Making Gay History | LGBTQ Oral Histories from the Archive

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Dismantling a Diagnosis: Episode 2: The Cure Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

A half-century ago, millions of homosexuals were cured with the stroke of a pen when the American Psychiatric Association decided to change its diagnostic manual and remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.

In this episode, we journey through several milestones in the battle for gay liberation and acceptance as we focus on how the field of psychiatry defined, and distorted, what it meant to be homosexual. Homosexuality was officially classified as a mental disorder in the 1952 edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, but the narrative that equated being gay with being mentally ill had been emerging for decades. The nascent gay rights movement in the 1950s was caught between believing the sickness narrative and seeking treatment, and questioning the diagnosis and using their own voices to fight back. A groundbreaking 1956 study by psychologist Dr. Evelyn Hooker debunked the notion that gay men were, by default, mentally ill, and even though societal pressures dissuaded Dr. Hooker from extending her study to lesbians, her research gave activists a foundation to advance the discourse. The years that followed brought continued campaigning by gay activists, and with the help of enlightened psychiatrists who became allies and closeted gay psychiatrists who had the courage to speak out, 1973 brought victory. The APA overturned its classification, effectively “curing” millions of homosexuals overnight.

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources and a transcript of the episode.

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Dismantling a Diagnosis: Episode 1: A Kind of Madness Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

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.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 6: Marching On Jun 29, 2023

Show notes

In 1978 Harvey Milk calls on gay people to gather in D.C. the next year to protest the anti-gay campaigns of Anita Bryant and her ilk. Organizers are stymied by internal conflicts until Milk’s assassination galvanizes them and a date for a national march is set. But will anyone show up?

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 5: Thank You, Anita Jun 08, 2023

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Eric gets an A on his freshman sociology paper, “Marginal Man: The Alcoholic and the Homosexual.” But his sunny predictions for the future of the gay rights movement are met with skepticism from his professor. Mere weeks later, Anita Bryant launches her anti-gay “Save Our Children” campaign.

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 4: Respectable May 25, 2023

Show notes

Gay rights activists in NYC are first out of the gate to propose anti-discrimination legislation, confident it will sail through the City Council. Instead, they hit a wall of ignorance and bigotry. Meanwhile, 15-year-old Eric happens upon some revelatory literature in his dentist’s waiting room.

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 3: Family Ties May 11, 2023

Show notes

When Jeanne Manford’s gay son is badly beaten at a 1972 GAA protest, the shy elementary school teacher takes a stand. She cofounds the organization now known as PFLAG and launches a movement that harnesses the strength of our fiercest allies: parents and the other people who love us.

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 2: Fire Island and Other Stories Apr 27, 2023

Show notes

While activists are demonstrating, filing lawsuits, and pushing for anti-discrimination laws, 16-year-old Eric is on a ferry to Fire Island, a legendary gay refuge off Long Island, with his neighbor Rev. Mullen—a trip that would introduce him to a vivid slice of mid-1970s gay life, ready or not.

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Chapter 1: A Surge of Energy Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

The Stonewall uprising ignites an explosion of protests and organizing that transforms a small, often tentative homophile movement into a newly assertive national force that demands gay liberation and equality. In a Puerto Rico hotel pool, 12-year-old Eric experiences a transformation of his own.

Visit our episode webpage for additional resources, archival photos, and a transcript of the episode.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our Patreon community.

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Coming of Age During the 1970s: Preview Apr 06, 2023

Show notes

The decade between Stonewall and the 1979 March on Washington lives in the shadow of the AIDS crisis and all that came after. In this six-part season, Eric Marcus explores the heady years of gay liberation and the backlash that followed against the backdrop of his own coming of age as a gay teen.

For exclusive Making Gay History bonus content, join our ⁠⁠Patreon community⁠⁠.

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Guest Episode: Sidedoor: Lucy Hicks Anderson Feb 23, 2023

Show notes

Known for her smashing parties, lighter-than-air soufflés, and comedic wit, Lucy Hicks Anderson never let anyone tell her how to live her life—not even the courts. When her gender was put on trial in the 1940s, the publicity around her case made her one the first documented Black transgender figures in American history.

Find more Sidedoor episodes at si.edu/sidedoor or wherever you get your podcasts. For additional resources about Lucy Hicks Anderson, go here.

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