Assignment 1 @ AUGUST 6th

8/5/2020 Visible Communities/Invisible Lives - WS-370U-001: HISTORY OF SEXUALITIES (Summer 2020)

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Visible Communities/Invisible Lives Shannon O'Connor posted Aug 3, 2020 8:25 PM

WS-370U-001: HISTORY OF SEXUALITIES (Sum…

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It was interesting to learn about a text that was written during the time of the 1950s and

1960s regarding homosexuality. In 1965 a book entitled "Homosexuality: Its Causes and Cures" was written by Albert Ellis, in it he claimed that homosexuality was pathological. He said "Most fixed homo- sexuals, I am now convinced, are borderline psychotic or outrightly psychotic." (Bronski 186) He also believed that lesbians were easier to cure of their homosexuality to gay men. Gay women would be cured by getting married and starting a family, but gay men were predatory and hyper-sexual in nature so it was more difficult to cure them of their homosexuality. Ellis later changed his beliefs about homosexuality in the 1970s and became an active member of the gay rights movement. I think it's worth noting how gay women were undermined about their sexuality. "These widely disseminated archetypes the lesbian waiting to be fulfilled as a woman, the sexually rapacious homosexual male- were fantasies that emerged after World War II." (Bronski 187) There was a concept that a lesbian just needed to be fulfilled by a man, by marriage and by motherhood, and then she would be cured of her homosexuality. I think this concept stems from misogyny, the thought that a woman, especially a gay woman cannot just exist on her own be fulfilled without an association with a man. Women still have to deal with this idea that they are defined by their relationships

with men. This makes me think of a statement that often comes up in the conversation

about violence against women. It is typically repeated by men which shows their bias and

unawareness. "She's someone's sister, mother, daughter, wife". I attached an image of a

thoughtful edit to this phrase that creates an effective visual representation of our

frustration as women.

8/5/2020 Visible Communities/Invisible Lives - WS-370U-001: HISTORY OF SEXUALITIES (Summer 2020)

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Sadie Stevens yesterday at 5:41 PM

reply to Shannon

Hey Shannon,

The research behind the first scientific conversations about homosexuality are

undoubtedly biased. think it goes back to the fear of homosexual desires that

straight people had, they were always trying to understand something out of

normative thought only to forget about there social biases. I connected with

what you said about the ability to cure lesbians easily. It makes sense because

normal thought was that women were passionless, therefore women didn't need

a loving relationship or good sex life. They just need a man to control them. The

phrase "she's someone's sister, mother, daughter, wife" is great when you first

read it, however the phase ignores idea that women are just humans. Men who

say the phase or write it on a poster are feeding into the gender bias that

feminist try to deconstruct.

Thanks for your post!

<<< Replied to post below >>>

Authored by: Shannon O'Connor

Authored on: Aug 3, 2020 8:25 PM

Subject: Visible Communities/Invisible Lives

It was interesting to learn about a text that was written during the time of the

1950s and 1960s regarding homosexuality. In 1965 a book entitled

"Homosexuality: Its Causes and Cures" was written by Albert Ellis, in it he claimed that homosexuality was pathological. He said "Most fixed homo- sexuals, I am now convinced, are borderline psychotic or outrightly psychotic." (Bronski 186) He also believed that lesbians were easier to cure of their homosexuality to gay men. Gay women would be cured by getting married and starting a family, but gay men were predatory and hyper-sexual in nature so it was more difficult

8/5/2020 Visible Communities/Invisible Lives - WS-370U-001: HISTORY OF SEXUALITIES (Summer 2020)

https://d2l.pdx.edu/d2l/le/814403/discussions/threads/3660176/View 3/3

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to cure them of their homosexuality. Ellis later changed his beliefs about homosexuality in the 1970s and became an active member of the gay rights movement. I think it's worth noting how gay women were undermined about their sexuality. "These widely disseminated archetypes the lesbian waiting to be fulfilled as a woman, the sexually rapacious homosexual male-were fantasies that emerged after World War II." (Bronski 187) There was a concept that a lesbian just needed to be fulfilled by a man, by marriage and by motherhood, and then she would be cured of her homosexuality. I think this concept stems from misogyny, the thought that a woman, especially a gay woman cannot just exist on her own be fulfilled without an association with a man. Women still have to deal with this idea that they are defined by their relationships with men. This

makes me think of a statement that often comes up in the conversation about

violence against women. It is typically repeated by men which shows their bias

and unawareness. "She's someone's sister, mother, daughter, wife". I attached an

image of a thoughtful edit to this phrase that creates an effective visual

representation of our frustration as women.

Reply

1