MONDAY, MAY 5, 1959
THE DAILY NEBRASKA
PAGE 5
Homosexuals lack help, understanding
by Joauell Ackerman
Nebraskan Staff Writer
When a class discussion touches on
the topic of homosexuality, it makes
at least one University student un
comfortable. This student would like to contribute
his own views to the discussion. But
he knows that he cannot. Since he
is a homosexual, being found out is
the last thing that he would want
to happen.
"Once, I wrote a paper on this sub
ject for a class assignment," he said.
"I wanted to put more information
into the paper than I did. But I
couldn't because it would be
dangerous."
THIS STUDENT cannot have a
name. He consented to an interview
"after much soul searching and
because I feel that I have something
to say." It was a rare opportunity
to candidly discuss his homosexuality
with another person since, as he says,
there "are so very few people that
I can trust."
His story may or may not be typical
of other homosexual students. He is
trying to change; some do not want
to.
"Being the way I am has caused
me unhappiness. I want out," he said.
"There was a time when I did not
accept myself for what I was. It
almost wrecked my life.
"Now I accept myself as a
homosexual and am trying to modify
my behavior toward heterosexuality
whether partial or complete "
HE HAS HAD psychiatric treat
ment, but the "cure" is not easy.
It is no easier to turn a homosexual
into a heterosexual than it would be
to reverse the process and make a
heterosexual into a homosexual.
Among students the reaction to
homosexuality tends toward indif
ference. "I don't care about homosexuals one
way or the other as long as they
don't bother me." Or, "Homosexuals?
I thought that they all lived in
California" are typical comments.
"People tend to view the problem
as 'not my concern' and 'found
somewhere else,' " said the student
interviewed for tliis article. "But the
problem could be as near as the
person siting next to you in class."
HE HAS NOT found U too difficult
to find homosexual friends.
"We seem to have a conditioned
sense toward each other. There are
ways of seeking out a friendship."
he said. "The biggest thing is the
grapevine. It's no different than any
other social thing."
He has been able to find a
homosexual society wherever he goes.
There is one here. There is one
everywhere, he said.
There are two gay bars in Omaha
which serve as meeting places. The
student used to go there before he
decided to change his behavior. The
bars are for the "hunted and the
haunted."
HO.MOSEXUALsVsUALLY "put on
a big show for the straight people
who come to the bars to watch," he
said. But, most of them resent' these
"tourists."
Homosexuals resent other things.
"I dislike poor, crude remarks
because 1 cannot defend myself. I
have to remain silent," he said, ad
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ding that the word "queer" does not
bring up much of a response in him
anymore.
He does not like people who cannot
understand why homosexuals do not
get help. They should check around
and find out what a small amount
of help is available, he said.
THEN THERE ARE the people who
think homosexual relations are
"something dirty" and would resolve
the situation by requiring homosex
uals to abstain from relations.
"I challenge these people to go
month after month without any sexual
outlets either physical o r
psychological. If they can do this,
then, they can tell a homosexual to
quit," he said. He resents the negative
attitude of society and religion. The
law declares homosexual relations
between consenting adults illegal. The
church makes it a sin.
"Doctors try to pacify the
homosexual so that he can function
in the society that rejects him. One
doctor told me that I should keep
telling myself, 'I am what I am.' How
does this help me change my
behavior?"
The homosexual's problem is "an
immensely complex one" with
psychological, social and ethical im
plications. DR. LOUIS MARTLV, psychiatirst
at Student Health, cautions against
talking about a homosexual as a
distinct kind of being.
"Identifying homosexuals as a
group is a tremendous
oversimplification. That is like mak
ing a group out of all of the students
who drive blue cars. Any general
statement about these students asa
group would be distorted. The same
applies when homosexuals are classed
as a group," he said.
There is no distinct dividing line
between . heterosexual and homosex
ual. In a clinical sense everyone has
some form of homosexual urge,
Martin says. He does not define
homosexuality as a set of urges.
Rather, a homosexual is a person
who, "for whatever reasons, engages
frequently in homosexual behavior."
ACCORDING TO Dr. James K.
Cole, assistant professor of psycholo
gy, society has three ways of looking
at homosexuality as a moral judg
ment, as an illness or descriptively
as a type of behavior that a minority
of society engage in.
Too often the person who labels
homosexuality a disease is actually
making tx moral judgment. Illness is
connected with badness, Cole said.
Even some psychologists label
homosexuality as a mental illness.
Cole disagrees because "personal
psychological problems may or may
not be related to the homosexual con
dition." Martin views the debate over
whether or not homosexuality is an
illness as a "meaningless semantic
hassel."
"HO.MOSEXUALlWlS not a com
pletely normal psychophysical
development. But it certainly is not
an Illness in the sense that pneumonia
or heart disease is," he said.
The Nebraska statutes subscribe to
both the moral judgment and illness
theories.
Under a vague "crimes against
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nature" classification, sodomy is
made a felony with a maximum
penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Under the sexual psychopath pro
vision, a person committing a
homosexual act could be confined in
a mental institution for life.
THE AMERICAN Law Institute's
Model Penal Code recommends that
homosexual behavior, between con
senting aduls in private, should no
longer be a criminal offense. So far
Illinois (1961) is the only state to have
adopted such a law reform.
Most states, including Nebraska,
have laws against adultery and
fornication. Though these laws are not
enforceable, law enforcement .agen
cies do send out plainclothesmen
decoys who dress, walk and act as
they think homosexuals da for the
sole purpose of enticing a homosexual
solicitation.
Such an incident was reported in
a Sept. 23, 1968 news story in the
Lincoln Star.
During a 4-week period. Lincoln
police "attempted to reduce problems
caused by homosexuals frequenting
city parks" through entrapment ac
tivities. Officers said that they were
approached by 15 men and that they
started "a file on suspicious people
and cars" for future use.
IN THE story one of the officers
is quoted as saying, "Homosexuals
sometimes make advances to children
and in incidents in other cities, have
murdered children after sexually at
tacking them. We don't intend for that
to happen in Lincoln."
The notion that homosexuals are
child molesters is one of several
misconceptions.
Dr. Louis Crompton, president of
the Lincoln-Omaha Council on
Religion and the Homosexual, says
that a homosexual rarely bothers
another person unless he thinks that
person is also a homosexual.
The Rev. Dr. Alan Pickering of the
United Ministeries for High Education
says that there are "three to five
times more heterosexuals involved in
child molesting cases."
PICKERING, WHO has counseled
both male and female homosexuals,
says that he finds "negative, naive
Ideas about homosexuals everywhere
I go even among psychologists."
People seem to think that "what
homosexuals do together is so peculiar
that this behavior affects them dif
ferently than the heterosexual
behavior between two people," he
said.
"What homosexuals do together" Is
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essentially mutual masturbation and
some oral-genital relations, Pickering
said.
As to the question of anal in
tercourse Pickering's comment is that
before the development of modern
contraception such relations were
practiced among a substantial number
of heterosexuals.
ACCORDING TO authorities, the
other forms of sex play are more
common among homosexuals than
anal intercourse.
Statistics regarding the prevalence
of homosexuality are not satisfactory.
The 1948 Kinsey report data is the
closest approximation to a statistical
tabulation.
According to Kinsey, four per cent
of the adult male population is ex
clusively homosexual. And, at least
37 per cent of the male population
has some homosexual experience
between adolescence and old age.
As to an estimation of the number
of homosexuals on the University
campus, Cole who has counseled a
few homosexual students said thai he
had no reason to believe that the
number here would be any different
tjian the national average.
MARTIN. SAYS that he regularly
sees homosexual patients, but that
they are a relatively small per cent
of the cases treated. In the two years
that he has been with Student Health,
he has not treated any female
homosexuals.
The Rev. Raymond Hain, director
of the Catholic Student Center, says
that he counsels about eight or 10
homosexual males each year. In his
experience, females are far less com
mon. "Most have had only one or two
homosexual experiences and they are
.struggling with themselves, trying to
understand why they have this quirk,"
he said.
The priest listens to their problems
and always refers them to psychiatric
help.
"THE BIGGEST problem or the
istudent is an internal contempt for
himself. He may despise himself and
yet feel that he cannot be otherwise,"
Hain said.
Crompton feels that the "homosex
ual minority is the largest minority
group on this campus.
"People tend to underestimate the
size of the homosexual problem," he
said, adding that he would estimate
about 10 per cent of the American
population, both male and female, are
"predominantly homosexual."
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Another source felt that there is
"proraDiy a o o u i ouu homosexuals
among the students and faculty here.
RUSSEL BROWN, assistant dean of
student affairs, says that his office has
been involved with about four homo
sexual cases during a three-year
period.
"In these cases, the University's
basic concern is helping the student
deal with the situation. Sometimes
this help is within the University
such as psychiatric therapy," he
said.
One of the immediate problems
facing a young male homosexual is
the draft.
The medical questionaire asks the
applicant if he has homosexual ten
dancies. By answering yes and sup
plying sufficient documentation, the
applicant is classified 4-F or 1-Y (not
currently . qualified, but eligible for
service in case of war or a national
emergency).
"BUT THIS material remains a part
of his permanent record and can keep
him from getting a job," Crompton
said. "Most homosexuals do not
declare their sexual orientation and
serve without problems.
"However, the services do conduct
witch hunts to expose homosexuals
and such men are given undesirable
discharges. Though statistics are hard
to obtain, the reliable ones available
indicate that only about one
homosexual in 50 who enters the
services receives a less-than-honorable
discharge for sexual
reasons," he said.
Another problem facing the
homosexual student is "social isola
tion and a lack of social activities
sponsored especially for them."
Crompton says that there are
"several student homosexual groups
organized and officially recognized at
such places as Columbia, New York
University and Cornell.
"THESE GROUPS hold social
functions and campaign for law
reform and policy changes that now
bar homosexuals from the armed
services and federal employment," he
said.
Homophile groups are becoming
more militant and adopting the
slogan, "Gay is Good," he added.
Pickering sees the homosexual
student's basic problem as one of how
to cope with himself.
"I try to h'elp them feel better about
themselves. If some are eager for
change, I will try to help them
change. For others who want ac
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ceptance for what they are, I try to
help them accept themselves without
change," he said.
HE FINDS that the homosexuals
he counsels are no more effeminate
or masculine than any other persons.
"You cannot tell a homosexual by
appearance," he said. "The ones that
, I have come into contact with are
able, intellectually competent and
talented people."
He added that homosexuals are
evenly distributed across the line in
all occupations and at all socio
economic levels. It Is a myth that
homosexuals are found only in the
arts or music.
The establishment of a "meaningful,
lasting relationship is a lot harder
for homosexuals than heterosexuals,"
Martin says. Homosexuals speak of
"wash-and-wear wedding gowns."
"IT IS A tough game for any person
to achieve sexual maturity In an on
going relationship with another
person. But it is twice as hard for
a homosexual as for a heterosexual,"
he said.
"We know a lot about homosexuali
ty, but a lot of what we know indicates
that we may be dealing with an
unchangeable phenomena," he said.
All Student Health records are
governed by the ethics and legal
statues pertaining to the medical pro
fession. The records are not subject
to any University administration or
investigation. The student's con
fidentiality is protected at all times.
15oye named editor;
last paper is today
Publications Board has named
Roger Boye of Lincoln as editor for
first semester next year of the Daiy
Nebraskan. Boye is a journalism ma
jor from Lincoln and has served as
business manager for the Nebraskan.
Managing editor for next fall will be
Kent Cockson who worked this year as
night news editor. News editor will be
Jim Pedersen, who has written for
three semesters on the Nebraskan.
The new business manager has not yet
been selected.
This issue of the Daily Nebraskan
will be the last paper of the semester.
The Nebraskan wil resume publica
tion the first week of the semester
next September.
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YtllOW
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