Homosexual Aversion Therapy – A Transdimensional History – School of History & Heritage Research Seminar – LGBT+ History Month 2022
The School of History and Heritage would like to invite you to the following event for LGBT+ History Month (which is also part of our Research Seminar Series).
All welcome!
Wednesday 16 February, 5pm -6pm
Online seminar: https://eu.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/guest/8b9e64797aa74b559c5aa6d3ed14195e
Dr Kate Davison (Goldsmiths University of London)
Title: Homosexual Aversion Therapy – A Transdimensional History
Abstract: Is the history of homosexual aversion therapy a history about men? A broad reading of the international medical literature from the 1950s to 1970s would suggest as much. A vast majority of published attempts to reorient or ‘cure’ homosexual desire reported only male patients. Yet many of these patients were married to women, had girlfriends, were women themselves, or indeed had more complex stories to tell about their own gender identity. The significance of these factors was typically left unexplored by therapists, but there are historical sources available that offer broader insights. In this paper I will talk about how we can read historical sources that appear to be about gay men in transdimensional ways – to mine them for insights into the experiences of lesbians, women and trans people too.
Speaker’s biography: Kate’s research on the history of sexology spans the fields of science, medicine, emotions, memory and sexuality in Central Europe and across the British Empire. She is currently writing a book on the transnational history of homosexual aversion therapy during the Cold War from the 1950s to the 1970s. She is also interested in public history, the history of feminist, queer and anti-racist social movements and the politics of memory culture. She has worked in museums and community archives in Australia and Germany and in 2019 she was the Program Director of the LGBTQ Archives, Libraries, Museums and Special Collections conference held in Berlin.
Story submitted by Antonella Liuzzo Scorpo
aliuzzoscorpo@lincoln.ac.uk