SUPERIOR TRAITS OF INVERTS.
Edward Carpenter, in his thoughtful treatise on homosexuals--whom he
calls the _Intermediate Sex_--justly maintains that it is impossible,
by a sweeping gesture to dismiss these types as _good_ or _bad_, simply
because they are _different_.
The subtleties and complexities of nature cannot be dispatched in this
off-hand manner.
As he expresses it, “the great probability is that, as in any other
class of human beings, there will be among these too, good and bad,
high and low, worthy and unworthy--some perhaps exhibiting through
their double temperament a rare and beautiful flower of humanity,
others a perverse and tangled ruin.”
It is Carpenter’s opinion that the defect of the male Uranian, or
Urning, is not sensuality--but rather sentimentality. The lower, more
ordinary types of Urning are often extremely sentimental; the superior
type strangely, almost incredibly emotional; but neither _as a rule_
(though, of course, there must be exceptions) are so sensual as the
average normal man.
“The immense capacity of emotional love represents, of course, a
great driving force. Whether in the individual or in society, love is
eminently creative. It is their great genius for attachment which gives
to the best Uranian types their penetrating influence and activity, and
which often makes them beloved and accepted far and wide even by those
who know nothing of their inner mind.
“How many so-called philanthropists of the best kind (we need not
mention names) have been inspired by the Uranian temperament, the
world will probably never know. And in all walks of life, the great
number and influence of folk of this disposition, and the distinguished
place they already occupy, is only realized by those who are more or
less behind the scenes. It is probable also that it is this genius
for emotional love which gives to the Uranians their remarkable
_youthfulness_.”
With these unusual qualities, amounting in their finest expressions, to
extraordinary gifts--containing as they do a double measure of human
values, both of the man and of the woman--Carpenter believes that these
people have a special field of work as reconcilers and interpreters of
the two sexes to each other.
Thus, it is probable that the superior Urnings will become in affairs
of the heart, to a large extent, the teachers of future society; and if
so, their influence will tend to the realization and expression of an
attachment less exclusively sensual than the average of today, and to
the diffusion of this in all directions.
To call people of such temperament “morbid,” according to this
authority, is of no use. Such a term, in fact, is absurdly inapplicable
to many, who are among the most amiable and worthy members of society.
Certainly, it brings no solution to the problem in question, and “only
amounts to marking down for disparagement a fellow creature who has
already considerable difficulties to contend with.”
It is a great mistake, he argues, to suppose that their attachments are
necessarily sexual, or connected with sexual acts. On the contrary,
they are often purely emotional in their character; and to confuse
Uranians, as is often done, with libertines having no law but curiosity
in self-indulgence is to do them a great wrong.
It is undoubtedly true that their special temperament may sometimes
cause them difficulty in regard to their sexual relations. But then,
all types have more or less difficulty in making sexual adjustments--so
while the homosexual has some special problems to meet in this
respect--the heterosexual also has his problems which not infrequently
lead to dire results.
The difficulties in both cases, of course, are due in no small
degree to the obstacles put in the way by others, through lack of
understanding. This is both a social and individual problem.
With respect to the personal idiosyncrasies of the urnings, the male
tends to be of a rather gentle, emotional disposition, with defects,
if such exist, in the direction of subtlety, evasiveness, timidity,
vanity, etc. The female, on the other hand, is just the opposite, being
active, fiery, bold and bluntly truthful, with defects running to
brusqueness and coarseness.
The mind of the male urning (characteristic of its feminine bias)
is generally intuitive and instinctive in its perceptions, with
more or less artistic feeling. In extreme types, we find excessive
sentimentality, an individual mincing in gait and manners, something
of a chatter-box, with a tendency to be skilful with the needle and in
woman’s work, sometimes taking pleasure in dressing in women’s clothes.
In the case of the female, we note the opposite characteristics. Her
mind is more logical, scientific and precise than usual with the normal
woman. So marked are these general characteristics, observes Carpenter,
that sometimes by means of them (though not an infallible guide) the
nature of the boy or girl can be detected in childhood, before full
development has taken place. The importance of being able to do this
is readily apparent, if an understanding and sympathetic attitude is
brought to bear on the matter.
As Dr. Moll, the well known German authority, has pointed out, the
extreme characteristics do not by any means show themselves in all
urnings. Though one may find this or that indication in a great many
cases, yet it cannot be denied that a very large percentage of the
males, perhaps by far the majority of them, do not exhibit pronounced
effeminacy.
Considering the more “normal” type of Uranian male, it is not unusual
to find a man who, while possessing thoroughly masculine powers of mind
and physique, combines with them the more emotional soul nature of the
woman. Sometimes this is present in a notable degree.
Such men are often muscular and well built, and not noticeably
different in external structure and bodily carriage from others of
their own sex. Emotionally, however, they are extremely complex,
sensitive, tender, sympathetic and loving--and, as has been said, “full
of storm and stress, of ferment and fluctuation of the heart.”
While the logical faculty may or may not, in their case, be well
developed, intuition is always strongly in evidence. Like a woman they
read characters at a glance, and know, without knowing how, what is
transpiring in the mental processes of others. Naturally, men of this
kind have a peculiar aptitude for nursing and administering to the
needs of people. A Swiss writer on this subject has expressed himself
thus: “Happy, indeed, is that man who has won a real Urning for his
friend--he walks on roses, without ever having to fear the thorns.” And
he added: “Can there ever be a more perfect sick nurse than an Urning?”
The invert has a strongly developed artist nature, with the artist’s
perception and sensibility. De Joux, who writes on the whole
favorably of the Uranian men and women, says of the former: “They are
enthusiastic for poetry and music, are often eminently skilful in the
fine arts, and are overcome with emotion and sympathy at the least
occurrence. Their sensitiveness, their endless tenderness for children,
their love of flowers, their great pity for beggars and crippled folk
are truly womanly.” In another passage, he indicates the organic base
of the artist nature in the following words: “The nerve system of many
an Urning is the finest and the most complicated musical instrument in
the service of the interior personality that can be imagined.”
It does not appear justified to assume that men of this kind despise
women, the general belief to the contrary notwithstanding. In previous
chapters, we have read the evidence of the psychiatrist, who testified
to this alleged antagonistic sentiment. But after all, the psychiatrist
and neurologist get the sick and pathologic cases, and rarely the
better kind, so while the opinions of these specialists have great
value as supplementary evidence in the consideration of homosexuality,
they should not be accepted without reservation or such modification as
may be necessary in the light of fuller knowledge of the subject.
Naturally, the male Urning is not inclined to fall in love with a
woman, but that they are drawn near to women seems logical as it
is characteristic of similar types to have much in common, such as
sympathetic interests, etc. And, of course, the male Urning and the
normal woman have a great deal in common in the sphere of spiritual and
emotional interests and understanding.
Carpenter states in this connection, “it would seem they often feel
a singular appreciation and understanding of the emotional needs and
destinies of the other sex, leading in many cases to a genuine though
what is called ‘Platonic’ friendship. There is little doubt that they
are often instinctively sought after by women who, without suspecting
the real cause, are conscious of a sympathetic chord in the homogenic
which they miss in the normal man.”
De Joux confirms this in these words: “It would be a mistake to suppose
that all Urnings must be woman haters. Quite the contrary. They are not
seldom their faithfulest friends, the truest allies and most convinced
defenders of women.”
Havelock Ellis in Chapter VI of his “_Sexual Inversion_,” also scouts
the idea that the Uranian temperament is necessarily morbid, and
states that the tendency should be considered an anomaly rather than
a disease. He makes this interesting observation on the subject,
comparing the invert to the “sport” or variation in the animal and
vegetable world: “Thus in sexual inversion we have what may fairly be
called a ‘sport’ or variation, one of those organic aberrations which
we see throughout living nature in plants and in animals.”
And Ellis writes, with reference to the artistic proclivities of the
invert: “An examination of my cases reveals the interesting fact that
thirty-two of them, or sixty-eight per cent, possess artistic aptitude
in varying degrees.
“Galton found, from the investigation of nearly one thousand persons,
that the general average showing artistic taste in England is only
about thirty per cent. It must be said that my figures are probably
below the truth, as no special point was made of investigating the
matter, and also that in many cases their artistic aptitudes are of
high order. With regard to the special avocations of my cases, it must,
of course, be said that no occupation furnishes a safeguard against
inversion. There are, however, certain occupations to which inverts are
specially attracted. Acting is certainly one of the chief of these.
Three of my cases belong to the dramatic profession, and others have
marked dramatic ability. Art, again, in its various forms, and music,
exercise much attraction. In my experience, however, literature is
the avocation to which inverts seem to feel chiefly called, and that
moreover in which they may find the highest degrees of success and
reputation. At least half a dozen of my cases are successful men of
letters.”
The Uranian, although quite invariably high strung and sensitive,
is not by any means always an impractical dreamer. He is usually _a
dreamer_, to be sure, but not infrequently he has the capacity to
transform his dreams into actuality. He may even show extraordinary
ability in the business world. While he is usually not militantly
aggressive--war with its bloodshed, horrors and destruction is somewhat
foreign to his temperament--there are exceptions.
Some of the mighty military commanders of history have had a strong
Uranian strain--among them may be mentioned Alexander the Great,
Caesar, Charles XII of Sweden, Frederick II of Prussia, etc. When the
capacity for high organizing ability and power of command is present,
the potent bisexual disposition vouchsafes a temperament that arouses
the enthusiasm and assures the personal attachment of the troops. All
of this goes a long way to making a formidable commander--and in the
olden days of personal combat, it was a well-nigh invincible one.
Carpenter calculates that not less than ten per cent of the English
kings--from the time of the Norman conquest to the present day--have
shown a decidedly homogenic temperament. (This authority prefers to use
the term _homogenic_, from two root words, both Greek, i. e., “homos,”
same, and “genoc,” sex, instead of _homosexual_.)
Three of these kings, namely, William Rufus, Edward II and James I
were homosexual in a high degree--possibly enough so as to be classed
as Urnings. Others, like William III, had a marked strain of the same
temperament.
Of these monarchs, William Rufus and William III, were in their
different ways men of great courage and personal force. James I was
not a creditable character--and while the term degenerate might be
applicable to him--it would be equally fitting to several others of the
royal line.
It is also apparent that one of England’s greatest queens, Elizabeth,
had a highly developed homosexual disposition, enough to bring
out in no uncertain manner those characteristics that are usually
associated with the masculine gender. She was inordinately resourceful,
independent, assertive--and showed no particular erotic leanings toward
the opposite sex.
Referring to the common belief that a male who experiences love for his
own sex must be despicable, degraded, depraved, vicious, and incapable
of humane or generous sentiments, J. Addington Symonds (_A Problem of
Modern Ethics_) remarks that “If Greek history did not contradict this
supposition, a little patient enquiry into contemporary manners would
suffice to remove it.”
De Joux, who has already been quoted on the subject, expresses
the finer sensibilities of the superior type of Urning, and his
consciousness of the same, in the following words: “It is true that
we are often inferior to normal men in force of will, worldly wisdom,
and sense of duty; but on the other hand, in depth and delicacy of
feeling and every virtue of the heart, we are far superior. We cannot
_love_ women, but we lament with them, and help them on the hearth
and by the cradle, in need and loneliness, as their most unselfish
friends.... We do not despise women because they are weak, for we are
much clearer-sighted, much less prejudiced than the so-called lords
of creation, much nobler, more helpful, and just minded than they....
Anyhow, if either of the sexes has cause to withhold its respect in
any degree from the other--which has the most cause? Say what you will
of them, the second and third sexes--women and Urnings--are ever so
much better than the brutal egotistical men, who today are plunged in
grossest materialism; for, with whatever corruption, both the former
are still of purer heart, easier kindled towards whatever is good, and
more capable of genuine enthusiasm and love of their fellows than the
latter.”
In a sense, then, we may say that the so-called Intermediate Sex is
older and nearer to nature than the differentiated male and female
sexes. It may be considered a modern holdover, or vestige, of the
bisexual character typical of primitive beings and organisms. But when
found in the _genus homo_--when not debauched by a vicious environment
or distorted by an unfavorable heredity--it may, as we have seen, reach
the highest stage of human fruition.
Transcriber’s Note:
- Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
- Minor punctuation errors have been changed without notice.
- Spelling was retained as in the original except for the following changes:
Page 1: “GIRARD, RANSAS” to “GIRARD, KANSAS”
Page 6: “there are the vestigal” to “there are the vestigial”
Page 23: “called Urniaster” to “called Uraniaster”
Page 23: “(c) Urano-dioing” to “(c) Urano-dioning”
Page 28: “immortalization was attrained” to “immortalization was attained”
Page 35: “this group. They plays” to “this group. They play”
Page 35: “the voice looses” to “the voice loses”
Page 36: “describing the Koriaks: Krashenininikoff” to “describing the
Koriaks: Krasheninnikoff”
Page 40: “Michael Angelo, Leonardi da Vinci” to “Michael Angelo, Leonardo
da Vinci”
Page 45: “which is character of paranoics” to “which is characteristic
of paranoiacs”
Page 46: “The preverse craving” to “The perverse craving”
Page 47: “movements of the skeletal appartus” to “movements of the
skeletal apparatus”
Page 50: “exaggered and exalted” to “exaggerated and exalted”
Page 56: “thought not an infallible” to “though not an infallible”
Page 60: “it was a well-night” to “it was a well-nigh”