Homosexuality circa 1959

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I keep a rather sizeable library of books, and often look for new ones to add to my collection. As I was browsing through some of my mustier, forgotten old books, I came across a medical encyclopedia first published in 1959. This volume has a section on human sexuality, and a few blurbs on homosexuality.
[taken from “The New Illustrated Medical Encyclopedia for Home Use”, Rothenburg, 1959]

What Causes Homosexuality?
It is generally conceded to be a neurosis arising from emotional problems and attitudes within the home during early childhood. The development of homosexuality hinges upon the relationship of the child to the parents and to brothers and sisters.

Is homosexuality a physical defect?
No. People are not born homosexuals. It is essentially an environmentally determined abnormality and is classified as a neurosis.

Are homosexual tendencies inherited?
No.

How early in life can one detect a homosexual tendency?
It sometimes can be detected during early adolescence.

What should be done if homosexual tendencies appear in a young person?
Such a person should be referred to a competent psychiatrist for intensive treatment.

Is homosexuality a curable condition?
Yes, in certain cases, after intensive and prolonged psychiatric treatment. Results are better with the young patient.

Can a normal person be persuaded to become a homosexual?
Only if the neurotic tendency has existed in a latent form. Also, is circumstances are such as to deprive him of normal sexual outlets for prolonged periods.

Is homosexuality on the increase today?
It is not thought to be. However, homosexual individuals hide their attitudes today much less than heretofore. Thus, the public gets the impression that homosexuality is on the increase.

Frightening stuff, really. Not all of it, but the blurb in the latter half about ‘curing’ homosexuals makes me wonder exactly how many people this guy polled or followed up on. The same could be said for his accusation that ‘nobody is born gay’. I wouldn’t be one to argue with that though, since as a gay man, I’m not sure whether I was born this way or not either.

Attitudes have changed a lot since the 1950s, mm?

How do you cure a homosexual?
Salt him down and hang him up in a smokehouse.

2

“Homosexuals sometimes pose a danger to the populace in that they can land on passers -by when committing suicide by jumping from buildings.” - FBI training manual, circa 1965

3

What’s even more “fun” is when you see these sort of opinions around today.

That’s about as much fun as hearing about how certain “types” of people are “naturally” inferior.

4

Why do people with these opinions never seem to consider getting “cured” of heterosexuality? It’s only FAIR, isn’t it?

5

I can’t help but wonder who they think we’re hurting.

6

Probably the people who get landed on.

7

You’ll love these guys. The Parent’s Rights Coalition. They claim there’s a statewide conspiracy in Mass. to “turn kids gay” in public schools. I read about them on a forum about Guns and Politics (yeah it’s off topic. It was posted by the moderator)
Here’s a link to the “Horror Stories” (their words) page on the PRC website. http://www.parentsrightscoalition.org./Horror_Stories.htm#HorrorStoriesNote
These were also posted on the gun board. I questioned their validity. After a few days of debate, the moderator threw his hands up and told me I will never believe all the PRC’s evidence. Check out the website. You will be amazed at the kookiness of it all. None of his allegations have verifiable sources. I tried to get the president of the PRC to debate me in a public forum, but he refuses.

8

Oh good god no! Children were exposed to a video telling them that there are a range of opinions about homosexuality! Kids participated in a play involving gays! Homophobia was discouraged in school! We’re all going to die!! AHHHHHH!!!

Seriously, I know this should be a pit thread, but nothing pisses me off more than people who oppose education about homophobia. It’s no more justifiable than racism! Motherfuckers wouldn’t complain about classes telling their kids not to hate other ethnic groups, would they? It pisses me off so much that “gay” is a synonym for bad/stupid. People say that “faggot” is just part of the culture, and it’s just a plain insult. In the 50’s, “nigger” was just part of the fucking culture.

This is why I hate the religious right. Jesus says love everyone except the niggers, the jews, the faggots, the pro-choicers, the liberals, the foreigners, etc.

Hypocrites!! I swear if I saw half of these assholes on the street I wouldn’t know what to do. Violence is wrong, but SHIT!

OK, sorry, still dealing with my persecution complex.

Well, sequential thread tiles:

Homosexuality circa 1959
Help! I’m in love with a straight friend!

MarxBoy - Bi now, gay later

9

Made me laugh:) Especially because for a little while I thought it wasn’t a joke.

10

I agree with your post in general, but please don’t bet your life savings on this particular statement.

11

Do you have a cite for that? I’ve been looking around for the last 10 minutes or so to see if I could find any mention of that quote on the 'net, and have been unsuccessful. It definitely sounds like something made-up.

12

:slight_smile:
I read that page Long D. pointed to. Overall–I have kind of a mixed reaction. There were some that apalled me–and some that I felt I could identify with the parents on.

I dunno. Maybe I’m just a more conservative guy than the stereotypical gay guy is. But it just goes to show ya how stereotypes fail.
**

This is a ‘Horror Story’? plbththth! Thank God Almighty, finally a young teen with the guts to break away from the biased upbringing of her parents. Look at the signature at the bottom-- “Parent”. Feh. Anonymous slime. I bet it’s the same ‘father’ that he’s referencing in his ‘horror story’.

The only horror story here is when one thinks of all the other rich upper-class suburban bible-thumping parents who are reading this paragraph–and nodding their heads in sympathy while thinking, “Oh, that poor father and her poor, misguided girl!”

The sad part is–after thinking that, my hypothetical slimeball would probably proceed to convince himself that all gays should be rounded up and shot–then would probably go home for the day and beat the tar out of his wife for not having dinner ready when we got there.

-That- my friends, is the true horror story. The inborn reality that uncaring slimeballs like this–as hypothetical as you can imagine them–do in fact exist. Multiply this slimeball upon thousands of bretheren like him and it all culminates into a shocking–terrorizing–pants-soiling–horrifying story!

-Ashley

13

**
[/QUOTE]

I read that page Long D. pointed to. Overall–I have kind of a mixed reaction. There were some that apalled me–and some that I felt I could identify with the parents on.
**
[/quote]

-Ashley **
[/QUOTE]

  Ashley- I researched these "horror stories" and could only verify one; "Fistgate". It was of course blown out of proportion. It was at a University. It was a seminar for teachers called "Teach-Out". Anyone could attend, as long as they paid the admission price. The PRC blew every aspect of this seminar out of proportion.

Go Back and read the allegations again. Do any of them make sense? How about the one about men attending the opera “with the backs of their trousers discreetly parted”?

If the story at least SOUNDS plausible, look at the source. How could anyone EVER verify “Parent”? At least two of the stories reference an article in the Boston Globe/ Boston Herald. Notice that no date of publication/section/page number is given. How could that possibly be verified?

Notice the disclaimer at the bottom of the page. There’s no need to verify anything because good ole Brian already has!

Want to contact the PRC? Good luck. They have no “regular” phone line; only voice mail. No street address; only a P.O. Box. Could that be because they don’t want to confront skeptics?

Check out some of their links: I really liked the “newspaper” that runs a lot of their stories: The Massachussetts News. It’s a monthly publication. Full of slang and derogatory terms. Lots of name-calling and sensationalism. Check out their advertising section. They publish between 120,000-250,000 copies per month, and yet they have only 10,000 subscribers. Most copies are GIVEN AWAY as complimentary copies. IMHO, that sounds like a kook rag. “Hi, I’m a kook. Can I leave a few copies of my kook rag at your place of business so that maybe you will become a fellow kook?”

Everything about this group sounds like BS to me. http://www.serveroptions.com/ubb/Forum20/HTML/000115.html
This is my critique of the “Updated” Horror Stories section.
FWIW- I got into the discussion on a board that is supposed to be about Gun Owership and Politics. I am a gun owner. I compete in target shooting. I am conservative, but I don’t give a shit about what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home. Takes all kinds, huh?
LongDistanceOperator

14

Yes, I have the world’s most ironclad cite: it was on a shirt I saw at Out On The Street in the village in Toronto.