This is the story of Gene Ampon, a gay California teen who was arrted the '60s and sent to a psychiatric hospal to be "cured" of his homosexualy -- and the movement to pri and rilience that helped save him.
Contents:
- WHEN GAYNS WAS A CRIME AND A MENTAL ILLNS: ONE MAN’S JOURNEY OM INVOLUNTARY CONFEMENT TO PRI
- THE DOCTOR'S STRAIGHT PATIENT (FIRST TIME GAY MEDIL EXAM DOMANCE EROTI)
- IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER
- A LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR A RARE CANCER WAS FIRST SEEN GAY MEN
- OUT AT WORK: BEG A GAY DOCTOR
- THE BENEFS OF SEEG A GAY DOCTOR
WHEN GAYNS WAS A CRIME AND A MENTAL ILLNS: ONE MAN’S JOURNEY OM INVOLUNTARY CONFEMENT TO PRI
This is the story of my first time and, as many first tim on anythg, didn't´t go well bee of my experience. Many say they knew they were gay their whole liv, not my se. I had no ia. If somebody would tell me I was gay before that day, I would have given them a middle fger. But I * first gay patient *
Many of his precsors and lleagu believed that homosexualy was pathologil, g new theori om psychology to suggt was a sign of mental ill health. Includ unr this umbrella were what he nsired “suatnal” and “nstutnal” homosexuals—a regnn that there is often a spectm of bisexual practice—as well as what he termed “transvt.
THE DOCTOR'S STRAIGHT PATIENT (FIRST TIME GAY MEDIL EXAM DOMANCE EROTI)
* first gay patient *
” He likewise regnized that the people uld be eher homosexual or heterosexual, somethg that is equently misunrstood about transgenr people today. Hirschfeld’s own precsor sexology, Richard von Krafft-Ebg, had claimed the 19th century that homosexualy was natural sexual variatn and ngenal.
While medil school, he had experienced the trma of watchg as a gay man was parad naked before the class, to be verbally abed as a generate. ” What began as a sterilizatn program ultimately led to the extermatn of lns of Jews, Roma, Soviet and Polish cizens—and homosexuals and transgenr people. Hirschfeld’s likens would be reproduced on Nazi propaganda as the worst kd of offenr (both Jewish and homosexual) to the perfect heteronormative Aryan race.
In 2008, durg my first year of medil school, I remember feelg distctly unfortable stg our signated one-hour class on lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) health. 5 The study found signifint health dispari for patients who intified as lbian, gay, or bisexual, rercg the importance of beg nsc of and sensive to the unique needs of the patients. It was the early 1960s, and across the untry, state laws and psychiatric diagnos had nverged to create a grim era for LGBTQ people – pecially gay men.
IN CHIGO, A NEW APPROACH TO GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN WH PROSTATE CANCER
And bee “homosexualy” was nsired a psychiatric disorr, judg uld m them to Atasro – sometim before their crimal s had been adjudited – for evaluatn and fe treatment. His story is part of a dark history when gay men, and even teens, were nfed by the state and subjected to treatments that today would be nsired torture. As most bleak chapters of history, there are pots of light – hero who rejected the notn of “homosexualy” as a mental illns, and galvanized a movement that brought about radil change.
A LOOK BACK AT THE YEAR A RARE CANCER WAS FIRST SEEN GAY MEN
His hope openly sharg his experience, he said, was that “movg forward, ” the untry and world would have more “enlightened attus towards alg wh gay people, pecially young gay people.
Soon, Ampon was lyg about where he was spendg the night to hang out wh other gay teens – and hook up wh men for a place to sleep and a ee meal.
OUT AT WORK: BEG A GAY DOCTOR
He was there for “treatment, ” bee “homosexualy” had been listed the DSM – the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs – sce the first edn was published by the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn (APA) 1952.
“Homosexualy” was listed the DSM – the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs – begng wh the first edn, published by the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn 1952. Although some of the “treatments” for homosexualy that Jackson scribed had been disntued or were unsubstantiated, many others would today be nsired torture. A young psychiatrist who blew the whistle on humane treatments at the hospal wrote that “masturbatn, hallucatns, pe attempts, [B]lack ance, lyg, homosexualy, lazs and mental retardatn” were all ed as jtifitn for this so-lled treatment.
THE BENEFS OF SEEG A GAY DOCTOR
Atasro State Hospal psychiatrist Michael Serber, who helped reform the hospal’s culture and phed for dignified treatment of gay patients, pos wh rearch assistant Cldia Keh. “We looked at the sourc of gay opprsn, and we kd of nailed them as the mental health dtry, the church and the state, ” said Don Kilhefner, 84. Trans women had stood up to police a rt at Gene Compton’s Cafeteria San Francis’s Tenrlo 1966 and a raid of gay patrons at the Black Cat Tavern Los Angel the followg year triggered s own uprisg.
But the spe and timg of Stonewall spread the fire across the untry, lnchg a natnwi -your-face kd of gay activism that replaced the quiet assiatnism that had domated the precedg s. ” In orr to get gay people out om unr the thumb of beg pathologized, and get “homosexualy” out of the DSM, the radil gay muny would need to engage those people power.