GREAT video! this was on national televission http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFSCPTZLxGs There is more truth in this video than many progressives/gays are willing to admit (even if it was wrong to punish behaviour between consenting adults)
We (as a society) are learning and realizing that the type of answers from the first guy interviewed, are common/normal. Even so, it is amazing that CBS did that documentary the way they did it back in the 60's. People definitely need to stop chasing and persecuting homosexual people. That "underground" aspect which was very prominent in the in the era the documentary was done, has been a greater problem than homosexuality itself. The stigma of calling it a disease, surely made it difficult to see homosexuality in a more reasonable light.
I'm not home, so I don't have time to look at the video atm, but I will say this much. Historical studies of homosexuals often had an unintentional bias. They most often studied only a small segment of homosexuals... Specifically those who were in the criminal justice system or mental health system. Not surprisingly, these studies showed that homosexuals had unusually high rates of psychiatric an behavioral problems comirbid with their homosexuality. It was an unintentional bias, but a bias none the less. Studies like these were used to homosexuality caused severe mental problems which is part of hat qualified it to be called a disease. It wasn't until a decade after the documentary linked came out that people began to do studies on homosexuals from a less bias pool in the general population. Such studies were difficult a few homosexuals were willing to identify themselvees. In blind studies, psychologists were unable to distinguish between homoseual and heterosexual participants, leasing to the conclusion that homosexuality was not comorbid with the variety of mental and behavioral problems that were previously linked to it. This alone did not mean homosexuality is not a disease, but it does weaken the case. Diseases generally have comorbid it's with other mental problems, while causing distress to the individual. When these assumptions started to be challenged, the view o homosexuality started to change especially among psychologists in the day. Instead of categorizing all homosexuals as mentally ill, the diagnostics manual introduced a new category... I think it was called sexual disforia or something of that toon... It generally meant that you were only considered mentally I'll if you were homosexual and unhappy about it. Homosexuals who were fine with their sexuality were not considered to have the distress or imparement that is characteristic of a disease. Again this all comes down to what you believe it means to be a disease, but understand that this is just a concept... There is no definition that is better than another, but generally speaking this is the criteria used to distinguish diseases from non-diseases. Simply beig unusual does not a disease make, rather distress and mal-adjustment are key components of what professionals consider a disease.
Very interesting video. The guy in the first interview obviously came from a great family and he sounded like he was comfortable in his own skin. I know one guy that came out about the same age and his family kicked him out of the house. Two childhood friends that I know went through a few things during their childhood, one is gay and the other I imagine bisexual since he has been married for ages now but used to have relations with men and has more dresses than his wife. Both had extremely intrusive mothers. I don't know if that has anything to do with it but both mothers would drive you crazy.
I agree, it was a good video. I believe it was quite fair. Obviously there are some views and opinions presented that I'd disagree with, but overall I find it to be a very accurate and honest video. If there's anything I'd say, it's the same as what Johnny was saying... that the shunning and stigma that pushed homosexuality underground, into secrete affairs and generally made homosexuals entirely incapable of establishing long-term, honest and stable relationships was, and continues to be a huge problem. It is responsible for much of the guilt, promiscuity, and criminal behavior seen in the video and elsewhere. And to a large extent, this seems to be what the video was hinting at... without also excluding the possibility of it's inherent nature in homosexuality. A very fair assessment, I give my thumbs up to the honest work they were able to do from an impartial standpoint, particularly back in the 1960's. It's almost depressing, I almost think we've come a long way from that sort of impartial honesty nowadays.
I agree. While it should be recognised as a psychological problem resulting from a non-optimal family environment, and be actively discouraged as the dysfunctional variant it is, there is no reason for the shame and stigma. And shunning is unlikely to alter the homosexual's relations because it is a deep seated sexual desire that was established in early childhood (or perhaps in some cases before). Compare that 1967 documentary to the attempted "normalisation" of sex change operations found in national televission today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pgu5x0MzVM (notice how "she" actually admits it is a mental disorder, just like the gays originally did in 1967, but no doubt in another few decades it will be considered "intolerant" to call gender identity disorder a disease) I wonder just how far this sexual revolution thing will "progress" another 45 years from now... where will it END?!
I agree. There are a few stragglers even now, who have yet to move forward and embrace the relatively enlightened seventies...
Oh please. I do not know how it is in your country, but in Denmark we had child sexual pornography flowing around freely in the seventies. Thank God we ended that little social experiment.
