Edited by Dillian E Hanscombe and Martin Humphries
                                      
                          What Is Heterosexuality?
                                      
       Heterosexuality is a condition in which people have a driving
   emotional and sexual interest in members of the opposite sex. Because
     of the anatomical, physiological, social and cultural differences
   involved, there are formidable obstacles to be overcome. However, many
      heterosexuals look upon this as a challenge and approach it with
    ingenuity and energy. Indeed it can be said that most heterosexuals
       are obsessed with the gratification of their curious desires.
                                      
                            Hormonal Imbalance?
                                      
    One theory advanced is that heterosexuals have an imbalance in their
   sex hormones - instead of the normal balanced mixture of the two, they
      have an excess of one of a dearth of the other, resulting in an
    inability to enjoy full and satisfying relationships with their own
                                    sex.
                                      
                           Economic Conditioning?
                                      
     Our society accidentally grants financial and other incentives for
   exclusively (ie. neurotic) heterosexual coupling: from tax concessions
   to family benefits. To be gay or lesbian is expensive and many people
                          simply cannot afford it.
                                      
                               Fear Of Death?
                                      
      An irrational terror of mortality lies beneath much heterosexual
   coupling. Driven to perpetuate themselves at any cost to themselves or
     society, most heterosexuals are indifferent to the prospect of the
   world-wide famine that will result if the present population explosion
                            continues unchecked.
                                      
                           Cultural Deprivation?
                                      
     Most heterosexuals will be found to have come from a background in
      which an appreciation of the beauty of their own bodies has been
   ruthlessly suppressed. Heterosexual men in particular think themselves
    "ugly", beauty being ascribed only to women. Many psychic disorders
                       stem from this self-rejection.
                                      
                          Pathological Condition?
                                      
       Many heterosexuals claim that they were "just born that way."
   Unfortunately this doesn't hold water. All human beings are the result
     of the interaction between their substance and their environment.
    Heterosexuals, like the rest of us, must share in the responsibility
                            for their condition.
                                      
                            Social Conditioning?
                                      
     Many unthinking heterosexuals succumb to the daily bombardment of
    conditioning from the mass media and live out their lives trapped in
   oppressive stereotypes. We should feel compassion for such people, not
   hostility, for their rejection of all those parts of the self that do
   not conform to the "married-couple" ideal, is a measure of their loss
                of contact with their own unique sexuality.
                                      
                             Childhood Trauma?
                                      
    A bad experience with a member of the same sex while young may cause
     rejection of all members of the same sex through fear. The desire
    continues in the subconscious and emerges in this abnormal behavior
                         and heterosexual neurosis.
                                      
                             Parental Problem?
                                      
   In most cases of compulsive heterosexual behavior, the parents will be
   found to have suffered from similar difficulties, causing researchers
         to believe that the problem is inflicted on their children
                    environmentally at a very young age.
                                      
   This is by no means a complete explanation of the problems and causes
   of heterosexuality, but is intended to provide a brief introduction to
                            this social problem.