The Homosexuality of Men and Women

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Prometheus, Jun 24, 2013 - Psychology - 1200 pages
...indespensable and unsurpassed...belongs in every large library and in the private collection of every aspiring gay or lesbian scholar.--The Gay & Lesbian Review/WorldwideOne of the founders of the scientific study of sex, Magnus Hirschfeld, M.D. (1868-1935), led the field in objective examinations of homosexuality, transvestism, and gender identity. The Homosexuality of Men and Women was designed to provide a unified, comprehensive description of homosexuality which would rid heterosexuals of homophobic prejudice and allow gays and lesbians to accept themselves and stop feeling isolated.This encyclopedic study opens with a definition and a detailed biological diagnosis of orientation, including the childhood and adolescent phases. Hirschfeld addresses the physical, mental, and emotional life, while explaining the differences between friendship and same-sex love; genuine and false homosexuality; and the inborn nature of homosexuality and bisexuality. He also disputes the theory that homosexuality is treatable.In the second half of the book, Hirschfeld looks at sociology: community life, bonding, roles in society, history, persecution, victimization, and the law. His documentation of gays in the military and the new technology of his day-such as the telephone and airplanes and their affect on the lives of homosexuals-offers farsighted observations that strongly parallel today's national debates and new developments.The translator of this lengthy work, originally in German, is Michael A. Lombardi-Nash, Ph.D. He is also the translator of Transvestites: The Erotic Drive to Cross-Dress, and The Riddle of Man-Manly Love: The Pioneering Work on Male Homosexuality.

About the author (2013)

One of the founders of the scientific study of sex, Magnus Hirschfeld, M.D. (1868-1935), led the field in objective examinations of homosexuality, transvestism, and gender identity.

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