Kurt Freund (17 January 1914 – 23 October 1996) was a Czech-Canadian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

best known for developing the

penile plethysmograph Penile plethysmography (PPG) or phallometry is measurement of blood flow to the penis, typically used as a proxy for measurement of sexual arousal. The most commonly reported methods of conducting penile plethysmography involve the measurement of ...

(a measurement of

sexual arousal Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as ...

in males), research studies in

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

, and for the "

courtship disorder Courtship disorder is a theoretical construct in sexology developed by Kurt Freund in which a certain set of paraphilias are seen as specific instances of anomalous courtship instincts in humans. The specific paraphilias are biastophilia (paraphilic ...

" hypothesis as a taxonomy of certain

paraphilia Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...

s (

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...

exhibitionism Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, genitals or buttocks. The practice may arise from a desire or compulsion to expose themselves in such a manner to group ...

toucherism Frotteurism is a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvic area or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual pleasure. It may involve touching any part of the body, including the genital area. A person who practices fr ...

frotteurism Frotteurism is a paraphilic interest in rubbing, usually one's pelvic area or erect penis, against a non-consenting person for sexual pleasure. It may involve touching any part of the body, including the genital area. A person who practices frot ...

, and what he called " preferential rape"). After unsuccessful attempts to change men's sexual orientation, he advocated against

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

and in favor of the

decriminalization of homosexuality Criminalization of homosexuality is the classification of some or all sexual acts between men, and less frequently between women, as a criminal offense. Most of the time, such laws are unenforced with regard to consensual same-sex conduct, but ...

Early life

Freund was born into a German-speaking Jewish family in

Chrudim Chrudim () is a town in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest town of the region. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Admin ...

, then part of

Austrian Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, later

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, now in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. He married Anna Hlounová, a non-Jewish Czech pianist and music teacher, on 13 January 1942. In 1943, they divorced in order to protect Anna and their newborn daughter Helen from anti-Jewish and anti-miscegenation legislation implemented by the German Nazi Occupiers. They remarried after the war in 1945, and Anna gave birth to a son, Peter, in 1948. Many of Freund's relatives were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, including his parents Heinrich and Hella, and his brother Hans.

Research

In 1948, Freund joined the Department of Psychiatry at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

in Prague. Freund received his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

Charles University of Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

, and later a

D.Sc. Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree there in 1962. He carried out post-doctoral research and later both research and clinical work at Charles University's Sexological Institute. Freund fled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1968, in the wake of the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

. Freund then began plethysmography studies of male sexual orientation at the

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH, pronounced , french: Centre de toxicomanie et de santé mentale) is a psychiatric teaching hospital located in Toronto and ten community locations throughout the province of Ontario, Canada. It re ...

(then called the

Clarke Institute of Psychiatry The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (College Street site) is a psychiatric hospital in Toronto, Ontario. It is located at 250 College Street, just east of Spadina Avenue. Much of its work focuses on forensic psychology, sex addiction, drug ...

) in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, where much of the research and published data using PPG originated. The Kurt Freund Laboratory at that centre is named after him.

Homosexuality

Between 1950 and 1953, Freund treated 67 men for homosexual tendencies. Some of his patients voluntarily sought to change their sexual orientation, while others received remission of prosecution or legal penalties so that they could undergo the experiment. Taking a

behaviorist Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual' ...

perspective, he attempted to reinforce heterosexual feelings while punishing homosexual ones in order to change sexual orientation. Patients were given nausea-inducing drugs while exposed to images of other men, then given testosterone injections and exposed to photographs of naked women. Freund followed up with his patients in 1956 and 1958, concluding that the experiment was not a success. His empirical data showed some of the first evidence that sexual orientation

was generally futile. He demonstrated that even homosexually oriented men who appeared to have given up sexual relations with other men and established heterosexual marriages were still aroused by images of men rather than women. Freund also challenged contemporary psychoanalytic theories of male homosexuality that suggested it was due to a fear or aversion to women. In 1957, he began to advocate for the

, which happened in Czechoslovakia in 1961 following an official recommendation signed by Freund and other psychiatrists. Like other researchers at the time, however, he continued to see homosexuality as a

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

. In 1977, he apologized for his attempt to change sexual orientation, writing that if his experiment "has 'helped' at all, has helped clients to enter into marriages that later became unbearable or almost unbearable" and expressing doubt that homosexuality should be considered an illness because of the chance that "reasonable social changes may virtually abolish all specific distress of homosexual persons". Freund advised his patients to make peace with their sexual orientation.

Penile plethysmography

Around 1953, Freund began to develop a device for

penile plethysmography Penile plethysmography (PPG) or phallometry is measurement of blood flow to the penis, typically used as a proxy for measurement of sexual arousal. The most commonly reported methods of conducting penile plethysmography involve the measurement o ...

to measure blood flow to the penis, building off of earlier attempts to create such a device. He was initially commissioned to detect recruits attempting to evade

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

by falsely claiming to be homosexual.Wilson, R. J., & Mathon, H. F. (2006, fall). Remembering Kurt Freund (1914-1996). ''ATSA Forum''. Beaverton, OR: Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers. Over his career, he refined the penile plethysmograph as part of a broad program of research on male sexual interest. Sex offenders could sometimes suppress arousal through concentration or surreptitiously causing themselves pain, similar to methods for producing false results on a

polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked an ...

(lie detector). During one experiment, he found that 17% of heterosexuals or homosexuals were able to pretend to be the other sexual orientation during the test. Although he recognized its limitations, Freund continued to advocate for the use of the device to measure male sexual arousal, not only sexual orientation but also pedophilia. During the 1960s, he published several papers informing other researchers to recreate and use the device. There was controversy regarding potential abuses of devices to measure sexual interests, following fears that it might lead to

discrimination against gay men Discrimination against gay men, sometimes called ''gayphobia'', is a form of homophobic prejudice, hatred, or bias specifically directed toward gay men, male homosexuality, or men who are perceived to be gay. This discrimination is closely rel ...

. Phallometric testing has been shown, however, to be one of the most accurate, if not the single most accurate, methods of identifying the sexual offenders that are most likely to commit new sexual offenses against children. On the other hand, another study concluded that "although the validity of the technique for research and clinical assessment is now established, justification for the routine use of the technique must await a proper standardization of the technique and the publication of reliable norms."Launay, G. (1999) "The phallometric assessment of sex offenders: an update," ''Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health,'' 9 (3) 254–274.

Paraphilias and sex offenders

Initially focused on homosexuality, Freund later expanded his study to

, rape,

transsexuality Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

, and

. He developed the theory of

, explaining paraphilias such as

telephone scatologia Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, Sex organ, genitals or buttocks. The practice may arise from a desire or compulsion to expose themselves in such a mann ...

, and

biastophilia Biastophilia (from Greek ''biastes'', " rapist" + ''-philia'') and its Latin-derived synonym raptophilia (from Latin ''rapere'', "to seize"), also paraphilic rape, is a paraphilia in which sexual arousal is dependent on, or is responsive to, the a ...

(a preference for rape) as disorders of the normal courtship process. He focused on detection and diagnosis of sex offenders, particularly preference

pedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

, with a view to more appropriate treatment guidelines.Brzek A, Hubalek S. Homosexuals in Eastern Europe: Mental Health and Psychotherapy Issues. in Psychopathology and Psychotherapy in Homosexuality, Ed. Michael W. Ross, p. 160.

Death

Freund was diagnosed with cancer in 1994 and was a member of Dying with Dignity. When his health deteriorated in 1996, he took a lethal cocktail of

muscle relaxants A muscle relaxant is a drug that affects skeletal muscle function and decreases the muscle tone. It may be used to alleviate symptoms such as muscle spasms, pain, and hyperreflexia. The term "muscle relaxant" is used to refer to two major therapeu ...

sleeping pill Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

s and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. Freund was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, and his ashes were scattered on the lawn across from his office at the Clarke Institute in Toronto and on the grounds of Psychiatric Hospital

Bohnice Bohnice () is a district in the north of Prague, located in Prague 8, some 5 km north of city centre. The district is home to a large psychiatric hospital and a large panel housing estate in which all of the streets are named after cities or ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, where he had worked for many years in Czechoslovakia.

Selected publications

*Freund, K., J. Diamant, and V. Pinkava. 1958. "On the validity and reliability of the phalloplethysmographic (Php) diagnosis of some sexual deviations." Rev Czech Med 4:145-51. *Freund, K. 1963. "A Laboratory Method For Diagnosing Predominance of Homo- Or Hetero-Erotic Interest in Male." Behav Res Ther 21:85-93. *Freund, K. 1962. ''Homosexualita u muže'' (Homosexuality in man), Praha: Státní zdravotnické nakladatelství (State Medical Publisher), 274 pp., 3000 copies. **Freund, K. 1963. ''Die Homosexualität beim Mann'', 1st ed., Leipzig : S. Hirzel Verlag, 275 pp. **Freund, K. 1965. ''Die Homosexualität beim Mann'', 2nd, expanded ed., Leipzig : S. Hirzel Verlag, 321 pp. *Freund, K. 1965. "A simple device for measuring volume changes of the male genital organ." Československá psychiatrie 61:164-6. *Freund, K. 1967. "Diagnosing homo- or heterosexuality and erotic age-preference by means of a psychophysiological test." Behav Res Ther 5:209-28. *Freund, K. 1974. "Male homosexuality: an analysis of the pattern." in Understanding Homosexuality: Its biological and psychological bases, edited by J. A. Lorraine. Lancaster, England: Medical and Technical Publishing Company, Inc. *Freund, K. 1977. "Should homosexuality arouse therapeutic concern?" J Homosex 2:235-40. *Freund, K. 1977. "Psychophysiological assessment of change in erotic preferences." Behavioral Research and Therapy 15:297-301. *Freund, K. 1978. "A conceptual framework for the study of anomalous erotic preferences." J Sex Marital Ther 4:3-10. *Freund, K., S. Chan, and R. Coulthard. 1979. "Phallometric diagnosis with 'nonadmitters'." Behav Res Ther 17:451-7. *Freund, K., B. W. Steiner, and S. Chan. 1982. "Two types of cross-gender identity." Arch Sex Behav 11:49-63. *Freund, K. and R. Blanchard. 1983. "Is the distant relationship of fathers and homosexual sons related to the sons' erotic preference for male partners, or to the sons' atypical gender identity, or to both?" J Homosex 9:7-25. *Freund, K., H. Scher, and S. Hucker. 1983. "The courtship disorders." Arch Sex Behav 12:369-79. *Freund, K., H. Scher, I. G. Racansky, K. Campbell, and G. Heasman. 1986. "Males disposed to commit rape." Arch Sex Behav 15:23-35. *Freund, K. and R. Blanchard. 1986. "The concept of courtship disorder." J Sex Marital Ther 12:79-92. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1987). A comparison of sex offenders against male and female minors. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 13, 260–264. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1988). Signs of feigning in the phallometric test. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 26, 105–112. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1988). The value of self-reports in the study of voyeurism and exhibitionism. Annals of Sex Research, 1, 243–262. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Rienzo, D. (1989). Heterosexuality, homosexuality, and erotic age preference. The Journal of Sex Research, 26, 107–117. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R. (1990). Mapping the boundaries of courtship disorder. Journal of Sex Research, 27, 589–606. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Dickey, R. (1990). Does sexual abuse in childhood causes pedophilia? An exploratory study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 19, 557–568. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R. (1991). Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of a phallometric test: An update of "Phallometric diagnosis of pedophilia". Psychological Assessment, 3, 254–260. *Freund, K., Wilson, R., Dickey, R., & Rienzo, D. (1991). Erotic gender differentiation in pedophilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 20, 555–566. *Freund, K., Wilson, R. & Dickey, R. (1991). Sex offenses against female children perpetrated by men who are not pedophiles.

Journal of Sex Research The ''Journal of Sex Research'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of human sexuality and the field of sexology in general. It is published by Routledge on behalf of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. In 1963, th ...

, 28, 409–423. *Freund, K., Wilson, R., & Dickey, R. (1991). The types of heterosexual gender identity disorder. Annals of Sex Research, 4, 93–105. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R.J. (1992). The proportions of heterosexual and homosexual pedophiles among sex offenders against children. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 18, 34–43. *Freund, K. & Wilson, R.J. (1993). Gender identity disorder and courtship disorder. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 13–21. *Freund, K. and M. Kuban. 1993. "Toward a testable developmental model of pedophilia: the development of erotic age preference." Child Abuse Negl 17:315-24.

References

External links

Kurt Freund biography
via Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers
Prague Psychiatric Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freund, Kurt 1914 births 1996 suicides People from Chrudim Czech sexologists Czech scientists Czech psychiatrists Canadian sexologists Jewish Canadian scientists Canadian people of Czech-Jewish descent Czech emigrants to Canada Suicides in Ontario Charles University alumni Scientists from Toronto Canadian psychiatrists 20th-century Canadian physicians 20th-century Canadian scientists 1996 deaths Drug-related suicides in Canada Czech Jews