Treatment Of Homosexuality In The 20th Century

Homosexuality has long been regarded by the word as unhealthy and in need of correction. The DSM-II, the list of mental illnesses as classified by Americans, listed homosexuality until the late 20th century. The treatment of homosexuality as a mental illness rose in popularity during the 1940s and 1950s when homosexuality was viewed as a large and present threat. Mental treatment of homosexuality persisted throughout the next two decades and is still a common method of treatment in some communities today.

Although the tolerance of homosexuality fluctuates throughout time, it has been generally considered a sin and “abomination” for the past two millennia. “Treatment” of homosexuality prior to the 20th century typically consisted of physical violence to the point of death. However, the people of 1950s America were often reluctant to kill a loved one or family member if they displayed “homosexual urges.” As a result, mental health was looked to as a solution. Doctors of the time believed that “every homosexual is a latent heterosexual.” (Bayer 30) Treatments ranged from weekly counseling to shock therapy, depending on the “severity”

of the homosexuality. However, treatments such as these were often only available to those of the middle and upper classes. People of the lower classes found to be gay were put in state insane asylums until their “disease” was cured.
Following the Second World War, the emphasis put on the nuclear family was particularly detrimental to the progress of mental health professionals in the treatment of homosexuality.

A fear of any divergence from the norm caused treatment of homosexuals to become increasingly brutal and inhumane. Practices shied away from before, such as shock therapy, lobotomy, and torture, became popular and accepted methods of treatment. Gay men were often shown photos of naked men and given violent shocks meant to condition his body to fear the naked male form. When the Cold War began, “communism and homosexuality were frequently lumped together: both risked destabilizing the state and the very structure of society.” (Aldrich 203) The purge and treatment of communists was extended to homosexuals. Both groups were ostracized if they could not

“reform.”
Homoexuality’s status as a mental illness was long disputed by psychologists and was finally removed from the official list of mental illnesses in 1973 by the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association. The decision, however, was by a relatively small margin of votes and left many unsatisfied. As a result, this ruling was largely disputed, and many mental health professionals continued to regard and treat homosexuality as a mental illness well into the late 20th and early 21st centuries. “Correction therapy,” although losing popularity, is still used widely in America in 2016.
Although homosexuality was officially delisted as a mental illness in 1973, discrimination faced by homosexuals seeking mental health care has persisted throughout the past four decades. The scars left by the brutal treatment of gay people of all classes in mental asylums and “therapy” are prominent in today’s society.