Paul Richards: Dr. McKinley Thompson

Quotes 

• Dr. William Raymer : Are you saying the boy has no disturbance in this area?

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : Of course he has a disturbance. It's gonna be a long time before he can approach a relationship with a woman with any degree of confidence. But, Will, he came to us because he was troubled and all he ask is what's wrong with me and everything he says leads to the same question: What is a man?

  Dr. William Raymer : Well if you saying the boy's problem isn't homosexuality, what is it?

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : I've lived through it and so have you... and so has every American male over fourteen. You sit around in a barracks or in a vacant lot or on the job and every man there takes turns telling their adventures with the girls. Now each one knows that he's lying but he thinks he's the only one and everybody wonders. Everybody has the nagging feeling that he's not living up to the great American male image. The great Western hero: strong, silent, half-Neanderthal man, half-Don Juan. Now in this concept of a man there's no room for tenderness or understanding of other people, no place for sensitivity or aesthetic feelings. All that is considered feminine. Sure, with this boy's family situation and his Army history, he's obsessed with masculinity. He's afraid of failing with a woman and maybe he will. The rest of us have worked out the answer to Paul's question one way or the other. He hasn't found it yet. Of course, there are those easy answers and Paul can get those from his brother Murray. But what's the truth? Before we judge him, before we let him accept his own diagnosis, maybe we ought to examine the question ourselves: what is a man?

• Dr. McKinley Thompson : [Discussing the New Guinea tribesmen]  Now, the men meet and then whirl the bull roarer, and the noise is supposed to frighten all the women and young boys, to impress them. They make a lot of noise to cover up all their doubts. You hear it? The roaring to prove to everybody that they're men? And sometimes the young boys are frightened. They hide. They're afraid they'll never learn the magic of being a man. You see, they don't know that the roaring noise is just wind whistling through wood.

  [Paul stops whirling the bull roarer and faces Dr. Thompson] 

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : See, Paul, you can make a lot of noise and roar and no one will ever know you're afraid. As long as you never stop whirling the bull roarer you never have to consider the real question: What is a man?

• Paul Knopf : Y'know what I shoulda done? I shoulda smashed that guy. But I couldn't. There's something wrong with me, isn't there?

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : What do you think it is?

  Paul Knopf : Is he right? Am I a man or...

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : Or what?

  Paul Knopf : A homosexual?

• Dr. William Raymer : Typical background. Possessive mother who engulfs her son while at the same time revenges herself on him for her disappointment in men. Plus the rejecting or cruel father resulting in the boy having no real masculine identification.

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : Alright, now that's all true, but I don't think Paul is a homosexual.

  Dr. Moore : No? Not even latent?

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : No. I don't happen to believe there is any such thing as latent homosexuality. If an overt act hasn't been committed, then the man isn't a homosexual.

• Paul Knopf : Look, you can't get around it. I finally had a chance to prove to Murray that I could be a...

  Dr. McKinley Thompson : A man? Is that still it? Now, we've been kicking this around for weeks, so let's get it out on the table, shall we? Now, what is a man? C'mon, you tell me.

  Paul Knopf : I don't know. A man is strong, tough. He can move in fast on a girl. He doesn't get sick and run away! He can fight when he has to. He can take care of himself. He's not afraid all the time. He's like my brother.