CB-005 Queer St. USA

Foreword

There is subject matter in this book which should be brought to the attention of the general public, to many high-ranking officials in the law enforcement fields, attorneys and other professional men and women whose day-to-day work and duties bring them into contact with the homosexual male or female.

It is not enough for any such persons to merely scoff at the homosexual, to treat him as a sort of freak, to penalize him unnecessarily or wrongly.

Understanding is what is required. In recent years a very lucid question has been asked, but usually in a frivolous fashion: are people gradually losing their sexual identification?

This can become a disturbing, even frightening thought, Girls are starting to look more like boys, boys more like girls. Will we one day be all the same sex? A third sex? Probably not, for history tells us that homosexual “waves” have advanced and receded in more or less regular fashion (following major wars, depressions, and the like throughout the ages). Yet, the threat is always there. There’s no reason to press the panic button simply because we are told that some fifteen percent of the population are either actively homosexual, or indulge occasionally in homosexual practices.

This figure may or may not be accurate. Probably it is woefully inaccurate, as such figures often are. Looking at the figure, fifteen percent, who is to say that today, right at this minute, as you read these words, it is a low estimate or a high one? I have, as a practicing psychiatrist, opinions of my own; yet they are only, at the best, educated opinions. To get at the heart of the matter, let me just add a few more lines here. Mr. Bradley is known to me personally. He is a good and well-qualified reporter. He holds sensationalism to the minimum. This book is not for the prurient thrillseeker, but for the serious reader; there is little in its pages that can be considered as sexually stimulating. He has written several books on the subject of homosexuality, among both males and females, but always, to my belief, as a completely objective reporter, never with a thought of salaciousness.

I highly recommend this book, as I have recommended some of his books in the past. I think it is an important book, one that should be read by any thinking adult. The persons described herein are real people, the case histories absolutely authentic, not fictional. Mr. Bradley’s touch is perhaps a bit light here and there, but what I recommend most about his approach is that he makes no case for homosexuality, nor against it. He simply has observed, recorded and reported.

Yet, this remains one of the most essentially scholarly books I have ever read on the subject of homosexuality, and in my humble opinion, it should be required reading for all adults, perhaps even a textbook. It would make not a dull one, but an exciting, vibrant and informative textbook, of which we have, alas, too few.