GRSJ224/The Medicalization of Sexuality

The Medicalization of Sexuality

The Invention of Heterosexuality

Heterosexuality has existed as part of a universal social norm for centuries. According to Jonathan Ned Katz, an American historian of human sexuality, we assume that heterosexuality "is unchanging, universal, essential: ahistorical." However, it is largely a nineteenth century invention.

In the early Victorian era (1820-1860), Victorian 'purity' involved freedom of sensuality. True love was idealized as romance between a man and woman without overt sexual desire. Victorian masculinity was thought to be more carnal; while Victorian femininity was associated with purity and virginity. The rise of the industrial revolution brought on an emphasis on procreation. With a high infant death rate, and children being the very backbone of the industrial complex, families churned out more children. Anything outside of the duty of procreation, was considered condemned by Victorian society.

During the late Victorian era (1860-1892), the shift into consumerism as well as the exhaustion of the Victorian work ethic (mostly revolving around need to procreate) led to sex being more than just about procreation, but also as a means of pleasure. The late nineteenth century also brought on the emphasis on normal and abnormal sexual desires through literature and press. Victorian culture began to build itself around the concept of commoditized pleasure (Katz, 1990, p. 225-227).

The Rise of Doctors and the Normalization of Heterosexuality

The term 'heterosexuality' was practically non-existent until the rise of the medical profession, and the legitimization of doctors the late nineteenth century (1892-1900). The earliest recorded use of the term 'heterosexual' came from a medical journal written by James. G Kiernan. Heterosexuality back then did not mean the same thing as it does today; it was a term to describe a mental illness called 'physical hermaphroditism.' Ironically, the condition is characterized by attraction towards both sexes, as well as gratification outside of procreation. Kiernan was also one of the first to use the term 'homosexual' - a condition that is characterized by embodying the mental state of the opposite sex.

Another doctor by the name of Richard Von Krafft-Ebing redefined the term heterosexual as an 'erotic feeling for a different a sex.' Homosexuality was also redefined as 'erotic feeling for the same sex.' Krafft-Ebing's definitions inspired a shift from the social duty of procreation to sex as a recreational form of pleasure. Heterosexuality became medicalized as the norm. Those who were not abide by heterosexual norms, such as homosexuals, were considered sexually deviant.

In the early twentieth century (1900-1930), lust was increasingly normalized in the commercial and capitalist society. With this normalization, came the fear of sexual deviance, particularly as women became more individualistic and independent - which seemed threaten masculinity. Fear of lesbianism was also a concern for society. As there was cause for concern for the falling birth rate, rising divorce rate, the shifting of gender roles, and the rise of independent androgynous women, 'flappers' of 1920s which threatened the heterosexual norm. The government propaganda pushed an emphasis on family stability and procreation. Later on, it was not just government, but the social purity advocates that pushed for censorship and repression of sexual deviants. (Katz, 1990, p. 227-230).

Heterosexuality After World War Two (1945-1965)

The post-war era in the Western World was one of heterosexual hegemony, born out of sex-conservative tendencies, were reestablished and reinforced by social intuitions as well as conservative mental health professionals. The belief in the cult of domesticity, originally a nineteenth century belief became emphasized again shortly after World War two, reflecting the social anxiety of women going to work and leaving their families. The belief reinforced ideals towards women, such as staying at home, doing household work, and taking care of children. Home economics classes taught women how to knit, and other household duties. (Katz, 1990, p. 231)

Classification of Non-heterosexuality as a Mental Illness

The American Psychological Association first published the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952. In 1962 the DSM-II classified homosexuality under sexual deviations, clumping attraction towards to same sex with fetishism, psychiatric disorders such as pedophilia, necrophilia, and attraction towards objects. The very general and vague definition of sexual deviation did not attempt to explain or describe any of the sexual deviations. At this time however, the DSM-II was unpopular with psychoanalysts (psychoanalysis was a popular method of therapy at the time) as diagnosis had nothing to psychoanalysis.

Treatment for homosexuality came in different forms (originally intended to compete with criminal punsihments) both men and women experienced excruciating and traumatic experiments - surgical interventions involving castration, lobotomy, sterilization; to chemical intervention with sexual stimulants and depressants, and hormonal medication; to psychological interventions and group therapy. These are only a few of the long list of experiments (Herb, 1997, p. 57-59).

Kinsey and the Sexual Revolution

Alfred Kinsey's study of human sexuality revealed that most people were not homogenously heterosexual. People were ranked on a scale (the Kinsey scale) measuring their sexual orientation from homosexuality to heterosexuality. The most important aspect of Kinsey's work was that he did not criticize or condemn non-heterosexual acts, but rather, he challenged the norm. Initially, the publishing of his reports led to a lot of backlash from the scientific community (mostly from devout and religious scientists) with claims from doctors like Dr. Torrey Johnson challenging his work as a "viola[tion] ... of scientific ethics" and "a philosophy of distrust [and] of disbelief in the Word of God (Lewis, 2007, p.1-2)."

Public uproar from the gay community was sparked from the publishing of Kinsey's reports. Gay advocates challenged and protested homosexuality as a sexual deviance. Strategies of promoting greater tolerance of homosexuality involved striking similarities between gays and straights. The Mattachine Society in Los Angeles in 1950 even managed to decriminalize homosexuality by using non-confrontational policies.

In the 1960's, Gay advocates began to protest and demand the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness. In 1969 at Greenwich village, the Stonewall Riot took place involving violent demonstrations against the police raid. The aftermath of this incident led to establishment of the Gay Liberation Front, Gay Activists Alliance, and eventually Gay Pride (in remembrance of the Stonewall Riot) in 1970. The aftermath of the Stonewall riots inspired gay rights advocates from members of other countries such as Canada and Australia (Herb, 1997, p.60-65).

Modern View of Sexuality

Today, in Western world we recognize the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community as a community that is still discriminated against despite the recent advocacy against society's intuitional reinforcement of heterosexual hegemony. There have been solutions to give the LGBTQ community more of a voice in many aspects such as education. In the education school system, there has been an effort to establish a positive climate for LGBTQ youth by recognizing the detrimental effects of bullying and normalization of homophobic language as breeding ground for discrimination. Increasing awareness of LGBTQ youth involves more advocacy and visibility - meaning more school campaigns that increase LGBTQ awareness, and LGBTQ-straight alliance club (Sadowski, et al., 2016, p.71-83).

Bibliography

Herb, Kutchins. 1997. Making Us Crazy. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Katz, J. (1990). The Invention of Heterosexuality. Socialist Review, 20, 7-34. Reprinted in: Anderson, Margaret and Patricia Hill Collins. 2015. Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology. Boston: Cengage Learning, 225-234.

Lewis, Carolyn Frances. 2007.Coitus Perfectus: The Medicalization of Heterosexuality in the Cold War United States. University of California, Santa Barbara: Proquest Dissertations Publishing.

Sadowski, Michael, et al. 2016. LGBTQ Voices in Education: Changing the Culture of Schooling. Edited by Veronica E. Bloomfield and Marni E. Fisher. New York: Routledge.