Homosexuality: Morals and Security

Report Outline
New Public Awarness of Homosexuality
Homosexuality and National Security
Incidence and Causes of Homosexuality
Moral and Legal Views on Homosexuality

New Public Awarness of Homosexuality

Homosexuality, broadly defined as erotic attraction toward someone of the same sex, has become a matter of widespread concern in recent years, particularly in the United States and Great Britain. Condemned by society and the major Western religions and outlawed by criminal statute, homosexual practices were long considered so objectionable as to be unfit for public mention. The situation has changed somewhat in the past 15 years; publication of the so-called Kinsey reports, the homosexual aspects of a number of security cases, and a new frankness on the subject in books, plays and movies have made the public more aware of homosexuality and the problems it creates.

Organizational Activity of Homosexual Groups

Persons who are homosexuals seem more willing than formerly to direct attention to themselves. They have their own organizations and publications, through which they seek to break down social and legal barriers to open avowal of homosexuality. The leading homosexual organization, the Mattachine Society, was formed in San Francisco 13 years ago. In addition, there are or have been Mattachine societies in Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and other cities. The Mattachine Society of Washington, organized in 1961, is open to both male and female homosexuals and to heterosexuals.

There are now more than a dozen national and local organizations for “homophiles,” a term that includes female as well as male homosexuals. An organization called One Inc. publishes One Magazine and One Quarterly; the Daughters of Bilitis, a national organization of female homosexuals, publishes The Ladder. Other publications include The Mattachine Review, the League for Civil Education News, and numerous local newsletters. The May 1963 edition of the Mattachine Society of Washington Gazette carried critiques of recent magazine articles on homosexuality and an appeal to the federal government to change its policy on employment of homosexuals.