“I am a homosexual,” he began. “I am a psychiatrist.”

May 3, 2022 5:54 AM

“I am a homosexual,” he began. “I am a psychiatrist.” For the next 10 minutes, Henry Anonymous, M.D. — this is what he had asked to be called — described the secret world of gay psychiatrists. Officially, they did not exist; homosexuality was categorized as a mental illness, so acknowledging it would result in the revocation of one’s medical license, and the loss of a career.
posted by Karmakaze (12 comments total)

Thank you for sharing this.
posted by brainwane at 6:33 AM on May 3, 2022

That is a very powerful speech -- take the time to listen to it (it's embedded in the article).
posted by mumimor at 6:34 AM on May 3, 2022

Matt Baume talks about this in his video about gay characters on The Bob Newhart Show. I didn't realize the entire speech was available out there!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:19 AM on May 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

One of the things that struck me was that he was able to change the trajectory of careers for people who came after him, but not for himself.
posted by Karmakaze at 7:35 AM on May 3, 2022 [5 favorites]

Archive link since I didn't see it in the post.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:17 AM on May 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

A non-pay link: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/-homosexual-psychiatrist-dr-anonymous-changed-history-rcna26836
posted by Roentgen at 9:17 AM on May 3, 2022 [1 favorite]

See also the excellent This American Life episode "81 Words," which chronicles the removal of homosexuality from the DSM and includes interviews with John Fryer/Henry Anonymous.
posted by googly at 10:55 AM on May 3, 2022 [4 favorites]

That TAL episode was really good. I recommend it over the referenced article—not that it wasn’t good, but the episode is more historical, the article more biographical if that makes any sense.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 11:00 AM on May 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

This was very good. A hero!
posted by Oyéah at 1:38 PM on May 3, 2022

This was beautiful and sad. A side of activism we do not always acknowledge. Thank you for sharing.
posted by eirias at 7:13 PM on May 3, 2022

Worth noting that people with pathologized identities are still getting booed off the stage at professional gatherings. Paul Preciado (author of the Contrasexual Manifesto) was unable to finish giving his paper 'Can the Monster Speak' at the 2019 École de la Cause Freudienne annual conference.
posted by Richard Saunders at 4:54 AM on May 4, 2022 [7 favorites]

Thanks for the link to the Contrasexual Manifesto Richard Saunders, I read Paul Preciado's Testo Junkie when it came out in 2013 and I think it's one of the best nonfiction books published that decade, there's a lot of really interesting stuff in there. I didn't think to check what the author's been up to recently.
posted by subdee at 4:37 PM on May 4, 2022