Gay Conversn Therapy's Disturbg 19th-Century Origs | HISTORY

Contents:

• THE MAN WHO ATTEMPTED TO USE PLEASURE CONDNG TO TURN A GAY MAN STRAIGHT
• GAY CONVERSN THERAPY’S DISTURBG 19TH-CENTURY ORIGS
• THE MOST SHOCKG FACTS ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY
• GAY BRAS STCTURED LIKE THOSE OF THE OPPOSE SEX

THE MAN WHO ATTEMPTED TO USE PLEASURE CONDNG TO TURN A GAY MAN STRAIGHT

The Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs, or DSM, which the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn pil as a gui to diagnosis and treatment of illns, listed homosexualy as a "socpathic personaly disturbance” the DSM-I, published 1952, and as a “sexual viatn” the DSM-II, published 1968 (see Further Readg). Homosexualy has been treated wh lobotomi, chemil stratn, electril shocks and nsea-ducg dgs as well as psychotherapy. I then tell my stunts about a bizarre gay-nversn experiment rried out 1970 by a leadg bra-implant rearcher, Dr.

GAY CONVERSN THERAPY’S DISTURBG 19TH-CENTURY ORIGS

Heath scribed his homosexualy experiment two papers published 1972: “Septal Stimulatn for the Iniatn of Heterosexual Behavr a Homosexual Male, ” -wrten wh Charl Moan, Journal of Behavr Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry; and "Pleasure and Bra Activy Man, " Journal of Nervo and Mental Disease. The experiment volved “patient B-19, ” a 24-year-old man wh a history of epilepsy, prsn, dg abe and homosexualy.

For the prev three years, Heath wrote, B-19 had “led the life of a vagrant, experimentg wh dgs, engagg numero homosexual relatnships and beg supported fancially by his homosexual partners. The Amerin Psychiatric Associatn, after a protracted bate, stopped cludg homosexualy the DSM 1987. But as The Guardian reported last year, groups around the world still practice gay-nversn therapi, cludg on volvg electric shocks.

THE MOST SHOCKG FACTS ABOUT GAY CONVERSN THERAPY

Rearch on bra implants for treatg mental disorrs ntu, but no one, as far as I know, is g implants to nvert homosexuals. Historil overviews of gay-nversn therapy and the DSM tegorizatn of homosexualy n be found Wikipedia and a 2015 article Behavral Scienc, rpectively.

The latter quot Edmund Bergler, a proment psychoanalyst, sayg his 1956 book Homosexualy: Disease or Way of Life: “I have no bias agast homosexuals; for me they are sick people requirg medil help... Still, though I have no bias, I would say: Homosexuals are sentially disagreeable people, regardls of their pleasant or unpleasant outward manner.

Completed at Tulane 1972, Heath exposed B-19, a 24-year-old man, to DBS an effort to "cure" his homosexualy, which at the time was classified as a "sexual viatn" the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn's send edn of s Diagnostic and Statistil Manual (DSM). Before 1968, the DSM-I classified "homosexualy" as a "socpathic personaly disturbance. While the circumstanc around B-19's troductn to Heath and nsent to treatment are disputed, Heath ced the patient as experiencg other psychologil problems, like "prsive reactn, " "personaly disorr wh homosexual behavr and dg experimentatn, " and "temporal lobe dysfunctn.

GAY BRAS STCTURED LIKE THOSE OF THE OPPOSE SEX

The treatment clud surgilly implantg two electros to the man's head an attempt to nvert his homosexual behavr to heterosexual behavr. In the 11 months after this experimental procre, B-19 engaged both homosexual and heterosexual activi.

"Tulane School of Medice striv to offer an open and affirmg learng, rearch and work environment, void of homophobia, heterosexism, transphobia, sexism and other forms of genr- and sex-based bias and discrimatn. While the treatments are no longer ndoned by Tulane and may seem ep the past, gay nversn therapy is still prevalent to this day.