Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:646-651
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
Sexual dysfunctions and psychoanalysis
EM Levine and N Ross
The authors examine the major factors involved in recent changes in the
social standards and attitudes related to homosexuality. The principal
influences investigated include the misconstrued emphasis given to the
humanist ideology, which properly stresses the dignity of the individual;
the social sciences' relativization of the cultural norms defining
homosexuality; the influence of the mass media in disseminating these
perspectives and thereby tending to create an acceptable image of
homosexuality, and the tendency of all these changes to result in a
substantial increase in public acceptance and tolerance of homosexuality.
The authors suggest that this trend in public opinion has begun to isolate
psychoanalytic knowledge, to reduce its status and acceptability among the
public, and to replace it with popular views concerning the meaning of
sexual dysfunctions.
