PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
When:
Tuesday, October 3rd from 1 to 1:30 p.m.
Where:
13th & Locust Streets
Why:
John Fryer, M.D. and a psychiatrist using the name Dr. H. Anonymous, a mask and voice modulator testified on a panel on homosexuality at the 1972 annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Starting in 1952, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness in the APA's DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual). Dr. Fryer's compelling testimony caused the APA to study whether homosexuality was in fact a mental illness. At the 1973 APA annual meeting homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness. Prior therapies for homosexuality included chemical castration (England), electric shock therapy (NY), mental institutionalization (PA) and lobotomies (CA).
When Dr. Fryer testified, physicians could lose their licensure in most states for being a homosexual. In 1965, Dr. Fryer, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduate had his psychiatry residency at University of Pennsylvania terminated when it was learned that he was homosexual. He completed his residency at a state mental hospital and went on to become a professor of psychiatry at Temple University School of Medicine.
Dr. Fryer's testimony not only ended barbaric treatments, but without the removal of homosexuality as a mental illness, the U.S. Supreme Court would not have ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that criminalizing same-sex intimacy between consenting adults was unconstitutional. The Lawrence decision laid the groundwork for Windsor v. U.S. and Obergefell v. Hodges.
The John Fryer Historic Marker is authorized by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Who:
- Saul Levin, M.D., CEO and Medical Director, American Psychiatric Association, Keynote Speaker. Dr. Levin is an openly gay man.
- Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus
- Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director
Attendees include friends and colleagues of Dr. Fryer as well as mental health professionals.
The dedication is across the street from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, which is the repository of the extensive John Fryer Collection.
The American Psychiatric Association's annual civil rights award is named in Dr. Fryer's memory.
The Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania has an annual John Fryer Lecture.
About Equality Forum
Equality Forum coordinates LGBT History Month, produces documentary films, undertakes high-impact initiatives and presents the largest annual national and international LGBT civil rights summit.
Equality Forum is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to advance national and international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights with an educational focus. For more information on the Equality Forum, please visit: www.equalityforum.com.
www.equalityforum.com
www.lgbtHistoryMonth.com
SOURCE Equality Forum
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