Cured
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
CURED takes viewers inside the campaign that led to a pivotal yet largely unknown moment in the struggle for LGBTQ equality: the American Psychiatric Association’s 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Combining eyewitness testimony with newly unearthed archival footage, the film reveals how a small group of impassioned activists achieved this unexpected victory.
Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO) | Johnnie N. Gray, Technology Services Librarian, Christopher Newport University
"Essential viewing for understanding the history of how the field of psychiatry has evolved to accept sexuality on a spectrum. Suitable for high school and up. A highly accessible and well produced documentary."
Video Librarian
"[A] lively presentation from beginning to end. Codirectors Singer and Sammon have done cinematic justice to a long-unheralded but all-important grassroots political victory in LGBT history. Highly recommended."
Dagmar Herzog, Distinguished Professor of History and Daniel Rose Faculty Scholar at The Graduate Center, City University of New York
"CURED is, to put it simply, a stupendous achievement. It will join Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Paragraph 175 (2000) and Jim Hubbard’s United in Anger: A History of ACT UP (2012) as one of the must-see definitive accounts of signal moments in LGBT history. Accessible to a broad variety of popular audiences, requiring no prior knowledge for viewers to be gripped and moved by the wonderful constellation of characters and the drive of the narrative, it is simultaneously filled with sharp insights and novel archival materials to amaze even the most knowledgeable of scholars or insiders. It is perfect also for classroom use: in psychology; in US social and political history, gender history, and history of medicine; in ethics classes for medical schools."
See full academic review
Chris Babits, Ph.D., Andrew W. Mellon Engaged Scholar Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and author of To Cure a Sinful Nation: A History of Conversion Therapy in the United States (forthcoming from University of Chicago Press)
“As a historian who has devoted the past six years to research on the topic of conversion therapy, I am in a unique position to attest to the scholarly and educational significance of what Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer have accomplished. The film is a fascinating analysis of one of the most important civil rights struggles of the post-World War II era. Patrick and Bennett offer a penetrating account of the homophobia that led the American Psychiatric Association to pathologize same-sex desires in the early 1950s. Additionally, they spotlight the years of activism that lesbian and gay rights activists like Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny led as they fought psychiatrists and psychologists who thought that homosexuals needed to be ‘cured.’”
Lillian Faderman, Professor Emerita at Fresno State University and author of The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle
“CURED is a wonderful film. It’s moving and compelling and it tells the story beautifully. It includes some truly remarkable footage and interviews. I especially love those shots of the beautiful, innocent-looking young gay people juxtaposed to the terrible things said about them. In short, I find this a remarkable film.”
Nishani Frazier, Associate Professor of American Studies and History at University of Kansas and co-editor of Freedom on My Mind: The Columbia Documentary History of the African American Experience
"Inspirational. A powerful narrative of resistance.”
British Film Institute
"Astonishingly rich ... one of the best documentaries of this or any year."
Mathew Shurka, Co-Founder & Chief Strategist, Born Perfect
"As a survivor of conversion therapy, I was riveted by this untold story of our LGBTQ history, which is one that everyone should know. This incredible film highlights the hidden heroes and activists who had the courage to lead at a time when it was not clear whether anyone would follow, and who fought so hard to eradicate the lie that LGBTQ people are mentally unstable and must be ‘cured.’ This is not just a brilliantly told story; it is a call to honor our legacy of activism and empowerment by continuing the fight to end conversion therapy once and for all.”
Charles Francis, President, Mattachine Society of Washington, DC
“Too often, LGBTQ film projects erase seniors who lack celebrity, much less octogenarians wearing old-school jackets, pocket hankies, chains and adornments —from reformer/psychiatrist Dr. Lawrence Hartmann to the African-American activist Rev. Magora Kennedy. ‘Discovering’ and interviewing these invisible heroes — people who helped free millions from the diagnosis of ‘mental illness’ — will be an enduring legacy of this film.”
Eric Marcus, founder and host of Making Gay History podcast
“CURED sweeps us back in time to reveal how homosexuals cured psychiatry of its anti-gay dogma. It’s an epic human drama made all the more powerful by capturing the voices of the people who were there a half-century ago and changed the course of history.”
Jessica Green, Artistic Director, Houston Cinema Arts Society
“CURED is a master class in consciousness-raising, coalition-building, grassroots activism, and self-determination. This is thrilling non-fiction filmmaking and must-see viewing for activists of every generation."
The Hollywood Reporter
“Fascinating doc about doctors who took too long to heal themselves… Scintillates… So many vibrant and articulate participants [recall] their part in a battle that did a great deal to change longstanding (and not yet extinct) prejudices.”
Bay Area Reporter
“Suspenseful and furnishing a slam-dunk case about the landmark importance of this event, CURED is probably the best LGBTQ documentary of the year.”
The Queer Review
“Riveting …deserves its place alongside other seminal documentaries such as How to Survive a Plague, The Celluloid Closet, Before Stonewall and The Times of Harvey Milk.”
USA Today
“[A] striking documentary. One of the five best LGBTQ+ films we watched [at Outfest].”
The Georgia Straight
“Both illuminating and engaging, it’s a timely opportunity to reflect upon a historical context for present-day struggles to ban conversion therapy and to address ongoing transphobia—a measure of how far social change can progress and yet how long-lasting impacts can also stubbornly and inexplicably resist them.”
The Moveable Fest
“Energizing [and] absorbing… Sammon and Singer have captured something mighty."
EDGE Media Market
“Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer’s taut, informative 80-minute documentary CURED illuminates the hidden history of how LGBTQ activists fought to remove the classification that being gay was a disease.”
Rage Monthly
“Eye-opening… A strong, timely testament to the power of persistence and righteous anger to effect change.”
Nylon
“Featuring interviews with queer activists next to survivors of electroshock conversion therapy, the film is uplifting despite its subject material, showing how resilience and persistence has always been at the heart of the ongoing LGBTQ+ Rights Movement."
BBC News Interview with Filmmaker
"Until 1973 the American Psychiatric Association defined being gay as having a mental illness. A new documentary recalls the struggle to change a definition which for years limited the rights of LGBT people in the US. But the film's makers say the fight for equality was part of a bigger battle which continues today."
Citation
Main credits
Sammon, Patrick (film director)
Singer, Bennett L. (film producer)
Other credits
Editor, Steve Heffner; director of photography, Sam Henriques; music by Ian Honeyman.
Distributor subjects
LGBTQ+; LGBTQ+ History; U.S. History; Psychiatry; Mental Health; Activism & Social Movements; Social Justice; Human Rights; Civil Rights; Sexuality Studies; Diversity & Inclusion; Science, Reasoning & the Scientific MethodKeywords
WEBVTT
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- They can be anywhere.
00:00:36.898 --> 00:00:39.947
They can be policemen,
they can be schoolteachers,
00:00:39.948 --> 00:00:41.681
they can be judges, lawyers.
00:00:41.682 --> 00:00:43.932
We ought to know, we\'ve
arrested all of them.
00:00:45.558 --> 00:00:48.987
And if we catch you
involved with a homosexual,
00:00:48.988 --> 00:00:52.017
your parents are going
to know about it first.
00:00:52.018 --> 00:00:55.087
And you will be caught,
and the rest of your life
00:00:55.088 --> 00:00:56.188
will be a living hell.
00:01:01.318 --> 00:01:02.787
- [Mike Wallace] Most
Americans are repelled
00:01:02.788 --> 00:01:04.631
by the mere notion of homosexuality.
00:01:06.018 --> 00:01:07.404
- Homosexuals should be barred
00:01:07.405 --> 00:01:11.837
from the police department,
the fire department
00:01:11.838 --> 00:01:14.457
and teaching in our city schools.
00:01:14.458 --> 00:01:15.907
- [Mike Wallace] Two
out of three Americans
00:01:15.908 --> 00:01:19.841
look upon homosexuals with
disgust, discomfort, or fear.
00:01:22.278 --> 00:01:26.271
- I had one friend who was
beaten savagely by his father.
00:01:27.128 --> 00:01:29.947
He beat him, in fact, with bricks.
00:01:29.948 --> 00:01:31.327
- [Mike Wallace] We
discovered that Americans
00:01:31.328 --> 00:01:33.487
favor legal punishment.
00:01:33.488 --> 00:01:36.577
A vast majority believe that
homosexuality is an illness.
00:01:36.578 --> 00:01:38.881
- [Reporter] And what do you
suggest we could do about them?
00:01:38.882 --> 00:01:41.817
- Give them homes like they
do for the mentally insane.
00:01:41.818 --> 00:01:46.276
- Homosexuality is, in
fact, a mental illness,
00:01:46.277 --> 00:01:49.231
which has reached
epidemiological proportions.
00:01:50.578 --> 00:01:51.987
- [Mike Wallace] Many
psychiatrists now believe
00:01:51.988 --> 00:01:54.447
that homosexuality is learned behavior.
00:01:54.448 --> 00:01:57.417
And like almost anything
else that is learned,
00:01:57.418 --> 00:01:59.401
it can be unlearned.
00:02:02.168 --> 00:02:04.967
- [Barbara Gittings] I charge
the psychiatric profession
00:02:04.968 --> 00:02:08.007
with creating a poisoned climate
00:02:08.008 --> 00:02:10.028
of thinking about homosexuality.
00:02:11.810 --> 00:02:13.797
- [Ron Gold] To be viewed
as psychologically disturbed
00:02:13.798 --> 00:02:16.957
is to be treated as a
second-class citizen.
00:02:16.958 --> 00:02:19.997
And being a second-class
citizen is not good
00:02:19.998 --> 00:02:21.764
for my mental health.
00:02:21.765 --> 00:02:22.598
- [Protesters] Gay rights!
00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:24.117
What\'s the solution? Revolution!
00:02:24.118 --> 00:02:25.758
What\'s the fight? Gay rights!
00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:27.779
What\'s the solution? Revolution!
00:02:27.780 --> 00:02:30.197
What\'s the fight? Gay rights!
00:02:44.019 --> 00:02:46.602
(somber music)
00:02:58.881 --> 00:03:02.387
- Yeah, this was a sort of
a selfie of the generation.
00:03:02.388 --> 00:03:05.847
It\'s a self-portrait,
where I set up the camera
00:03:05.848 --> 00:03:07.761
and used a self-timer,
00:03:08.830 --> 00:03:12.147
trying to look very cool,
as one was supposed to look
00:03:12.148 --> 00:03:14.961
in those days. (chuckles)
00:03:17.608 --> 00:03:21.828
When I was 16, I knew that I was gay.
00:03:23.311 --> 00:03:24.587
I couldn\'t tell my parents,
00:03:24.588 --> 00:03:26.511
I couldn\'t tell religious leaders.
00:03:28.268 --> 00:03:31.161
If it was exposed, you would
bring shame on your family.
00:03:32.498 --> 00:03:35.731
The word meant you were mentally ill.
00:03:37.068 --> 00:03:40.284
As a kid, you\'re scared shitless.
00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.144
(school bell ringing)
00:03:48.968 --> 00:03:51.267
- I was in junior high school,
00:03:51.268 --> 00:03:55.111
and the word got out that I was a lesbian.
00:03:57.238 --> 00:04:00.507
Well, my mother was very
upset with what she had heard,
00:04:00.508 --> 00:04:04.917
and her idea was, this is not normal,
00:04:04.918 --> 00:04:07.827
and if I didn\'t consent to get married,
00:04:07.828 --> 00:04:09.161
that I would go to Utica.
00:04:11.193 --> 00:04:13.181
That was the mental institution.
00:04:14.778 --> 00:04:17.301
That happened to a lot of
my friends who were gay.
00:04:18.178 --> 00:04:20.777
You\'d see them today, and
a couple of weeks later
00:04:20.778 --> 00:04:21.878
you wouldn\'t see them.
00:04:22.968 --> 00:04:26.347
And so it was either get
married or go to Utica.
00:04:26.348 --> 00:04:28.301
I got married at 14.
00:04:32.548 --> 00:04:35.034
Most people in those days,
that\'s what they thought,
00:04:35.035 --> 00:04:37.247
you know, you get married,
okay, you\'d be cured,
00:04:37.248 --> 00:04:39.848
or we\'re going to put you
in a mental institution.
00:04:43.678 --> 00:04:46.667
- It is very hard nowadays
to have any awareness
00:04:46.668 --> 00:04:48.968
of how different the
world was for gay people.
00:04:51.172 --> 00:04:53.857
In the 1950s and 60s, we had church
00:04:53.858 --> 00:04:56.351
deciding homosexuality was sinful,
00:04:57.238 --> 00:05:00.217
governments deciding that it was criminal,
00:05:00.218 --> 00:05:03.251
and then we had psychiatrists
state that we were sick.
00:05:08.038 --> 00:05:10.807
Both of my parents were psychoanalysts,
00:05:10.808 --> 00:05:12.767
so I read the psychiatric literature
00:05:12.768 --> 00:05:15.037
in my teens and twenties.
00:05:15.038 --> 00:05:18.919
It said gay people are
universally nasty, pathetic,
00:05:18.920 --> 00:05:21.847
psychotic, manipulative, superficial,
00:05:21.848 --> 00:05:23.771
unable to form real relationships.
00:05:25.218 --> 00:05:29.031
As a young gay person,
that was devastating,
00:05:30.208 --> 00:05:33.611
but it\'s what psychiatrists
believed at the time.
00:05:34.608 --> 00:05:38.107
- The most frequent pattern
that you find is a dominant,
00:05:38.108 --> 00:05:42.177
seductive mother, controlling, possessive,
00:05:42.178 --> 00:05:45.947
and a rather weak,
distant, or absent father.
00:05:45.948 --> 00:05:48.197
- We usually are referring
to male homosexuals,
00:05:48.198 --> 00:05:49.517
but also in the females.
00:05:49.518 --> 00:05:52.937
The triangle between the
parents and the child.
00:05:52.938 --> 00:05:57.827
- I do not believe that
it is possible to produce
00:05:57.828 --> 00:06:01.857
a homosexual if the father
00:06:01.858 --> 00:06:04.957
is a constructive father to his son.
00:06:04.958 --> 00:06:06.087
- I was wondering if you think
00:06:06.088 --> 00:06:08.038
that there are any \"happy homosexuals\"?
00:06:09.093 --> 00:06:11.177
- The fact that somebody
is homosexual automatically
00:06:11.178 --> 00:06:15.517
rules out the possibility
that he will remain happy
00:06:15.518 --> 00:06:17.288
for long, in my opinion.
00:06:19.728 --> 00:06:20.561
- [Lawrence Hartmann] Many
of these psychiatrists
00:06:20.562 --> 00:06:23.637
were in charge of the American
Psychiatric Association,
00:06:23.638 --> 00:06:25.345
or the APA.
00:06:25.346 --> 00:06:26.827
This was by far
00:06:26.828 --> 00:06:29.785
the most important psychiatric
organization on earth.
00:06:29.786 --> 00:06:31.707
It was the biggest, it was the richest,
00:06:31.708 --> 00:06:33.677
it was the most influential.
00:06:33.678 --> 00:06:37.270
And they had the power,
ultimately calling homosexuality
00:06:37.271 --> 00:06:39.827
a mental illness in the first edition
00:06:39.828 --> 00:06:43.531
of The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual in 1952.
00:06:48.118 --> 00:06:52.471
- The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual, DSM,
00:06:53.318 --> 00:06:57.521
lists all of the mental disorders.
00:06:59.448 --> 00:07:04.391
It\'s that list that defines
who is sick and who is not.
00:07:06.408 --> 00:07:11.357
And in there is a section
of sexual deviations,
00:07:11.358 --> 00:07:14.801
and homosexuality was
at the top of the list.
00:07:16.958 --> 00:07:21.611
That diagnosis was used in
many ways against gay people.
00:07:23.928 --> 00:07:25.207
- You couldn\'t keep your own children
00:07:25.208 --> 00:07:27.397
if you were in a marriage
and found to be gay.
00:07:27.398 --> 00:07:28.698
You couldn\'t be a teacher.
00:07:30.628 --> 00:07:32.397
You couldn\'t be a judge or a banker
00:07:32.398 --> 00:07:33.648
or a head of an industry.
00:07:35.761 --> 00:07:38.711
It meant you were open to
blackmail, which was very common.
00:07:40.850 --> 00:07:43.131
I wanted to be a psychiatrist.
00:07:44.028 --> 00:07:47.631
The only way of doing that
was to stay in the closet.
00:07:49.108 --> 00:07:51.357
I was suicidal for a while,
00:07:51.358 --> 00:07:55.047
and I certainly was
heavily clouded by the idea
00:07:55.048 --> 00:07:58.297
that if my parents, my
friends, and my teachers
00:07:58.298 --> 00:08:00.037
all think it\'s an illness,
00:08:00.038 --> 00:08:03.771
can I really be all right
about thinking that it\'s not?
00:08:06.296 --> 00:08:08.942
- Nobody talked about it.
00:08:08.943 --> 00:08:10.867
You could be sitting next
to a person that was gay,
00:08:10.868 --> 00:08:13.507
you\'d never know, because
they\'d be so far in the closet,
00:08:13.508 --> 00:08:15.558
you\'d have to shine a light to find them.
00:08:16.848 --> 00:08:19.797
- I was among the many who got married
00:08:19.798 --> 00:08:23.233
because all the authority
figures in the culture,
00:08:23.234 --> 00:08:27.897
the healthcare people all said,
\"Well, this is undesirable.
00:08:27.898 --> 00:08:30.648
This is an illness and what\'s
more, you can change it.\"
00:08:32.318 --> 00:08:33.617
- [Lawrence Hartmann]
Thousands of gay people
00:08:33.618 --> 00:08:36.067
went to psychiatrists to be cured,
00:08:36.068 --> 00:08:38.618
as if that were the main
thing wrong in their life.
00:08:39.878 --> 00:08:42.641
The most typical treatment
was talk therapy,
00:08:43.608 --> 00:08:46.667
but many gay people were subjected
00:08:46.668 --> 00:08:49.051
to more aggressive treatment.
00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:53.862
(somber music)
00:09:01.608 --> 00:09:04.321
- They were unable to cope
with the fact that I was gay,
00:09:06.998 --> 00:09:09.721
and so they looked for a doctor
who was going to cure me.
00:09:11.118 --> 00:09:14.657
And when I first saw him, I
recall his statement to me,
00:09:14.658 --> 00:09:16.647
that, \"Well, we could castrate you,
00:09:16.648 --> 00:09:19.648
but let\'s try some treatments
and see what we can do there.\"
00:09:20.628 --> 00:09:23.228
Next thing, I was going
into a mental institution
00:09:24.128 --> 00:09:25.871
and receiving shock therapy.
00:09:28.398 --> 00:09:30.831
It was a very frightening experience.
00:09:32.548 --> 00:09:35.671
We would wait for maybe an
hour or two for your turn.
00:09:37.078 --> 00:09:39.357
With utter terror, the clock would go
00:09:39.358 --> 00:09:41.217
and you\'d have people, someone would come
00:09:41.218 --> 00:09:43.367
and call the individuals
and you knew when your turn
00:09:43.368 --> 00:09:46.917
was coming and how, each time,
you would hope against hope
00:09:46.918 --> 00:09:48.377
that it wasn\'t your turn yet.
00:09:48.378 --> 00:09:50.767
That there would be one more
time before you had to go
00:09:50.768 --> 00:09:51.818
into the little room.
00:10:00.358 --> 00:10:02.761
You would go into a fairly small cubicle.
00:10:04.026 --> 00:10:06.668
A little machine would
be wheeled into the room.
00:10:12.455 --> 00:10:14.657
And you\'re aware, constantly,
of this little box over there
00:10:14.658 --> 00:10:17.046
and what it\'s going to do to you.
00:10:17.047 --> 00:10:18.208
- [Medical Personnel] This
will help you to get well.
00:10:18.209 --> 00:10:19.459
- [Patient] No!
00:10:26.768 --> 00:10:28.567
- [Rick] That would be the
last thing I would recall,
00:10:28.568 --> 00:10:31.457
would be just spinning
wildly out of control,
00:10:31.458 --> 00:10:33.811
until you lose total consciousness.
00:10:39.918 --> 00:10:44.918
- Many of us did have various
treatments, including shock.
00:10:46.858 --> 00:10:51.247
I personally don\'t know anybody
who was a friend of mine
00:10:51.248 --> 00:10:55.177
who underwent a lobotomy,
but that did happen.
00:10:55.178 --> 00:10:56.178
- [Surgeon] Ready?
00:10:58.268 --> 00:10:59.766
- [Interviewer] Why did
you have that operation,
00:10:59.767 --> 00:11:01.141
do you know?
00:11:01.142 --> 00:11:05.391
- I think it was something to
do with my sexual intercourse.
00:11:06.303 --> 00:11:09.301
- [Interviewer] Was
that seriously in error?
00:11:10.218 --> 00:11:13.137
- Well, I thought it was anyhow.
00:11:13.138 --> 00:11:16.161
- It takes away memories.
00:11:17.568 --> 00:11:21.031
Chunks of a person\'s life
are missing, forever.
00:11:24.358 --> 00:11:29.358
- I saw things that, anybody
who hadn\'t been through,
00:11:29.708 --> 00:11:31.937
who couldn\'t allow themselves to believe
00:11:31.938 --> 00:11:33.677
could happen in this country.
00:11:33.678 --> 00:11:37.331
But it was. It was like a,
you know, a horror movie.
00:11:43.072 --> 00:11:47.551
♪ I will never forget ♪
00:11:47.552 --> 00:11:50.996
♪ The time that we met ♪
00:11:50.997 --> 00:11:53.237
♪ There was spring in the air ♪
00:11:53.238 --> 00:11:58.238
- In 1961, I was living in Boston.
00:12:00.978 --> 00:12:05.407
I had already decided that
the psychiatrists were wrong
00:12:05.408 --> 00:12:09.591
and that their theories were just hogwash.
00:12:10.978 --> 00:12:13.937
I was working in the Reference Library
00:12:13.938 --> 00:12:16.251
at the Christian Science Monitor.
00:12:17.788 --> 00:12:21.471
I didn\'t know where on earth
to find other gay people.
00:12:22.328 --> 00:12:26.247
I finally said to myself,
\"What\'s wrong with me?
00:12:26.248 --> 00:12:28.317
I\'m researching everything in the world
00:12:28.318 --> 00:12:32.277
for everybody else here, but
I\'m not researching the thing
00:12:32.278 --> 00:12:34.425
that concerns me the most.\"
00:12:35.588 --> 00:12:38.861
And that\'s when I found
the Daughters of Bilitis.
00:12:40.287 --> 00:12:43.137
- [Reporter] Founded
in 1955, the Daughters
00:12:43.138 --> 00:12:45.761
is the only national lesbian organization.
00:12:46.858 --> 00:12:49.347
One of its main aims is
to educate the public
00:12:49.348 --> 00:12:51.181
out of its fear of lesbians.
00:12:52.588 --> 00:12:55.817
- They were planning a
meeting in Rhode Island.
00:12:55.818 --> 00:12:59.751
Well, I was so elated.
00:13:00.868 --> 00:13:04.521
I drove down and I thought
there\'d be a lot of people.
00:13:05.936 --> 00:13:08.241
There were eight women altogether.
00:13:09.688 --> 00:13:13.357
And there was Barbara
Gittings, the lone organizer
00:13:13.358 --> 00:13:15.871
of this tiny band of people.
00:13:17.895 --> 00:13:20.957
And some of the women told
her she should go after me,
00:13:20.958 --> 00:13:23.066
I was a cute little package.
00:13:25.808 --> 00:13:30.277
Well, she turned out
to be my life partner.
00:13:30.278 --> 00:13:33.901
And we were together for 46 years.
00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:39.943
- [Women] 2, 4, 7, 9,
lesbians are mighty fine!
00:13:39.944 --> 00:13:44.323
2, 4, 6, 8, gay is just
as good as straight!
00:13:44.324 --> 00:13:46.130
2, 4, 6, 8...
00:13:46.131 --> 00:13:48.327
- We were just together
every step of the way
00:13:48.328 --> 00:13:50.018
in terms of the movement.
00:13:51.138 --> 00:13:55.407
I did the photography
and she was out there
00:13:55.408 --> 00:13:58.215
very much in the forefront.
00:13:58.216 --> 00:14:00.717
- For a time there, I was
really thinking that one ought
00:14:00.718 --> 00:14:01.957
to try to change.
00:14:01.958 --> 00:14:04.747
That was when I was unhappy, and it made
00:14:04.748 --> 00:14:06.007
an enormous difference
00:14:06.008 --> 00:14:09.237
when I met self-accepting homosexuals.
00:14:09.238 --> 00:14:12.007
- Barbara was a born leader.
00:14:12.008 --> 00:14:15.135
She wasn\'t intimidated by the shrinks
00:14:15.136 --> 00:14:17.223
or Frank Kameny (laughs).
00:14:21.148 --> 00:14:24.287
- Frank was out before people were out.
00:14:24.288 --> 00:14:26.427
He was part of the Mattachine Society,
00:14:26.428 --> 00:14:29.667
which is the grandfather
of gay organizations,
00:14:29.668 --> 00:14:32.671
and, wow, he was a showstopper.
00:14:34.478 --> 00:14:37.477
- [Kay Lahusen] He was just
so goddamn full of himself
00:14:37.478 --> 00:14:39.907
and sure that he was right.
00:14:39.908 --> 00:14:43.741
But he really was the biggest
brain in the movement.
00:14:45.398 --> 00:14:49.127
- I came to Washington in 1956.
00:14:49.128 --> 00:14:53.447
I had my degrees in astronomy,
and was able to get a job
00:14:53.448 --> 00:14:57.404
with the government,
until, one day, they said,
00:14:57.405 --> 00:14:59.997
\"We have information
which leads us to believe
00:14:59.998 --> 00:15:02.137
you are homosexual, do
you have any comment?\"
00:15:02.138 --> 00:15:03.777
I said, \"What\'s the information?\"
00:15:03.778 --> 00:15:05.480
They said, \"We can\'t tell you.\"
00:15:05.481 --> 00:15:07.817
I said, \"Well then, I have no answers.\"
00:15:07.818 --> 00:15:11.477
So I was fired, and that made clear to me
00:15:11.478 --> 00:15:14.727
that there were issues
that had to be fought.
00:15:14.728 --> 00:15:18.117
Every American citizen has
the right to be considered
00:15:18.118 --> 00:15:22.137
by his government, on the basis
of his own personal merit,
00:15:22.138 --> 00:15:23.551
as an individual.
00:15:24.798 --> 00:15:27.917
Eventually, I met Barbara Gittings
00:15:27.918 --> 00:15:31.437
and we initiated picketing and
demonstrating by gay people
00:15:31.438 --> 00:15:33.331
in April of 1965.
00:15:36.428 --> 00:15:39.461
This was a very, very, very tiny group.
00:15:40.336 --> 00:15:43.086
(dramatic music)
00:15:48.368 --> 00:15:52.117
- Nobody was expecting to
see a bunch of homosexuals
00:15:52.118 --> 00:15:55.937
with signs proclaiming, gay is good.
00:15:55.938 --> 00:15:59.212
One woman said, \"Oh, they\'re
all actors.\" (laughs)
00:16:01.998 --> 00:16:03.447
- The people who took part
00:16:03.448 --> 00:16:06.007
in these picket demonstrations were
00:16:06.008 --> 00:16:08.211
a very courageous band of people.
00:16:09.378 --> 00:16:14.177
It took a lot of guts, to
stand up and risk your job,
00:16:14.178 --> 00:16:18.727
your family, knowing that
somebody from a news syndicate
00:16:18.728 --> 00:16:20.437
could put your picture on the front page
00:16:20.438 --> 00:16:22.233
of your hometown newspaper.
00:16:26.598 --> 00:16:30.647
- We were seeking equality,
and it was obvious enough
00:16:30.648 --> 00:16:33.617
that you couldn\'t expect
equality to be granted
00:16:33.618 --> 00:16:37.387
to a bunch of loonies,
which is what the psychiatry
00:16:37.388 --> 00:16:39.831
of that day made of us.
00:16:42.367 --> 00:16:45.147
So I decided to look at the issue.
00:16:45.148 --> 00:16:48.361
And I was absolutely
appalled with what I found.
00:16:49.218 --> 00:16:52.677
Just a lot of shabby, shoddy, sleazy,
00:16:52.678 --> 00:16:55.967
pseudo-science masquerading as science.
00:16:55.968 --> 00:16:57.737
Poor sampling techniques.
00:16:57.738 --> 00:17:01.167
I mean, why would a happy gay
person go to a psychiatrist?
00:17:01.168 --> 00:17:04.731
So all they saw were gay
people who had problems.
00:17:07.188 --> 00:17:12.188
- Nearly all studies on gayness
in the 50 years or so before
00:17:12.588 --> 00:17:15.377
were based on studying not gay people,
00:17:15.378 --> 00:17:18.271
but gay patients or gay prisoners.
00:17:19.138 --> 00:17:22.317
Staggering injustice if
you\'re going to extrapolate
00:17:22.318 --> 00:17:23.468
to what are gay people.
00:17:24.478 --> 00:17:26.600
- It\'s about time that this entire subject
00:17:26.601 --> 00:17:29.367
were taken off the psychoanalyst\'s couch
00:17:29.368 --> 00:17:31.218
and out of the psychiatrist\'s office.
00:17:32.198 --> 00:17:35.437
- Frank was adamant about our getting out
00:17:35.438 --> 00:17:37.561
from under the sickness label.
00:17:38.728 --> 00:17:41.997
And not all activists agreed with him.
00:17:41.998 --> 00:17:44.467
They viewed it as impossible to fight,
00:17:44.468 --> 00:17:48.195
to take on this behemoth called the APA.
00:17:48.196 --> 00:17:49.701
Not Frank.
00:17:51.236 --> 00:17:53.577
- Frank realized that
a lot of psychiatrists
00:17:53.578 --> 00:17:56.457
hadn\'t really given the issue much thought
00:17:56.458 --> 00:17:58.247
in a formal sense.
00:17:58.248 --> 00:18:01.307
Gay people came to them
with various symptoms,
00:18:01.308 --> 00:18:03.604
and the rubric of the day was,
00:18:03.605 --> 00:18:05.997
\"Well, this must be related to the fact
00:18:05.998 --> 00:18:08.337
that you have this
terrible mental disorder
00:18:08.338 --> 00:18:11.727
called homosexuality, and
we\'re gonna work on that.\"
00:18:11.728 --> 00:18:14.537
That opposed a couple of
very important moments
00:18:14.538 --> 00:18:15.698
in the history of psychiatry.
00:18:18.228 --> 00:18:21.477
- Freud was not optimistic
about curing homosexuality.
00:18:21.478 --> 00:18:25.047
In a letter to a mother who
wrote him about her son,
00:18:25.048 --> 00:18:27.191
he gave this account of his own view:
00:18:28.323 --> 00:18:30.507
\"Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage,
00:18:30.508 --> 00:18:33.278
but it is nothing to be ashamed of.
00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:35.857
It cannot be classified as an illness.\"
00:18:35.858 --> 00:18:38.087
- [Richard Pillard] Freud
had a relatively benign view
00:18:38.088 --> 00:18:39.877
of being gay.
00:18:39.878 --> 00:18:44.387
But when he died in
1939, a lot of his pupils
00:18:44.388 --> 00:18:47.001
began to have divergent points of view.
00:18:50.148 --> 00:18:52.747
And they were bold enough
to publish the view
00:18:52.748 --> 00:18:54.927
that Freud was wrong.
00:18:54.928 --> 00:18:57.671
Homosexuality could definitely be cured.
00:18:58.835 --> 00:19:01.831
And that became the status quo until 1948.
00:19:03.281 --> 00:19:07.543
♪ Ooh, ooh, Dr. Kinsey ♪
00:19:07.544 --> 00:19:11.247
♪ Ooh, ooh, Dr. Kinsey ♪
00:19:11.248 --> 00:19:13.557
- [Reporter] The estimate,
given by Dr. Alfred Kinsey,
00:19:13.558 --> 00:19:16.027
18% of all American men have as much
00:19:16.028 --> 00:19:19.567
or more sexual experience
with other men as with women.
00:19:19.568 --> 00:19:23.397
In other words, approximately
15 million men in this country
00:19:23.398 --> 00:19:26.177
have prolonged homosexual histories.
00:19:26.178 --> 00:19:28.029
♪ No wonder Bill was always strange ♪
00:19:28.030 --> 00:19:30.331
♪ And kissed me with such poise ♪
00:19:30.332 --> 00:19:31.787
♪ When I asked him where he\'d been ♪
00:19:31.788 --> 00:19:34.621
♪ He\'d say, \"Oh, out with the boys.\" ♪
00:19:34.622 --> 00:19:37.367
♪ Hey, hey, Dr. Kinsey ♪
00:19:37.368 --> 00:19:40.297
- [Richard Pillard] The
Kinsey Reports showed that
00:19:40.298 --> 00:19:42.447
everybody was doing everything sexual
00:19:42.448 --> 00:19:43.598
that you could imagine,
00:19:44.685 --> 00:19:48.698
and the news of that spread
across the country instantly.
00:19:52.118 --> 00:19:54.118
- He documented that there\'s a spectrum,
00:19:55.168 --> 00:20:00.168
and it went from straight
to bisexual to totally gay,
00:20:00.368 --> 00:20:02.647
and we were all somewhere from zero to six
00:20:02.648 --> 00:20:03.701
on a Kinsey scale.
00:20:04.918 --> 00:20:07.601
Well, the conservative
psychiatrists were horrified.
00:20:14.738 --> 00:20:19.161
- Kinsey was pretty much
discredited by psychiatry.
00:20:20.828 --> 00:20:24.776
At the time, we were a
very conservative society.
00:20:26.378 --> 00:20:30.271
Citizens were expected to
follow a very regimented path.
00:20:32.258 --> 00:20:36.571
You couldn\'t be gay and still be normal.
00:20:45.047 --> 00:20:48.397
- In the \'60s, I was working as
00:20:48.398 --> 00:20:50.961
a fifth-grade teacher in Westchester.
00:20:52.170 --> 00:20:55.791
I absolutely loved it. The kids loved me.
00:20:57.078 --> 00:21:00.647
But no way was I going to
tell anyone that I was gay
00:21:00.648 --> 00:21:04.471
because there was no question,
they would\'ve thrown me out.
00:21:05.337 --> 00:21:07.381
So I had to go to be cured.
00:21:09.368 --> 00:21:14.368
I decided to go see a
psychiatrist three times a week,
00:21:15.368 --> 00:21:17.977
talking about how I should date women
00:21:17.978 --> 00:21:20.187
and go to bed with them.
00:21:20.188 --> 00:21:23.757
- A gradual process of
reconditioning must take place,
00:21:23.758 --> 00:21:25.777
in which you encourage that male
00:21:25.778 --> 00:21:28.827
to have more and more contact
with the right kind of women,
00:21:28.828 --> 00:21:31.337
women that are warm and soft and easy
00:21:31.338 --> 00:21:33.887
and with whom they can
have relaxed relationships,
00:21:33.888 --> 00:21:35.697
which ultimately will lead to some sort
00:21:35.698 --> 00:21:37.598
of physical contact and gratification.
00:21:38.968 --> 00:21:41.957
- The real shame was not that I was gay.
00:21:41.958 --> 00:21:45.407
The real shame was that I went to bed
00:21:45.408 --> 00:21:47.307
with some very nice women who thought
00:21:47.308 --> 00:21:49.867
that there was a future,
and there was no future
00:21:49.868 --> 00:21:51.311
and it was unfair to them.
00:21:52.568 --> 00:21:57.481
I continued to see analysts
for about seven years.
00:21:58.538 --> 00:22:00.587
Nothing changed.
00:22:00.588 --> 00:22:03.701
And so I really started
feeling pretty lost.
00:22:04.737 --> 00:22:08.901
But fortunately, the
tidal wave was coming in.
00:22:10.008 --> 00:22:15.008
♪ I think this must be the
time for the revolution ♪
00:22:16.652 --> 00:22:21.652
♪ I think this must be the
time for the revolution ♪
00:22:23.203 --> 00:22:25.379
♪ I think the time is right ♪
00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:27.651
- I called 1969 the next frontier.
00:22:28.968 --> 00:22:31.457
There was the civil rights movement,
00:22:31.458 --> 00:22:35.171
the women\'s movement, people
fighting against the war.
00:22:36.168 --> 00:22:39.361
And I was involved with
a lot of the protests.
00:22:40.968 --> 00:22:45.968
I wasn\'t married anymore, and
I was raising five children
00:22:46.275 --> 00:22:47.901
as a lesbian mother.
00:22:48.758 --> 00:22:50.324
And then finally, one day
my mother just looked at me
00:22:50.325 --> 00:22:53.347
and she said, \"Oh well, I can\'t beat you,
00:22:53.348 --> 00:22:57.287
I guess I\'ll join you,\" and she hugged me.
00:22:57.288 --> 00:22:58.767
And that was like, I
guess that was kind of
00:22:58.768 --> 00:23:00.976
like our breakthrough because she knew
00:23:00.977 --> 00:23:02.571
I\'m not gonna change.
00:23:03.828 --> 00:23:06.657
Eventually, I became a minister.
00:23:06.658 --> 00:23:09.681
And then I started to get
involved in the gay community.
00:23:10.808 --> 00:23:14.227
By that time, I knew that if
you want to call attention
00:23:14.228 --> 00:23:16.647
to an issue and you wanna make a change,
00:23:16.648 --> 00:23:18.301
you gonna take it to the streets.
00:23:19.418 --> 00:23:22.168
(dramatic music)
00:23:23.148 --> 00:23:27.777
Stonewall was a gay bar and in those days,
00:23:27.778 --> 00:23:29.317
it was just a known fact that the cops
00:23:29.318 --> 00:23:30.667
could just come and raid the bars
00:23:30.668 --> 00:23:32.018
whenever they felt like it.
00:23:34.548 --> 00:23:37.163
But this night, there were so many of us
00:23:37.164 --> 00:23:37.997
that were at the same point.
00:23:37.998 --> 00:23:39.207
You know, enough is enough,
00:23:39.208 --> 00:23:41.683
we\'re not gonna take it anymore, period!
00:23:43.268 --> 00:23:45.334
It was the people against the police.
00:23:46.238 --> 00:23:51.238
Black, white, Puerto Rican,
transgender, drag queens.
00:23:51.508 --> 00:23:54.851
This was not a riot. This was an uprising.
00:24:02.708 --> 00:24:04.981
This went on, right through the weekend.
00:24:09.122 --> 00:24:11.694
And that was when a lot of
gay people started saying,
00:24:11.695 --> 00:24:12.927
\"Yeah, we can do something.
00:24:12.928 --> 00:24:15.672
Yes, we can stand up. Yes we can.\"
00:24:30.326 --> 00:24:31.546
- [Protesters] What\'s
the fight? Gay rights!
00:24:31.547 --> 00:24:34.214
What\'s the solution? Revolution!
00:24:36.028 --> 00:24:37.827
- [Reporter] Through
demonstrations and political
00:24:37.828 --> 00:24:40.727
and educational pressure,
the Gay Liberation Movement
00:24:40.728 --> 00:24:44.701
is challenging a society
that abhors homosexuality.
00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:48.240
- [Protesters] Gay Power!
00:24:48.241 --> 00:24:49.397
Gay Power!
00:24:49.398 --> 00:24:53.767
- Very suddenly, the
movement became bigger.
00:24:53.768 --> 00:24:56.517
We had some of what
you\'d call Young Turks.
00:24:56.518 --> 00:25:01.421
They started organizing different
groups, helping the cause.
00:25:05.998 --> 00:25:08.457
- Nearly everyone who was
involved had been active
00:25:08.458 --> 00:25:10.867
in civil rights or anti-war movement
00:25:10.868 --> 00:25:12.427
or the women\'s movement.
00:25:12.428 --> 00:25:16.127
So, we were all experienced
street activists.
00:25:16.128 --> 00:25:17.967
- Gay people have the
same right to protections
00:25:17.968 --> 00:25:21.077
as a minority, as any other
minority in this city!
00:25:21.078 --> 00:25:23.117
- I don\'t want you in my schools!
00:25:23.118 --> 00:25:24.898
I don\'t want you in my home!
00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:28.756
- We learned that you have
to have righteous anger.
00:25:28.757 --> 00:25:32.021
It\'s essential to get what you want.
00:25:33.228 --> 00:25:37.351
- We were on fire. Something
was unleashed in us.
00:25:38.288 --> 00:25:41.327
It was no longer acceptance.
It was self-acceptance.
00:25:41.328 --> 00:25:44.251
And in that difference
comes the revolution.
00:25:46.398 --> 00:25:48.651
- We had to rise above our differences.
00:25:49.778 --> 00:25:51.657
I was always saying, you know, \"Look,
00:25:51.658 --> 00:25:53.577
you\'re having a tough time
over here \'cause you\'re gay,
00:25:53.578 --> 00:25:55.131
we\'re having a tough time over here
00:25:55.132 --> 00:25:56.332
\'cause we\'re Black and gay.\"
00:25:58.542 --> 00:26:00.687
- [Protesters] What\'s
the fight? Gay rights!
00:26:00.688 --> 00:26:02.829
- But we learned to stand up
00:26:02.830 --> 00:26:04.151
and fight together.
00:26:05.318 --> 00:26:08.797
And to see so many
people get courage enough
00:26:08.798 --> 00:26:13.061
to come out of the closet,
that was like, amazing.
00:26:30.709 --> 00:26:33.847
- One day, I read in The Village Voice
00:26:33.848 --> 00:26:36.737
that the Gay Activists Alliance had dances
00:26:36.738 --> 00:26:39.581
at the Firehouse on Wooster Street.
00:26:40.708 --> 00:26:44.097
Absolutely terrified, I drove down
00:26:44.098 --> 00:26:47.371
and there was this long line of people.
00:26:49.278 --> 00:26:52.166
Okay, so I went in.
00:26:53.058 --> 00:26:54.881
It was absolutely wonderful.
00:26:56.382 --> 00:26:58.882
(funky music)
00:27:08.388 --> 00:27:11.421
Everybody was having a good
time and laughing and joking.
00:27:13.758 --> 00:27:18.758
I realized, you know, there
isn\'t anything wrong with them,
00:27:20.278 --> 00:27:22.328
so there can\'t be anything wrong with me.
00:27:24.138 --> 00:27:26.441
And my world changed.
00:27:29.288 --> 00:27:31.596
I dropped my analyst,
00:27:32.588 --> 00:27:35.504
identified with the Gay Movement,
00:27:36.348 --> 00:27:39.191
and started fighting for our rights.
00:27:41.738 --> 00:27:43.177
I saw that there was
00:27:43.178 --> 00:27:46.857
this growing rebellion against psychiatry.
00:27:46.858 --> 00:27:50.388
There was a lot of resentment and fury
00:27:51.473 --> 00:27:54.261
about having to suffer that way.
00:27:55.658 --> 00:28:00.654
And Gay Liberation wanted
to remove homosexuality
00:28:00.655 --> 00:28:03.371
from The Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual.
00:28:05.028 --> 00:28:08.007
- We knew nothing would
ever change as long
00:28:08.008 --> 00:28:11.131
as we were burdened
with the sickness label.
00:28:12.178 --> 00:28:15.741
We had to go up against
psychiatry and fight.
00:28:17.058 --> 00:28:19.435
- There were many people that said,
00:28:19.436 --> 00:28:21.586
\"You\'re crazy, what
you\'re trying to do here.
00:28:21.587 --> 00:28:22.637
It\'ll never succeed.\"
00:28:30.928 --> 00:28:32.657
- In the spring of 1970, we became aware
00:28:32.658 --> 00:28:35.277
that the APA was going
to have their convention
00:28:35.278 --> 00:28:38.137
in San Francisco, and we just realized
00:28:38.138 --> 00:28:40.681
that that would be too good
of an opportunity to pass up.
00:28:43.028 --> 00:28:45.147
The psychiatric establishment
looked pretty formidable,
00:28:45.148 --> 00:28:49.067
but we wanted to plan our
own life in our own way
00:28:49.068 --> 00:28:51.591
and do what we had to do
in order to achieve that.
00:28:53.488 --> 00:28:56.941
The event was held at the
San Francisco Civic Center.
00:28:58.428 --> 00:29:01.437
Someone from the inside
got us press passes,
00:29:01.438 --> 00:29:03.888
and we were able to get
in the door quite easily.
00:29:07.568 --> 00:29:10.191
The APA convention was very intimidating.
00:29:11.568 --> 00:29:14.271
There were more than 10,000 psychiatrists.
00:29:17.728 --> 00:29:20.847
We went through the program
and there were two panels
00:29:20.848 --> 00:29:23.577
that caught our attention.
00:29:23.578 --> 00:29:25.667
The first was Dr. Bieber,
00:29:25.668 --> 00:29:28.851
who was a notoriously
homophobic psychiatrist.
00:29:30.178 --> 00:29:32.137
We just let him proceed with his lecture.
00:29:32.138 --> 00:29:33.807
At a certain point, we started getting up
00:29:33.808 --> 00:29:36.777
and shouting at him,
telling him he was barbaric,
00:29:36.778 --> 00:29:38.727
and, you know, he was a motherfucker.
00:29:38.728 --> 00:29:42.471
And I think he was a
little taken aback by that.
00:29:44.270 --> 00:29:47.437
And the other panel was a
presentation about a treatment
00:29:47.438 --> 00:29:49.627
that was becoming more popular,
00:29:49.628 --> 00:29:54.628
aversion therapy, which,
sometimes, was genital shock.
00:29:54.763 --> 00:29:56.680
- [Technician] Testing.
00:29:58.078 --> 00:30:00.617
- For gay men, they would show slides
00:30:00.618 --> 00:30:03.431
of females and they wouldn\'t get a shock.
00:30:06.308 --> 00:30:07.917
And then they\'d show slides of males
00:30:07.918 --> 00:30:09.531
and they would get a shock.
00:30:14.388 --> 00:30:18.167
And that would, presumably,
make them attracted to females
00:30:18.168 --> 00:30:19.471
and averse to males.
00:30:21.588 --> 00:30:24.487
There were people in our
group who had been the victim
00:30:24.488 --> 00:30:25.711
of aversion therapy.
00:30:26.988 --> 00:30:29.307
You rarely get a chance
to confront so directly
00:30:29.308 --> 00:30:30.537
one of your enemies.
00:30:30.538 --> 00:30:31.677
You\'re not gonna confront the president
00:30:31.678 --> 00:30:34.547
or the Pope or the governor, very likely,
00:30:34.548 --> 00:30:36.887
but you get into a room
and there\'s, you know,
00:30:36.888 --> 00:30:39.807
with a psychiatrist and you
get to tell them exactly
00:30:39.808 --> 00:30:42.101
what you think of it,
of course it feels good.
00:30:43.168 --> 00:30:45.977
These are the demands from
the Gay Liberation Movement
00:30:45.978 --> 00:30:47.541
to the APA Convention.
00:30:49.688 --> 00:30:53.607
There is no cure for that
which is not a disease.
00:30:53.608 --> 00:30:56.387
Psychiatrists who promise
cure with lobotomies,
00:30:56.388 --> 00:30:59.411
castration, and brainwashing
techniques are sadistic,
00:31:00.308 --> 00:31:03.191
and the system that supports
them must be abolished.
00:31:07.938 --> 00:31:12.547
- It had an impact, and soon
at psychiatric meetings,
00:31:12.548 --> 00:31:15.724
there were demonstrations,
if not, in fact, riots.
00:31:20.038 --> 00:31:23.041
- In every major city, something happened.
00:31:24.408 --> 00:31:27.711
In Chicago, in Atlanta,
in New York, in Boston.
00:31:30.439 --> 00:31:32.987
- At one convention, I
was with Barbara Gittings
00:31:32.988 --> 00:31:36.977
and our people all came in and proceeded
00:31:36.978 --> 00:31:41.978
to invade the ordination of
all the new psychiatrists.
00:31:42.108 --> 00:31:45.557
Well, there was a group
of elderly psychiatrists
00:31:45.558 --> 00:31:49.397
and they were wearing honorary
gold medals and ribbons.
00:31:49.398 --> 00:31:52.507
And they proceeded to
attack the invaders, and
00:31:52.508 --> 00:31:56.577
beat them over the head with
their gold medals, literally!
00:31:56.578 --> 00:31:59.161
And chased them all back out the door.
00:32:00.318 --> 00:32:01.967
The whole thing was gonna fade away
00:32:01.968 --> 00:32:03.927
if something wasn\'t done.
00:32:03.928 --> 00:32:07.267
So I marched up, climbed
up on the platform,
00:32:07.268 --> 00:32:09.221
and I proceeded to denounce them.
00:32:10.554 --> 00:32:13.754
While they shook their fists
at me and called me a Nazi.
00:32:13.755 --> 00:32:18.517
And I said, I\'m a scientist
by training and background
00:32:18.518 --> 00:32:20.987
and if they felt it was a
disturbance or a disorder
00:32:20.988 --> 00:32:23.027
or a pathology, fine,
00:32:23.028 --> 00:32:25.387
let them present their good, sound,
00:32:25.388 --> 00:32:29.525
solid scientific evidence to
show it, and they never did.
00:32:32.848 --> 00:32:34.427
- The demonstrations shocked
00:32:34.428 --> 00:32:37.637
the American Psychiatric
Association enormously,
00:32:37.638 --> 00:32:40.421
and organized psychiatry
was scuttling for safety.
00:32:41.718 --> 00:32:44.367
They didn\'t realize, well, to some people,
00:32:44.368 --> 00:32:47.457
this is a matter of serious,
00:32:47.458 --> 00:32:49.291
a serious concern in their lives.
00:32:53.838 --> 00:32:56.177
- When Gay Liberation came along,
00:32:56.178 --> 00:33:00.097
I was a doctoral student at UCLA,
00:33:00.098 --> 00:33:03.427
and there was some sense that something
00:33:03.428 --> 00:33:05.507
was gonna change for me.
00:33:05.508 --> 00:33:10.107
There was a line in a poem I
once read that stuck with me,
00:33:10.108 --> 00:33:11.694
where the poet said,
00:33:11.695 --> 00:33:16.695
\"I turned my gaze for a
minute, and it became my life.\"
00:33:16.698 --> 00:33:21.031
And I had that sense that
that\'s what was happening.
00:33:41.748 --> 00:33:45.437
In October of 1970, this
big conference was happening
00:33:45.438 --> 00:33:47.067
in Los Angeles.
00:33:47.068 --> 00:33:49.787
I got up and walked up
to the front of the room,
00:33:49.788 --> 00:33:53.121
to the stage, and I took the microphone.
00:33:56.248 --> 00:33:57.731
The doctor takes it back.
00:33:58.633 --> 00:34:01.567
What they didn\'t expect was
me to grab that from him
00:34:01.568 --> 00:34:04.318
and we were gonna talk, not them.
00:34:17.583 --> 00:34:21.750
(voices talking over one another)
00:34:30.618 --> 00:34:35.615
- When this began, the LAPD
was notified and the SWAT team
00:34:35.616 --> 00:34:38.977
was mobilized directly across the street.
00:34:38.978 --> 00:34:42.657
So we were inches away from
being arrested that day.
00:34:42.658 --> 00:34:46.117
One person said, \"It\'s like
you had balls of steel.\"
00:34:46.118 --> 00:34:47.168
I said, \"No, no, no.\"
00:34:48.060 --> 00:34:50.697
We were afraid, we were scared.
00:34:50.698 --> 00:34:52.064
It was something we needed to do.
00:35:15.918 --> 00:35:19.717
About a third of them left in
anger and who were remaining,
00:35:19.718 --> 00:35:22.857
we explained we would break
down into small groups,
00:35:22.858 --> 00:35:26.378
because they had never sat down
and talked with gay people,
00:35:26.379 --> 00:35:29.885
where the shrinkologists
weren\'t in charge.
00:35:29.886 --> 00:35:32.334
Gay and lesbian people were saying,
00:35:32.335 --> 00:35:35.827
\"We are the experts on our
lives, and we will tell you
00:35:35.828 --> 00:35:37.225
what it\'s like being gay.\"
00:35:38.638 --> 00:35:41.687
And the shrinkologists were
listening to these gay people.
00:35:41.688 --> 00:35:44.177
There was true dialogue taking place.
00:35:44.178 --> 00:35:46.207
For the first time in history,
00:35:46.208 --> 00:35:49.037
gay people are beginning
to define themselves.
00:35:49.038 --> 00:35:52.107
No longer are we allowing
the mental health industry
00:35:52.108 --> 00:35:55.740
to define who we are,
we\'re doing it ourselves.
00:35:55.741 --> 00:36:00.387
That is what slowly rippled
out to the rest of the country
00:36:00.388 --> 00:36:02.097
and the rest of that profession.
00:36:02.098 --> 00:36:04.493
It was working, it was working.
00:36:04.494 --> 00:36:07.247
(upbeat music)
00:36:07.248 --> 00:36:09.717
- [Reporter] Through the avenues
of protest, confrontation,
00:36:09.718 --> 00:36:12.897
and dialogue, gay
activists have had success
00:36:12.898 --> 00:36:15.917
in persuading some
well-respected psychiatrists
00:36:15.918 --> 00:36:19.997
to reevaluate their thinking
in relation to homosexuality.
00:36:19.998 --> 00:36:24.917
- What I insist is that
homosexuality, in and of itself,
00:36:24.918 --> 00:36:27.917
does not constitute a mental disorder.
00:36:27.918 --> 00:36:30.327
- There hasn\'t been
any question in my mind
00:36:30.328 --> 00:36:35.328
that we have had repressive,
punitive attitudes
00:36:36.478 --> 00:36:40.893
that have brought to
the lives of many people
00:36:40.894 --> 00:36:42.718
grave misery.
00:36:43.738 --> 00:36:46.021
- [Announcer] Dr. Richard Green.
00:36:46.022 --> 00:36:49.189
(audience applauding)
00:36:50.518 --> 00:36:54.007
- I don\'t believe that
psychiatry should come through
00:36:54.008 --> 00:36:58.287
to individuals in a moral,
judgmental, or religious way.
00:36:58.288 --> 00:37:02.087
I decided that there really
ought to be a paper published
00:37:02.088 --> 00:37:06.457
in the psychiatric literature
questioning the logic,
00:37:06.458 --> 00:37:09.121
the conclusions that
homosexuality was a disorder.
00:37:10.548 --> 00:37:14.217
I sent it to my mentor,
and he advised me strongly
00:37:14.218 --> 00:37:15.807
not to publish this.
00:37:15.808 --> 00:37:17.858
Put it into a drawer and forget about it.
00:37:18.848 --> 00:37:20.771
Well, father doesn\'t always know best.
00:37:21.658 --> 00:37:23.017
I thought that the fact
00:37:23.018 --> 00:37:25.237
that I was a heterosexual psychiatrist,
00:37:25.238 --> 00:37:28.707
and also part of the
psychiatric establishment
00:37:28.708 --> 00:37:31.711
made it a more powerful argument
that had to be listened to.
00:37:33.398 --> 00:37:35.937
So I published this paper and I said,
00:37:35.938 --> 00:37:39.067
\"What I question in this
essay is the given state
00:37:39.068 --> 00:37:42.747
of \'knowledge\' that
homosexuality is by definition
00:37:42.748 --> 00:37:46.702
a \'disorder, \' \'disease\' or an \'illness.\'
00:37:47.928 --> 00:37:50.547
I\'m not convinced we have the data
00:37:50.548 --> 00:37:52.957
by which to base these judgments.
00:37:52.958 --> 00:37:55.431
I question them because
they\'re not proved.\"
00:37:56.288 --> 00:37:58.037
That didn\'t go down too well.
00:37:58.038 --> 00:38:01.287
- We are interested in helping
the individual homosexual.
00:38:01.288 --> 00:38:04.997
The despair you create, sir,
in burying the homosexual
00:38:04.998 --> 00:38:07.757
and taking him out of the realm
of medicine and psychiatry,
00:38:07.758 --> 00:38:09.117
I would say is much worse.
00:38:09.118 --> 00:38:10.127
I am for civil rights.
00:38:10.128 --> 00:38:11.987
I was the first psychiatrist...
00:38:11.988 --> 00:38:15.307
- Charles Socarides became
the most vigorous proponent
00:38:15.308 --> 00:38:18.727
of homosexuality as an illness
that\'s treatable and curable.
00:38:18.728 --> 00:38:22.187
And he would say often that
he\'s for civil liberties
00:38:22.188 --> 00:38:24.937
and equal protection of
people who are homosexual,
00:38:24.938 --> 00:38:26.357
but the fact of the matter is,
00:38:26.358 --> 00:38:29.997
his own writings were precisely
the arguments used by people
00:38:29.998 --> 00:38:33.131
who wanted to deny
homosexuals equal protection.
00:38:34.858 --> 00:38:38.540
- Charles Socarides had a
very thriving private practice
00:38:38.541 --> 00:38:42.411
treating gay people and
offering them the cure.
00:38:43.248 --> 00:38:44.854
His first book on the subject was called,
00:38:44.855 --> 00:38:46.001
\"The Overt Homosexual,\"
00:38:46.858 --> 00:38:48.908
and it was dedicated to me and my sister.
00:38:50.908 --> 00:38:52.358
Charles Socarides was my dad.
00:38:56.418 --> 00:38:58.637
He could be quite empathetic,
00:38:58.638 --> 00:39:02.537
which probably served
him well as a therapist.
00:39:02.538 --> 00:39:05.163
In my childhood and my adolescence,
00:39:05.164 --> 00:39:07.871
I was much more emotionally
connected to him.
00:39:09.678 --> 00:39:13.517
When I was six or seven,
my parents were divorced.
00:39:13.518 --> 00:39:16.427
And at around the time I was 13,
00:39:16.428 --> 00:39:19.281
I moved out of my mother\'s
and moved in with my dad.
00:39:20.748 --> 00:39:25.287
We lived in a townhouse on East
78th Street and his office,
00:39:25.288 --> 00:39:28.027
where he saw patients,
was in the downstairs
00:39:28.028 --> 00:39:30.171
and my bedroom was on the top floor.
00:39:31.998 --> 00:39:34.707
When he was three flights
below seeing a patient
00:39:34.708 --> 00:39:37.997
and, you know, attempting
a cure for homosexuality,
00:39:37.998 --> 00:39:41.071
you know, I was upstairs
being a young homosexual,
00:39:41.958 --> 00:39:45.107
experimenting along the way
as high school students do
00:39:45.108 --> 00:39:48.247
with early sexual experiences.
00:39:48.248 --> 00:39:51.137
And it never occurred to
me that this was something
00:39:51.138 --> 00:39:54.001
you could alter or change, it just was.
00:39:55.228 --> 00:39:59.691
And there were signs along
the way that he was on to me.
00:40:00.878 --> 00:40:04.567
I was very careful and quiet about it.
00:40:04.568 --> 00:40:08.867
I felt that if my
homosexuality became public,
00:40:08.868 --> 00:40:12.177
it could be embarrassing to him
and it could bring unwanted,
00:40:12.178 --> 00:40:13.327
you know, notoriety to me.
00:40:13.328 --> 00:40:16.301
I mean, I was as much afraid
for him as I was for myself.
00:40:18.799 --> 00:40:19.638
- The homosexual is suffering
00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:22.951
from a severe emotional
condition which can be altered,
00:40:24.668 --> 00:40:26.167
and I\'ve suggested to the government
00:40:26.168 --> 00:40:29.477
that a national center for
sexual rehabilitation be started,
00:40:29.478 --> 00:40:32.327
in which a great deal of
research and treatment
00:40:32.328 --> 00:40:34.081
and training must be done.
00:40:45.278 --> 00:40:47.657
- Activism lit the spark.
00:40:47.658 --> 00:40:50.637
But it was clear that a huge majority
00:40:50.638 --> 00:40:53.197
of the American Psychiatric Association
00:40:53.198 --> 00:40:55.806
still agreed with Socarides.
00:40:57.568 --> 00:40:59.517
Somebody, somewhere had to start
00:40:59.518 --> 00:41:01.747
within the American
Psychiatric Association
00:41:01.748 --> 00:41:05.667
to advance the idea that
being gay or lesbian
00:41:05.668 --> 00:41:08.147
should be taken off the terminology
00:41:08.148 --> 00:41:10.098
and not be considered a mental illness.
00:41:11.068 --> 00:41:15.767
- We formed an unofficial
group of sort of Young Turks,
00:41:15.768 --> 00:41:18.821
who decided we will try
to help reform the APA.
00:41:20.598 --> 00:41:22.587
This was a very small
number of psychiatrists
00:41:22.588 --> 00:41:24.507
from around the country,
00:41:24.508 --> 00:41:26.791
who were mostly very young and unknown.
00:41:27.908 --> 00:41:29.847
Our first priority was to make some allies
00:41:29.848 --> 00:41:32.137
who were senior, smart, recognized.
00:41:32.138 --> 00:41:34.331
And we did that very quickly.
00:41:35.493 --> 00:41:37.197
And then we started
figuring out how to get some
00:41:37.198 --> 00:41:40.647
of those people elected
to the board of trustees,
00:41:40.648 --> 00:41:43.727
which had the ultimate power in the APA.
00:41:43.728 --> 00:41:46.641
And that was essential to
getting anything changed.
00:41:51.888 --> 00:41:54.867
- Less than a decade ago,
a national poll showed
00:41:54.868 --> 00:41:57.347
that two thirds of the American people
00:41:57.348 --> 00:42:00.177
feared and hated homosexuals.
00:42:00.178 --> 00:42:04.197
But now, if the success of
books, magazines, and movies
00:42:04.198 --> 00:42:07.217
about homosexuals is any indication,
00:42:07.218 --> 00:42:09.141
that attitude is changing.
00:42:10.138 --> 00:42:14.559
- His pal Roger is as queer
as a $4 bill and he knows it.
00:42:14.560 --> 00:42:16.487
- We all know Roger and
we all know he\'s straight.
00:42:16.488 --> 00:42:19.249
And even if he wasn\'t, what
difference would that make?
00:42:19.250 --> 00:42:21.833
(upbeat music)
00:42:24.575 --> 00:42:27.597
- Do you know what the
word \"homosexual\" means?
00:42:27.598 --> 00:42:30.357
They say it\'s a sickness
that has to be cured.
00:42:30.358 --> 00:42:31.947
- I don\'t wanna talk about it.
00:42:31.948 --> 00:42:33.767
- Damn it, look at me!
00:42:33.768 --> 00:42:37.331
Does that change me so
much? I\'m still your father.
00:42:38.458 --> 00:42:41.387
- Ben and I aren\'t getting
married. He\'s not my type.
00:42:41.388 --> 00:42:43.737
- He\'s not your type?
00:42:43.738 --> 00:42:47.477
He\'s witty, he\'s
attractive, he\'s successful.
00:42:47.478 --> 00:42:48.903
- He\'s gay.
00:42:48.904 --> 00:42:50.328
(audience laughing)
00:42:51.878 --> 00:42:56.271
- By being so open about it,
by the media publicizing it,
00:42:57.868 --> 00:43:02.868
it helped to bring a fresh
breeze into the movement
00:43:03.035 --> 00:43:06.452
and to people, so that
they could talk about it.
00:43:08.420 --> 00:43:11.767
- Good evening and welcome.
My name is David Susskind.
00:43:11.768 --> 00:43:14.157
Tonight, our subject is homosexuality.
00:43:14.158 --> 00:43:16.557
Is it a sickness or a preferred lifestyle?
00:43:16.558 --> 00:43:17.558
- Oh, David.
00:43:19.207 --> 00:43:21.437
- Because it\'s one of
those human illnesses
00:43:21.438 --> 00:43:24.729
that I don\'t choose to educate
my children too deeply about.
00:43:24.730 --> 00:43:26.957
- David, why do you have
such a vested interest
00:43:26.958 --> 00:43:30.537
in trying to channel people, narrow down,
00:43:30.538 --> 00:43:33.217
to program them for this one
thing, this one way of life?
00:43:33.218 --> 00:43:35.042
- [Panel Member] To conform.
00:43:35.043 --> 00:43:38.857
- I\'ve told you why several
times and the audience hoots
00:43:38.858 --> 00:43:41.887
and howls and you refute it and deny it,
00:43:41.888 --> 00:43:43.797
and that has to do with the
body of medical evidence
00:43:43.798 --> 00:43:47.248
that suggests that it
is a mental aberration.
00:43:47.249 --> 00:43:48.687
- Isn\'t it possible that
the body of medical evidence
00:43:48.688 --> 00:43:50.807
could not have made a mistake?
00:43:50.808 --> 00:43:51.961
- It is possible, yes.
00:43:53.047 --> 00:43:56.041
- It\'s not only possible,
I\'m almost sure of it.
00:43:57.336 --> 00:43:59.657
You see, that was always
where I was coming from.
00:43:59.658 --> 00:44:03.351
I\'m not gonna allow you to
dictate to me about who I am.
00:44:04.418 --> 00:44:05.441
I know who I am.
00:44:06.694 --> 00:44:07.638
- You know, as a moderator on the show,
00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:09.897
you have a great responsibility
to your audience,
00:44:09.898 --> 00:44:12.437
and I really don\'t think
you\'re fulfilling that at all.
00:44:12.438 --> 00:44:14.177
- [David Susskind] Given a
choice, you\'d be the way you are?
00:44:14.178 --> 00:44:16.747
- Why should a lesbian make it with a man
00:44:16.748 --> 00:44:19.415
when there are all these
lovely women in the world?
00:44:21.705 --> 00:44:23.577
- Let me make another
point, about this body
00:44:23.578 --> 00:44:26.180
of psychiatric literature
that you\'re so devoted to.
00:44:26.181 --> 00:44:31.127
(audience laughing and applauding)
00:44:31.128 --> 00:44:33.867
- It\'s a very rare occasion
when I defend psychiatry.
00:44:33.868 --> 00:44:35.032
This is one of them.
00:44:35.033 --> 00:44:36.176
- Yeah, maybe it makes you feel good
00:44:36.177 --> 00:44:37.777
to be able to say that we are sick.
00:44:37.778 --> 00:44:38.678
Does it make you feel good?
00:44:38.679 --> 00:44:39.817
- [Panel Member] It\'s important for our-
00:44:39.818 --> 00:44:40.887
- Of course not, Reverend Kennedy.
00:44:40.888 --> 00:44:43.347
- And I say that the body of
knowledge which claims sickness
00:44:43.348 --> 00:44:45.356
for homosexuality has to be challenged.
00:44:45.357 --> 00:44:47.257
(audience applauding)
00:44:51.598 --> 00:44:56.598
- At that point in time, we
started pressing for meetings
00:44:56.828 --> 00:44:59.817
and public forums where we could challenge
00:44:59.818 --> 00:45:01.451
the sickness label.
00:45:02.358 --> 00:45:06.207
Some well-regarded psychiatrists started
00:45:06.208 --> 00:45:10.995
to go to bat for us, so
the APA finally agreed.
00:45:12.208 --> 00:45:15.077
They gave us a really good platform
00:45:15.078 --> 00:45:18.117
at their annual meeting in Dallas.
00:45:18.118 --> 00:45:21.397
There would be two psychiatrists,
00:45:21.398 --> 00:45:24.591
and they invited Frank
Kameny and Barbara Gittings.
00:45:25.848 --> 00:45:28.607
Well, when I heard about
the plans for this,
00:45:28.608 --> 00:45:32.607
I said, \"Well, you know,
what you need is one person
00:45:32.608 --> 00:45:36.035
who is both a psychiatrist and gay.\"
00:45:38.138 --> 00:45:40.897
- Well, it wasn\'t very easy in 1972
00:45:40.898 --> 00:45:44.667
to find a gay psychiatrist
who would come out openly,
00:45:44.668 --> 00:45:47.341
knowing what the risks were to a career.
00:45:48.268 --> 00:45:51.867
- Barbara contacted 10 or 12 psychiatrists
00:45:51.868 --> 00:45:54.747
who were in this secret society
00:45:54.748 --> 00:45:58.131
of gay psychiatrists called the GayPA.
00:45:59.948 --> 00:46:02.337
- I got a call from Barbara Gittings.
00:46:02.338 --> 00:46:05.527
She said, \"John, I\'m
looking for a psychiatrist
00:46:05.528 --> 00:46:08.685
to testify what it is like
to be a gay psychiatrist.\"
00:46:10.109 --> 00:46:12.377
My first reaction was, \"No way!\"
00:46:12.378 --> 00:46:16.271
- He said, \"I will lose my
job, my medical license.
00:46:16.272 --> 00:46:18.627
There\'s still a lot of homophobia
00:46:18.628 --> 00:46:22.265
in the American Psychiatric Association.\"
00:46:22.266 --> 00:46:25.349
(instrumental music)
00:46:41.278 --> 00:46:44.211
John was a very dear friend for 25 years.
00:46:46.078 --> 00:46:51.078
After he died, we were
able to save 217 boxes
00:46:52.258 --> 00:46:56.597
full of his teaching
materials, personal letters,
00:46:56.598 --> 00:46:59.241
and his 50 years\' worth of journals.
00:47:05.008 --> 00:47:06.758
That\'s a good one of John\'s family.
00:47:14.738 --> 00:47:17.851
John always called himself
a farm boy from Kentucky.
00:47:20.108 --> 00:47:21.711
But he was quite a prodigy.
00:47:23.698 --> 00:47:26.811
He went to college at 15.
00:47:28.088 --> 00:47:32.307
That\'s when he decided he
wanted to be a psychiatrist,
00:47:32.308 --> 00:47:34.513
so he could help people.
00:47:37.718 --> 00:47:42.607
John came to Philadelphia
in 1964 to start a residency
00:47:42.608 --> 00:47:44.837
at the University of Pennsylvania.
00:47:44.838 --> 00:47:48.207
He ran into terrible homophobia there
00:47:48.208 --> 00:47:50.541
and he got fired for being gay.
00:47:53.438 --> 00:47:56.471
It took a lot for him
to be quiet about it.
00:47:57.878 --> 00:48:02.878
He wanted to help with the
1972 meeting in Dallas,
00:48:03.578 --> 00:48:05.298
but had to protect himself.
00:48:07.208 --> 00:48:09.017
- He said, \"I\'ll do it
only on the condition
00:48:09.018 --> 00:48:11.417
that I can wear a wig and a mask
00:48:11.418 --> 00:48:13.565
and use a voice-distorting microphone.\"
00:48:18.053 --> 00:48:21.334
- Barbara and I told this
to Frank, and he said,
00:48:21.335 --> 00:48:25.127
\"Oh, that\'s terrible, that
goes against everything
00:48:25.128 --> 00:48:30.128
we have been fighting for,
to have somebody in a mask!\"
00:48:30.328 --> 00:48:35.071
So we had a big fight over
that, but we did prevail.
00:48:35.988 --> 00:48:39.737
And Dr. John Fryer became Dr. H.
00:48:39.738 --> 00:48:42.687
Homosexual Anonymous.
00:48:42.688 --> 00:48:45.438
(dramatic music)
00:48:51.778 --> 00:48:54.581
When we got there, it was packed.
00:48:56.148 --> 00:48:58.164
Our panel was called
00:48:58.165 --> 00:49:01.565
\"Psychiatry, Friend or Foe? A Dialogue.\"
00:49:02.448 --> 00:49:05.961
Barbara brought out Dr. H. Anonymous.
00:49:07.448 --> 00:49:10.447
I started to take pictures.
00:49:10.448 --> 00:49:12.847
And I could hardly believe it,
00:49:12.848 --> 00:49:16.061
I could have fallen off my chair!
00:49:17.686 --> 00:49:19.917
We thought he would have
on a nice little mask,
00:49:19.918 --> 00:49:22.167
like the Lone Ranger.
00:49:22.168 --> 00:49:26.033
No, he was in this grotesque, big mask,
00:49:26.034 --> 00:49:28.727
a big wig on.
00:49:28.728 --> 00:49:31.991
It looked more like
Halloween than anything else.
00:49:33.738 --> 00:49:38.091
We were all very concerned
about how this would go over.
00:49:44.261 --> 00:49:46.811
- [Harry Adamson] I thought
this tape was lost to history.
00:49:50.928 --> 00:49:54.951
- [Dr. John Fryer] I am a
homosexual. I am a psychiatrist.
00:49:56.078 --> 00:50:00.667
It is time that real
flesh and blood stand up
00:50:00.668 --> 00:50:04.217
before this organization and ask
00:50:04.218 --> 00:50:06.791
to be listened to and understood.
00:50:08.498 --> 00:50:13.498
I am in disguise tonight in
order that I might speak freely.
00:50:14.148 --> 00:50:17.427
What is it like to be a homosexual
00:50:17.428 --> 00:50:19.171
who is also a psychiatrist?
00:50:20.710 --> 00:50:23.477
Many of us work 20 hours
daily to protect institutions
00:50:23.478 --> 00:50:25.997
who would literally chew
us up and spit us out
00:50:25.998 --> 00:50:27.291
if they knew the truth.
00:50:28.458 --> 00:50:30.671
All of us have something to lose.
00:50:31.948 --> 00:50:34.831
We may not be under
consideration for professorship.
00:50:35.958 --> 00:50:39.097
Our supervisor may ask us
to take a leave of absence
00:50:39.098 --> 00:50:40.098
or fire us.
00:50:41.728 --> 00:50:43.227
We\'re taking an even bigger risk, however,
00:50:43.228 --> 00:50:45.145
in not living fully our humanity,
00:50:46.688 --> 00:50:48.707
with all the lessons it has to teach
00:50:48.708 --> 00:50:50.671
all the other humans around us.
00:50:53.038 --> 00:50:55.287
This is the greatest loss,
00:50:56.571 --> 00:50:58.846
our honest humanity.
00:51:00.983 --> 00:51:03.257
- He represented all the people
00:51:03.258 --> 00:51:05.983
who were hiding and invisible.
00:51:05.984 --> 00:51:08.434
And it turned out to be
just enormously powerful.
00:51:09.378 --> 00:51:11.989
- It helped people know
that within psychiatry,
00:51:11.990 --> 00:51:13.457
there was injustice.
00:51:13.458 --> 00:51:14.887
Not just we were harming other patients,
00:51:14.888 --> 00:51:16.187
we were harming psychiatrists too
00:51:16.188 --> 00:51:17.657
and the field of psychiatry.
00:51:17.658 --> 00:51:21.477
And did we really want to
eliminate lots of good people
00:51:21.478 --> 00:51:25.081
from the field because
they were gay or bisexual?
00:51:26.558 --> 00:51:29.537
- [Kay Lahusen] It was a
game-changer that really got some
00:51:29.538 --> 00:51:33.111
of the psychiatrists
rethinking their position.
00:51:37.278 --> 00:51:39.811
- John kept a bound journal every year.
00:51:41.228 --> 00:51:43.937
This is the first I\'ve ever seen of any,
00:51:43.938 --> 00:51:46.677
and it is from Dallas.
00:51:46.678 --> 00:51:50.161
This is right after he gave the speech.
00:51:52.425 --> 00:51:54.367
\"The day has passed.
00:51:54.368 --> 00:51:57.351
It has come and gone,
and I am still alive.
00:51:58.468 --> 00:52:02.117
For the first time, I have
identified with a force
00:52:02.118 --> 00:52:04.061
which is akin to my selfhood.
00:52:05.007 --> 00:52:09.917
I am a homosexual, and I am
the only American psychiatrist
00:52:09.918 --> 00:52:14.667
who has stood up on a podium
to let real flesh and blood
00:52:14.668 --> 00:52:16.731
tell the nation it is so.
00:52:17.878 --> 00:52:20.517
Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny
00:52:20.518 --> 00:52:22.961
have helped us all very much.
00:52:24.158 --> 00:52:26.445
I hope that the effort does not die.\"
00:52:31.078 --> 00:52:32.467
- [Reporter] A growing
number of psychiatrists
00:52:32.468 --> 00:52:34.827
have begun to share the
Gay Liberationist view
00:52:34.828 --> 00:52:38.031
that homosexuality, per
se, is not an illness.
00:52:39.708 --> 00:52:41.737
According to Dr. Robert L. Spitzer,
00:52:41.738 --> 00:52:45.437
the Gay Activists Alliance
recently requested and received
00:52:45.438 --> 00:52:47.217
an opportunity to present their views
00:52:47.218 --> 00:52:49.685
before the APA Nomenclature Committee.
00:52:51.730 --> 00:52:56.037
- I lit up like an incandescent bulb.
00:52:56.038 --> 00:52:58.867
Because I knew that was the committee
00:52:58.868 --> 00:53:02.571
that decided what went in
the DSM and what didn\'t.
00:53:04.660 --> 00:53:07.827
(soft dramatic music)
00:53:14.568 --> 00:53:18.207
- At that time, I was
studying to get a PhD
00:53:18.208 --> 00:53:19.731
in clinical psychology.
00:53:20.678 --> 00:53:24.857
So I was asked to make the
professional presentation
00:53:24.858 --> 00:53:28.911
on both theory and research
about homosexuality.
00:53:31.578 --> 00:53:36.337
- I was on the Nomenclature
Committee, and Dr. Silverstein
00:53:36.338 --> 00:53:41.338
was making the case that we
had overlooked a great deal
00:53:41.548 --> 00:53:45.647
of existing research that contradicted
00:53:45.648 --> 00:53:49.741
the view that homosexuality
was an illness.
00:53:51.798 --> 00:53:54.527
- [Charles Silverstein] One
part was about Evelyn Hooker\'s
00:53:54.528 --> 00:53:58.071
research paper from 1956.
00:53:59.618 --> 00:54:01.767
- Evie Hooker was a psychologist.
00:54:01.768 --> 00:54:05.627
Her research consisted of
giving a series of tests
00:54:05.628 --> 00:54:08.578
to some people who were gay
and some who were heterosexual.
00:54:13.668 --> 00:54:18.027
- I was using, for the
interpretation of those tests,
00:54:18.028 --> 00:54:21.847
the best experts I could
find in the country,
00:54:21.848 --> 00:54:24.687
whose capacity to interpret those tests
00:54:24.688 --> 00:54:26.391
was internationally known.
00:54:27.498 --> 00:54:29.657
- [Richard Pillard] And the
experienced interpreters
00:54:29.658 --> 00:54:31.487
couldn\'t distinguish the gay people
00:54:31.488 --> 00:54:33.017
from the straight people.
00:54:33.018 --> 00:54:35.804
- Which means there\'s no
difference in the pathology
00:54:35.805 --> 00:54:39.327
between the gay man and the straight man.
00:54:39.328 --> 00:54:41.967
- But this was the 1950s.
00:54:41.968 --> 00:54:44.841
Conservatism still dominated the country.
00:54:46.398 --> 00:54:50.177
As with Freud and Kinsey,
psychiatrists from the old guard
00:54:50.178 --> 00:54:51.591
did not want to hear this.
00:54:52.668 --> 00:54:56.417
But by the early \'70s, things changed,
00:54:56.418 --> 00:54:59.941
and new psychiatrists listened
with a more sympathetic ear.
00:55:03.338 --> 00:55:05.407
- The point is not that
times are changing,
00:55:05.408 --> 00:55:06.911
but that times have changed.
00:55:08.418 --> 00:55:11.467
What we are saying is that you must choose
00:55:11.468 --> 00:55:16.467
between the undocumented theories
that have unjustly harmed
00:55:16.468 --> 00:55:18.667
a great number of people
00:55:18.668 --> 00:55:22.551
or the controlled scientific
studies cited here.
00:55:25.526 --> 00:55:29.103
- He really caught the
attention of everybody,
00:55:29.104 --> 00:55:34.104
because you could not dispute
one word of what he said,
00:55:34.898 --> 00:55:39.727
and he had all of the backup material
00:55:39.728 --> 00:55:41.877
that he could show you.
00:55:41.878 --> 00:55:43.391
Look, it\'s right there.
00:55:44.379 --> 00:55:46.791
It was an imposing presentation.
00:55:49.508 --> 00:55:52.741
- And that just kicked up a storm.
00:56:01.098 --> 00:56:03.237
- The pressure within the APA built
00:56:03.238 --> 00:56:05.821
for some reassessment to happen.
00:56:06.688 --> 00:56:09.927
And Bob Spitzer became a crucial person
00:56:09.928 --> 00:56:12.911
in helping the APA debate
the illness question.
00:56:14.228 --> 00:56:18.067
But only in order to determine
what would be the criteria
00:56:18.068 --> 00:56:20.607
by which you would decide whether a person
00:56:20.608 --> 00:56:22.001
is sick or not sick.
00:56:23.488 --> 00:56:26.577
It was clear that he was
in no sense an advocate
00:56:26.578 --> 00:56:29.101
for or against; he just
wanted information.
00:56:32.428 --> 00:56:35.623
- As he got involved with
this, colleagues of his
00:56:35.624 --> 00:56:39.037
started to wonder, up at
the Psychiatric Institute,
00:56:39.038 --> 00:56:40.541
whether or not he was gay.
00:56:41.658 --> 00:56:42.971
That was not the case.
00:56:43.848 --> 00:56:46.067
He just wanted to bring psychiatry
00:56:46.068 --> 00:56:48.691
to a more scientific level.
00:56:51.048 --> 00:56:53.807
- And it was his idea that we should have
00:56:53.808 --> 00:56:57.037
this big panel at the next convention
00:56:57.038 --> 00:57:00.857
where for the first time,
all of the opposing sides
00:57:00.858 --> 00:57:04.207
in this fight were to get a
chance to directly address
00:57:04.208 --> 00:57:08.871
each other and discuss their
positions on homosexuality.
00:57:09.868 --> 00:57:12.457
And I said, \"Great! That\'s a good idea.\"
00:57:12.458 --> 00:57:16.527
Then he says, \"You will
be on the panel as well.\"
00:57:16.528 --> 00:57:17.368
And I said: \"What?\"
00:57:17.369 --> 00:57:21.109
You know, I couldn\'t believe
that it was gonna be,
00:57:21.110 --> 00:57:23.791
that he decided to put me on the panel.
00:57:28.828 --> 00:57:30.518
- [Announcer] Aloha!
00:57:30.519 --> 00:57:34.067
Welcome to Honolulu and
the 126th annual meeting
00:57:34.068 --> 00:57:37.392
of the American Psychiatric Association.
00:57:37.393 --> 00:57:40.143
(dramatic music)
00:57:46.538 --> 00:57:48.944
- A homosexual reported to me,
00:57:48.945 --> 00:57:52.607
\"I\'ve got to get this
homosexual monkey off my back.
00:57:52.608 --> 00:57:55.077
I just frankly can\'t live with it.\"
00:57:55.078 --> 00:57:58.337
That is why some of us treat homosexuals.
00:57:58.338 --> 00:58:00.257
- If our judgment about the mental health
00:58:00.258 --> 00:58:03.877
of heterosexuals were based
only on those whom we see
00:58:03.878 --> 00:58:06.907
in our clinical practices,
we would have to conclude
00:58:06.908 --> 00:58:09.721
that all heterosexuals
are also mentally ill.
00:58:10.628 --> 00:58:13.677
- Homosexuality is not a normal variant
00:58:13.678 --> 00:58:15.097
of sexual functioning.
00:58:15.098 --> 00:58:17.407
I have never seen a male homosexual
00:58:17.408 --> 00:58:20.457
who has an intact sense of masculinity.
00:58:20.458 --> 00:58:22.537
- The worst thing about your diagnosis
00:58:22.538 --> 00:58:24.331
is that gay people believe it.
00:58:25.168 --> 00:58:28.561
Nothing makes you sick like
believing that you\'re sick.
00:58:29.614 --> 00:58:32.850
- Socarides and Bieber argued
vigorously, but Ron Gold,
00:58:32.851 --> 00:58:35.927
I\'ve never forgotten
the title of his paper.
00:58:35.928 --> 00:58:37.437
He got up there and he yelled out,
00:58:37.438 --> 00:58:39.251
- Stop it! You\'re making me sick!
00:58:41.955 --> 00:58:46.397
- He gave a very amusing presentation,
00:58:46.398 --> 00:58:50.347
but it had cold, hard facts.
00:58:50.348 --> 00:58:52.338
He told it like it is.
00:58:56.828 --> 00:58:58.927
- [Ron Gold] The illness
theory of homosexuality
00:58:58.928 --> 00:59:01.927
is a pack of lies
concocted out of the myths
00:59:01.928 --> 00:59:05.571
of a patriarchal society
for a political purpose.
00:59:07.518 --> 00:59:11.631
Psychiatry, dedicated to
making sick people well,
00:59:11.632 --> 00:59:14.847
is the cornerstone of
a system of oppression
00:59:14.848 --> 00:59:17.377
that makes gay people sick.
00:59:17.378 --> 00:59:19.677
And my anger isn\'t turned inward.
00:59:19.678 --> 00:59:23.137
It\'s focused outward toward my oppressors,
00:59:23.138 --> 00:59:26.427
including those of you who
think you have the right
00:59:26.428 --> 00:59:29.147
to decide that perfectly happy people,
00:59:29.148 --> 00:59:31.457
who don\'t do the slightest
harm to themselves
00:59:31.458 --> 00:59:33.571
or anybody else, are sick.
00:59:34.908 --> 00:59:37.527
Take the damning label
of sickness away from us.
00:59:37.528 --> 00:59:39.181
Take us out of your nomenclature!
00:59:42.878 --> 00:59:47.187
When the speech was over, I
didn\'t know what to expect.
00:59:47.188 --> 00:59:49.227
But when a whole lot of them applauded
00:59:49.228 --> 00:59:53.251
and gave me a standing
ovation, I was flabbergasted.
00:59:58.948 --> 01:00:00.717
- Once that had been discussed,
01:00:00.718 --> 01:00:02.817
that also allowed many more psychiatrists
01:00:02.818 --> 01:00:05.137
to say more or less
that was a real debate,
01:00:05.138 --> 01:00:07.647
that was a real forum.
01:00:07.648 --> 01:00:08.917
Major things were said.
01:00:08.918 --> 01:00:12.427
It was talked about in that
tone of voice in Hawaii
01:00:12.428 --> 01:00:14.837
and for the next few months.
01:00:14.838 --> 01:00:17.937
During that time, Richard
Pillard and I knew
01:00:17.938 --> 01:00:21.307
that you would need several
levels of political support
01:00:21.308 --> 01:00:24.117
to agree with scientific facts.
01:00:24.118 --> 01:00:26.657
And so we formulated a resolution
01:00:26.658 --> 01:00:28.037
for the Northern New England Branch
01:00:28.038 --> 01:00:30.507
of the American Psychiatric Association.
01:00:30.508 --> 01:00:33.087
The goals of the revolution
were... resolution. Interesting,
01:00:33.088 --> 01:00:34.817
I slipped and said \"revolution.\"
01:00:34.818 --> 01:00:39.327
The goals of the resolution
were to stop discrimination
01:00:39.328 --> 01:00:42.167
against gay people and
to throw homosexuality
01:00:42.168 --> 01:00:45.047
out as a diagnosis.
01:00:45.048 --> 01:00:47.821
To our surprise, they passed it.
01:00:51.560 --> 01:00:54.145
- To have a whole branch of the country
01:00:54.146 --> 01:00:56.676
be willing to back this
kind of a resolution
01:00:56.677 --> 01:00:59.587
was enormously effective,
01:00:59.588 --> 01:01:02.127
and it worked its way up
through the bureaucracy
01:01:02.128 --> 01:01:04.128
of the American Psychiatric Association.
01:01:05.708 --> 01:01:09.107
- At the same time, in
parallel, we nominated people
01:01:09.108 --> 01:01:11.937
to be presidents of the APA,
several vice presidents,
01:01:11.938 --> 01:01:13.938
several secretaries, several treasurers.
01:01:15.298 --> 01:01:17.537
Some of these people were then elected
01:01:17.538 --> 01:01:19.527
to positions of power.
01:01:19.528 --> 01:01:22.757
And we hoped that with
a more reasonable board,
01:01:22.758 --> 01:01:25.287
we could get the APA to
say, \"Yes, you\'re right.
01:01:25.288 --> 01:01:27.328
We\'re not only wrong but
we\'ve been harming people.\"
01:01:29.085 --> 01:01:30.314
- Gay is good!
01:01:30.315 --> 01:01:32.907
- [Crowd] Gay is good!
01:01:32.908 --> 01:01:34.933
- Gay is proud!
01:01:34.934 --> 01:01:37.038
- [Crowd] Gay is proud!
01:01:37.039 --> 01:01:38.936
- Gay is healthy!
01:01:38.937 --> 01:01:41.777
- [Crowd] Gay is healthy!
01:01:41.778 --> 01:01:44.717
- We are seeing, close to my heart,
01:01:44.718 --> 01:01:49.397
the psychiatrists on the run.
(crowd cheering)
01:01:49.398 --> 01:01:52.631
Keep them running!
01:01:57.778 --> 01:01:59.337
- [Morley Safer] The attack by homosexuals
01:01:59.338 --> 01:02:01.557
against the psychiatric establishment
01:02:01.558 --> 01:02:03.361
is not confined to rhetoric.
01:02:05.108 --> 01:02:07.017
Homosexual therapists have started
01:02:07.018 --> 01:02:08.577
their own counseling centers,
01:02:08.578 --> 01:02:10.841
like the Institute for Human Development.
01:02:11.798 --> 01:02:15.097
Its director, Charles Silverstein,
says his therapy sessions
01:02:15.098 --> 01:02:18.167
are designed to help
homosexuals free themselves
01:02:18.168 --> 01:02:22.677
of the guilt and fear that he
says society and psychiatry
01:02:22.678 --> 01:02:23.881
have imposed on them.
01:02:25.258 --> 01:02:28.081
- Getting on \"60 Minutes\"
was quite a coup.
01:02:29.628 --> 01:02:32.741
It just so happens, the same day
01:02:32.742 --> 01:02:36.627
that \"60 Minutes\" was coming in,
01:02:36.628 --> 01:02:41.628
my mother decided to come up
from Florida and stay with me.
01:02:41.938 --> 01:02:45.507
Well, she came in and being
a proper Jewish mother,
01:02:45.508 --> 01:02:47.677
she wanted to do my laundry.
01:02:47.678 --> 01:02:50.017
I said, \"No, you can\'t do my laundry.
01:02:50.018 --> 01:02:53.297
\'60 Minutes\' is coming here
because they\'re doing this program
01:02:53.298 --> 01:02:56.457
on being homosexual.\"
01:02:56.458 --> 01:03:00.317
So she said, \"Well, why
do they want to film you?\"
01:03:00.318 --> 01:03:03.695
I said, \"Mother, I have to tell
you that I\'m a homosexual.\"
01:03:04.928 --> 01:03:09.928
Well, she got obviously all
upset and right at that moment,
01:03:10.148 --> 01:03:13.337
the door opened and \"60 Minutes\" came in.
01:03:13.338 --> 01:03:18.338
And she was so upset that she
decided to leave my apartment
01:03:18.518 --> 01:03:23.518
and go stay with my brother
at his apartment in Teaneck,
01:03:24.068 --> 01:03:25.951
much to my brother\'s chagrin.
01:03:27.258 --> 01:03:30.467
But she got over this pretty quickly.
01:03:30.468 --> 01:03:34.647
When the episode appeared,
she was sure to tell
01:03:34.648 --> 01:03:38.271
all of her girlfriends in
her condominium in Miami.
01:03:39.218 --> 01:03:42.351
And then became proud
about her son, the doctor.
01:03:43.378 --> 01:03:46.112
Something I\'d like to ask you to do.
01:03:46.113 --> 01:03:48.607
And that is to be able to tell people
01:03:48.608 --> 01:03:51.597
how to deal with their kids who are gay.
01:03:51.598 --> 01:03:55.687
- It seems absurd that at 25
years old, I\'m a grown man,
01:03:55.688 --> 01:03:56.970
that I have to...
01:04:01.908 --> 01:04:04.636
That I have to ask my parents to love me.
01:04:04.637 --> 01:04:06.407
- If you want to call
me a deviant, you can.
01:04:06.408 --> 01:04:09.167
If you want to say I\'m immoral, you can.
01:04:09.168 --> 01:04:11.167
But there\'s a very important difference
01:04:11.168 --> 01:04:14.407
between saying I\'m immoral
and saying I\'m sick.
01:04:14.408 --> 01:04:16.977
- And indeed, a decision
to remove homosexuality
01:04:16.978 --> 01:04:19.417
from this manual could have an effect
01:04:19.418 --> 01:04:21.717
on the very fabric of our present society.
01:04:21.718 --> 01:04:24.947
The majority, perhaps the more
conservative psychiatrists,
01:04:24.948 --> 01:04:26.957
wants it to remain in the manual.
01:04:26.958 --> 01:04:30.387
- The exclusion of this condition
01:04:30.388 --> 01:04:34.047
from our diagnostic nomenclature,
which would be tantamount
01:04:34.048 --> 01:04:35.647
to declaring it natural and normal,
01:04:35.648 --> 01:04:38.757
which is the current
fad, the current rage,
01:04:38.758 --> 01:04:41.887
as a matter of fact, perhaps
the greatest medical hoax,
01:04:41.888 --> 01:04:46.888
if it is perpetrated,
of our last 50 years,
01:04:47.447 --> 01:04:50.341
I think would be disastrous
in many, many ways.
01:04:51.238 --> 01:04:54.037
- So are homosexuals mentally sick?
01:04:54.038 --> 01:04:57.417
Or have they merely chosen
an alternative lifestyle?
01:04:57.418 --> 01:05:00.027
The psychiatric profession
will soon decide.
01:05:00.028 --> 01:05:02.877
A proposal to change the
nomenclature has started its way
01:05:02.878 --> 01:05:05.371
through the American
Psychiatric Association.
01:05:09.908 --> 01:05:12.127
- From the time we
first took our position,
01:05:12.128 --> 01:05:14.797
it took 10 years to get it moving
01:05:14.798 --> 01:05:18.087
over the opposition of traditionalists
01:05:18.088 --> 01:05:21.527
and through the APA governance structure
01:05:21.528 --> 01:05:23.521
of Byzantine complexity.
01:05:26.308 --> 01:05:29.917
- This was one of the most
considered issues in APA history.
01:05:29.918 --> 01:05:32.947
It was considered by councils,
committees, other councils,
01:05:32.948 --> 01:05:35.627
district branch, assembly,
back to district branches,
01:05:35.628 --> 01:05:38.037
back to assembly, and we needed an effort
01:05:38.038 --> 01:05:42.697
where we had to be tolerant
of both politics and science.
01:05:42.698 --> 01:05:47.237
And the psychiatric
organization is not uniquely
01:05:47.238 --> 01:05:50.557
in charge of one experiment
that tells you what truth is.
01:05:50.558 --> 01:05:53.317
It has to adjudicate among
all of what you know,
01:05:53.318 --> 01:05:55.107
among all of what science has been saying,
01:05:55.108 --> 01:05:57.697
among all of what people have
been discovering clinically,
01:05:57.698 --> 01:06:00.767
among all of what people
think and are worried about.
01:06:00.768 --> 01:06:02.968
And the APA was trying to do that.
01:06:02.969 --> 01:06:05.169
The Board of Trustees
was trying to do that.
01:06:11.298 --> 01:06:12.877
- [Charles Silverstein] December 15th,
01:06:12.878 --> 01:06:15.677
the American Psychiatric Association
01:06:15.678 --> 01:06:17.371
held a news conference.
01:06:19.228 --> 01:06:22.221
They were going to
announce the APA decision.
01:06:24.168 --> 01:06:26.147
I, together with a number of other people,
01:06:26.148 --> 01:06:28.051
went to Washington.
01:06:29.308 --> 01:06:31.417
Barbara Gittings was there.
01:06:31.418 --> 01:06:35.306
Frank Kameny and Ron Gold.
01:06:38.997 --> 01:06:43.107
- We were taking questions
from these various people.
01:06:43.108 --> 01:06:45.266
I had butterflies in my stomach,
01:06:45.267 --> 01:06:47.867
\'cause we had worked
very hard to make sure
01:06:47.868 --> 01:06:49.467
it came out good.
01:06:49.468 --> 01:06:50.868
But we didn\'t know it would.
01:06:53.828 --> 01:06:56.881
- We were still in a minority position.
01:06:58.198 --> 01:07:03.190
People would come to us and
say we were on a fool\'s errand,
01:07:03.191 --> 01:07:05.648
that nothing would ever come of this.
01:07:27.768 --> 01:07:29.977
- This was a revolutionary moment
01:07:29.978 --> 01:07:34.467
in which homosexuality, per
se, was not a mental disorder.
01:07:34.468 --> 01:07:36.718
Millions were cured with
the stroke of a pen.
01:07:37.918 --> 01:07:40.971
- We were overwhelmed with joy.
01:07:42.478 --> 01:07:43.408
We couldn\'t believe it.
01:07:43.409 --> 01:07:45.361
I thought we would be fighting forever.
01:07:47.318 --> 01:07:48.741
But then suddenly, boom!
01:07:51.668 --> 01:07:55.257
- Psychoanalysts, especially
Socarides and Bieber,
01:07:55.258 --> 01:07:57.917
thought that this was an
assault on psychoanalysis,
01:07:57.918 --> 01:08:01.541
and they started referendum
by petition to overturn it.
01:08:02.418 --> 01:08:06.097
- And they raised enough signatures
01:08:06.098 --> 01:08:11.098
so that the APA had to poll the members.
01:08:12.578 --> 01:08:15.107
- Well, I thought it was
a mockery of psychiatry
01:08:15.108 --> 01:08:17.197
to put it to a popular vote.
01:08:17.198 --> 01:08:19.067
That\'s not the way you decide something.
01:08:19.068 --> 01:08:21.951
You look at the data,
you look at the evidence,
01:08:21.952 --> 01:08:26.837
you look at its impact,
socially, psychologically,
01:08:26.838 --> 01:08:29.588
and you make your hopefully
learned decisions that way.
01:08:33.790 --> 01:08:37.677
- Socarides\' idea was that most
psychiatrists still believed
01:08:37.678 --> 01:08:39.927
that gay people were sick.
01:08:39.928 --> 01:08:42.997
And, of course, the irony
of his own son being gay
01:08:42.998 --> 01:08:45.198
didn\'t deter Socarides at all.
01:08:47.578 --> 01:08:51.857
- Years later, I finally had to corner him
01:08:51.858 --> 01:08:54.327
into seeing him in his office.
01:08:54.328 --> 01:08:57.177
I just told him, I said, \"Dad,
you know, this is something
01:08:57.178 --> 01:08:59.497
that we have both known for
a long time, but I need to,
01:08:59.498 --> 01:09:02.367
like, actually tell you that I\'m gay,
01:09:02.368 --> 01:09:04.087
that I\'m attracted to men.\"
01:09:04.088 --> 01:09:08.137
And he had a momentary violent
reaction where he pulled out
01:09:08.138 --> 01:09:11.597
a gun and put it to his head.
01:09:11.598 --> 01:09:14.247
He didn\'t pull the trigger,
I\'m sure it wasn\'t loaded,
01:09:14.248 --> 01:09:17.217
but said, like, you know,
\"You can\'t do this to me.\"
01:09:17.218 --> 01:09:20.177
And I walked out of the room.
01:09:20.178 --> 01:09:22.728
What I needed to do, I
accomplished by telling him.
01:09:23.576 --> 01:09:24.576
And that was it.
01:09:25.908 --> 01:09:30.767
His position on the issue
became so interconnected
01:09:30.768 --> 01:09:35.437
with his professional standing
that he couldn\'t re-examine
01:09:35.438 --> 01:09:40.317
his initial view of this and it, you know,
01:09:40.318 --> 01:09:41.577
he was just stuck with it.
01:09:41.578 --> 01:09:42.657
He couldn\'t let it go.
01:09:45.168 --> 01:09:48.807
- The vote really concerned
us because no one was sure
01:09:48.808 --> 01:09:51.227
whether most psychiatrists were in favor
01:09:51.228 --> 01:09:52.727
of dropping homosexuality
01:09:52.728 --> 01:09:55.131
from The Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual.
01:10:07.238 --> 01:10:09.827
- The American Psychiatric
Association announced today
01:10:09.828 --> 01:10:13.407
that its membership has
voted to remove homosexuality
01:10:13.408 --> 01:10:16.047
from the Association\'s
list of mental disorders.
01:10:16.048 --> 01:10:18.917
- In the mail referendum,
58% of the membership
01:10:18.918 --> 01:10:22.557
upheld the earlier decision
by the APA\'s board.
01:10:22.558 --> 01:10:25.137
- Homosexual organizations
see the referendum vote
01:10:25.138 --> 01:10:26.917
as a landmark decision.
01:10:26.918 --> 01:10:28.847
In the words of one such organization,
01:10:28.848 --> 01:10:30.671
the greatest gay victory.
01:10:33.518 --> 01:10:37.207
- This albatross that
had been around our neck
01:10:37.208 --> 01:10:39.417
was finally lifted.
01:10:39.418 --> 01:10:42.791
It was as though the world
had dropped off our shoulders.
01:10:48.561 --> 01:10:51.011
- The word spread very quickly,
01:10:51.994 --> 01:10:55.469
and the effect was electric.
01:10:57.618 --> 01:11:00.237
- And, of course, when we got the result,
01:11:00.238 --> 01:11:02.821
we hooted and hollered
and jumped up and down.
01:11:05.678 --> 01:11:07.835
- I heard it on the radio.
01:11:07.836 --> 01:11:09.486
Well, I went out and bought
a bottle of champagne
01:11:09.487 --> 01:11:12.981
and thought it was time to
celebrate (chuckles), yeah.
01:11:13.864 --> 01:11:16.781
(victorious music)
01:11:33.330 --> 01:11:35.997
(subdued music)
01:12:16.555 --> 01:12:19.021
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
01:12:19.022 --> 01:12:21.660
please welcome the CEO
and Medical Director
01:12:21.661 --> 01:12:26.661
of the American Psychiatric
Association, Dr. Saul Levin.
01:12:26.874 --> 01:12:30.041
(audience applauding)
01:12:32.688 --> 01:12:34.907
- For all the progress we have made,
01:12:34.908 --> 01:12:37.157
there are still some areas
where we must improve
01:12:37.158 --> 01:12:39.487
as we work towards our next milestone
01:12:39.488 --> 01:12:41.587
of the 200th anniversary.
01:12:41.588 --> 01:12:45.847
The fact that I\'m here truly
shows that APA is way past
01:12:45.848 --> 01:12:49.667
that discrimination that they
did all those years back.
01:12:49.668 --> 01:12:52.707
I\'m a psychiatrist and I\'m a homosexual.
01:12:52.708 --> 01:12:53.628
Nice to meet you.
01:12:53.629 --> 01:12:55.202
- [Audience Member] Nice to meet you.
01:12:55.203 --> 01:12:57.127
I noticed everyone wearing
these buttons. Who\'s John?
01:12:57.128 --> 01:13:02.128
- John Fryer was the psychiatrist
who, in 1972, wore a mask,
01:13:03.378 --> 01:13:05.097
came to this meeting...
01:13:05.098 --> 01:13:07.567
I go where it\'s not even
mentioned that I\'m gay.
01:13:07.568 --> 01:13:09.417
You know, if anything, it\'s the accent
01:13:09.418 --> 01:13:11.847
that gets mentioned
more than anything else.
01:13:11.848 --> 01:13:15.107
And isn\'t that the real, ultimate victory
01:13:15.108 --> 01:13:17.848
of what all those heroes back there did?
01:13:22.488 --> 01:13:25.267
- In this moment, I want
to honor and remember those
01:13:25.268 --> 01:13:29.207
who paved the way that
brings us here this day.
01:13:29.208 --> 01:13:31.917
Out, loud and proud.
01:13:31.918 --> 01:13:32.927
Say it with me.
01:13:32.928 --> 01:13:36.311
Out, loud and proud!
01:13:40.701 --> 01:13:42.572
♪ We\'ve lived through the fire ♪
01:13:42.573 --> 01:13:46.365
♪ We\'ve run through the rain ♪
01:13:46.366 --> 01:13:51.009
♪ We\'ve walked on a wire,
we fought through the pain ♪
01:13:51.010 --> 01:13:56.010
♪ We survived and arrived
more alive than we started ♪
01:13:56.414 --> 01:13:57.883
♪ Like a great kind of wave ♪
01:13:57.884 --> 01:14:01.747
♪ Like a chain off our hearts and ♪
01:14:01.748 --> 01:14:06.748
♪ Even though we\'ve gone far,
we\'ve got farther to go ♪
01:14:06.842 --> 01:14:11.842
♪ Gonna follow our star,
gonna follow our road ♪
01:14:12.065 --> 01:14:17.065
♪ We\'ll accept every step
to the death with desire ♪
01:14:17.373 --> 01:14:18.840
♪ We\'ll persist through the twists ♪
01:14:18.841 --> 01:14:22.704
♪ Without fists we are fighters ♪
01:14:22.705 --> 01:14:27.705
♪ I know that we ain\'t
gonna slow or stop ♪
01:14:27.796 --> 01:14:30.978
♪ Until we go ♪
01:14:30.979 --> 01:14:34.680
♪ to the other side of the rainbow ♪
01:14:34.681 --> 01:14:37.170
♪ Oh-h-h ♪
01:14:37.171 --> 01:14:40.174
♪ We\'ll be there with the clouds on top ♪
01:14:40.175 --> 01:14:43.057
♪ The day we go ♪
01:14:43.058 --> 01:14:46.824
♪ to the other side of the rainbow ♪
01:14:48.601 --> 01:14:51.184
(upbeat music)
01:15:03.758 --> 01:15:08.391
- Being in a social change
movement is very American.
01:15:09.338 --> 01:15:11.687
You always hope that what you\'re doing
01:15:11.688 --> 01:15:13.987
will be significant and will live on
01:15:13.988 --> 01:15:16.567
and lead to better things.
01:15:16.568 --> 01:15:19.845
But you don\'t know for sure.
You\'re taking a chance.
01:15:25.348 --> 01:15:29.367
- Through all of this, we
didn\'t want kids growing up
01:15:29.368 --> 01:15:31.326
feeling bad about themselves.
01:15:32.168 --> 01:15:34.230
And I think we all felt that.
01:15:34.231 --> 01:15:39.231
That we were doing it
for younger generations,
01:15:39.468 --> 01:15:40.901
not just for ourselves.
01:15:47.601 --> 01:15:49.617
- We thought we were right,
but we weren\'t at all clear
01:15:49.618 --> 01:15:52.537
that it would turn out to
have legacy and ripples
01:15:52.538 --> 01:15:55.188
and importance and other
things could be built on it.
01:15:56.271 --> 01:15:58.831
It was surprising how
important it turned out to be.
01:15:59.994 --> 01:16:04.713
♪ The storm isn\'t over,
but sunshine is here ♪
01:16:04.714 --> 01:16:09.714
♪ We won\'t let it fade
\'cause we won\'t disappear ♪
01:16:09.967 --> 01:16:11.566
♪ We\'ve been bruised but can\'t lose ♪
01:16:11.567 --> 01:16:15.271
♪ We refuse to be silent ♪
01:16:15.272 --> 01:16:16.792
♪ Might be stained but remain ♪
01:16:16.793 --> 01:16:20.637
♪ We sustain with defiance ♪
01:16:20.638 --> 01:16:25.638
♪ I know, that we ain\'t
gonna slow or stop ♪
01:16:26.022 --> 01:16:29.332
♪ Until we go oh-h-h ♪
01:16:29.333 --> 01:16:33.227
♪ To the other side of the rainbow ♪
01:16:33.228 --> 01:16:38.020
♪ Oh, we\'ll be there
with the clouds on top ♪
01:16:38.021 --> 01:16:41.465
♪ The day we go oh-h-h ♪
01:16:41.466 --> 01:16:46.300
♪ To the other side of the rainbow ♪
01:16:46.301 --> 01:16:50.355
♪ And when we\'re in the sky ♪
01:16:50.356 --> 01:16:55.356
♪ We\'ll cry so you still try ♪
01:16:59.209 --> 01:17:04.209
♪ I know that we ain\'t
gonna slow or stop ♪
01:17:05.003 --> 01:17:08.451
♪ Until we go oh-h-h ♪
01:17:08.452 --> 01:17:13.452
♪ To the other side of the rainbow ♪