^[4] ....

One of the researchers, a professor of clinical and social psychology at the University of Rochester, Richard Ryan, in particular, summarizes:

The study includes four separate experiments conducted in the USA and Germany. In each of the four experiments, 160 students participated. The discoveries provide new empirical evidence in favor of psychoanalytic theory, according to which the fear, anxiety and aversion of some seemingly heterosexual people against gays and lesbians can be the result of their own suppressed homosexual desires. ^[five]

A study by Cheval et al., Conducted by specialists from the University of Geneva and the University of Nice, and published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine in May 2016, analyzed data on eye movement in an image demonstration test. Study participants had to view images, and researchers tracked the time during which a participant looked at “areas of interest” (face and body). It was found that men with a high level of homonegativism considered homosexual images for much longer than heterosexuals. Based on these data, the researchers concluded that there are homosexual interest in some (but not all) men with a high level of homophobia ^[6] . But in the autumn of 2016, Cheval et al., Clarified their findings, indicating that such results may reflect concerns about sexuality in general, and not homosexuality in particular. ^[7]

A study conducted at the end of 2012 by researchers at Broca University showed other results: this study did not show a correlation between homophobia and latent homosexuality. On the contrary, it showed that latent attraction to people of the same sex is typical for men who have a positive attitude towards homosexual men, and, accordingly, for women who have a positive attitude towards lesbians ^[8] .

• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/roots/freud.html