"a large-scale 'flight from masculinity' induced by external stresses"

Reading log: 2/4/2011:

A fascinating peak into the  late 50′s and early 60′s:

"As often as not, a male homosexual orientation, according to several psychoanalysts, emanated from the disorders of the mid-twentieth century–depression and war, the generalized anxiety of the nuclear age, intense competitive demands placed on males, pressure to conform, the rapid pace of technological change, shifting roles and increased expectations of American women. Under such conditions, male homosexuality became not a defensive response against immature infantile desires or unresolved Oedipal conflicts, but in Abram Kardiner's words, a large-scale 'flight from masculinity' induced by external stresses."

–Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities, John D'Emilio