Homosexuals—perhaps as many as 12 million American men and women —are one of the nation's most despised and harassed minority groups. A poll taken for CBS-TV not long ago revealed that two out of three Americans look on homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear, and one out of ten regards them with outright hatred. A majority considers homosexuality more dangerous to society than abortion, adultery or prostitution. Society's hostility toward the homosexual—particularly the male —leaves him wide open to blackmail and job discrimination. Police, concentrating more on attempting to control homosexuals than those who prey on them, often resort to such quasi-legal and demeaning tactics as entrapment. The stresses of living hidden lives create in homosexuals a high incidence of anxiety and other psychological problems.
Injustice and Suffering. A far-reaching report on homosexuality for the Federal Government's National Institute of Mental Health, released this week, maintains that such hostility is unjustified by any dangers that homosexuality may pose for society. The 14-member task force that prepared the report was headed by U.C.L.A.'s Evelyn Hooker, an erudite, compassionate psychologist who is one of the nation's most distinguished researchers in the field. A majority of the panel, which included psychiatrists, sociologists, anthropologists, lawyers and a theologian, urges states to abolish the laws that make homosexual intercourse a crime for consenting adults in private. More controversially, their report recommends that government and private employers "reassess" their current standards and implies that they should hire homosexuals who can pass normal screening procedures. (A three-man minority of the task force dissents, saying that research is still insufficient for making policy judgments.) The report is the first by any group under U.S. Government auspices to take this stance.
Says the report: "The extreme opprobrium that our society has attached to homosexual behavior has done more social harm than good, and goes beyond what is necessary for the maintenance of public order and human decency. Homosexuality presents a major problem for our society largely because of the amount of injustice and suffering entailed in it, not only for the homosexual but also for those concerned about him."
The report comes at a time when homosexuals are more visible and assertive than ever—in films and plays that explicitly depict their private lives and in public organizations that militate for their civil rights. Still, the report notes, parents who find out that their child is a homosexual or a lesbian almost inevitably suffer, fearing that they are somehow guilty of a tragic failure.
The task force notes that "misinformation abounds." The "homosexual orientation" is not a ground for despair. Endorsing the findings of pioneering research that have accumulated in the past two decades, the group says that "many homosexuals are good citizens, holding regular jobs and leading productive lives." Psychiatric treatment permits about 30% of adults who seek help to enjoy a normal sex life. An even larger percentage of children who are incipient homosexuals can be reached in time to avoid the condition entirely.