Dismantling a Diagnosis: Episode 1: A Kind of Madness

Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

Making Gay History

Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, History, Sexuality, Personal Journals

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2023

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the 1950s, psychiatrists diagnosed all homosexuals with a mental illness, and the sickness label created new forms of oppression for gay people in America. The sickness label was pervasive and seemingly inescapable. Until 1973, according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the DSM), homosexuality was a mental disorder. In this first episode of Making Gay History’s “Dismantling a Diagnosis” miniseries, you’ll hear testimony from Eric Marcus’s archive describing this dangerous diagnosis and how the label affected the lives of LGBTQ people in the 1940s, ’50s and '60s. We also explore the crucial role of psychiatric pseudoscience in propagating misinformation about homosexuality. And through first-hand accounts recorded decades ago, you’ll hear from gay men and lesbians who were subjected to therapies or treatments aimed at “curing” their homosexuality. In the words of activist Morris Kight, “Imagine trying to burn out of your brain your love.” Visit our episode webpage for additional resources and a transcript of the episode. For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community. ——— To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi Eric Marcus here. I know I know your email inbox is flooded with appeals for money.
0:08.0	I have the same experience but we've just had a $25,000 challenge grant given to us by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, and there's a deadline.
0:18.0	So that's why I'm here.
0:20.0	We can't do what we do without your support.
0:23.0	And right now, through the end of the year,
0:25.0	every dollar you donate will be matched,
0:28.0	dollar for dollar, up to $25,000.
0:31.0	Thanks to Barbara and Eric and Harry. We've already gotten halfway there.
0:37.3	So I'm hoping you can help get us all the way there so we can take full advantage of this incredibly
0:41.8	generous grant and maybe before the end of the year
0:44.3	is a really good time to make a tax deductible donation.
0:48.2	You can find us at making gayhistory.com and then just press the donate button. That's making gay history.com and press the donate button that's making gay history
0:53.3	dot com and press the donate button. Thanks so much and sorry to be a bother but we
0:58.3	can't do it without you. Happy holidays. A kind of madness.
1:04.0	Well, for both of us, let me get it this way.
1:06.0	My name is Harold Ella Call, and I'm...
1:08.0	You're running now.
1:10.0	My name is Harold Ella Call, and I'm Executive Director of the Madishing Society Incorporated
1:17.6	And your name is Eric Marcus Eric Marcus. Okay. Do you have any kind of an affiliation or whatever that I should know about?
1:24.0	No, I'm an independent writer working for Harper and Row on a new book which doesn't have a title yet.
1:29.0	It's an oral history of the struggle for gay rights covering the period from 1945 to 1990 and you figure
1:35.4	rather prominently in there so that's why I'm here today to talk to you.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Making Gay History, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Making Gay History and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.