Academy Award winning director Richard Schmiechen (The Times of Harvey Milk) vividly portrays the life and work of the woman described by the Los Angeles Times as “The Rosa Parks of Gay Rights” in Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker.
During the repressive 1950′s, Dr. Evelyn Hooker undertook ground breaking research that led to a radical discovery: homosexuals were not, by definition, “sick.” Dr. Hooker’s finding sent shock waves through the psychiatric community and culminated in a major victory for gay rights in 1974 the weight of her studies, along with gay activism, forced the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its official manual of mental disorders.
Startling archival footage of the medical procedure used to “cure” homosexuality, images from the underground gay world of the McCarthy era and home movies of literary icon Christopher Isherwood bring to life history which we must never forget. Dr. Hooker’s insights into gay marriage and the gay community (a term she coined), and the filmmakers’ winning approach make this documentary education at its most exciting and enjoyable. Narrated by Patrick Stewart, Richard Schmiechen 1991 75 min. USA.
Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker Clip, Courtesy of frameline. Thank you
This is an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Evelyn Hooker, pioneering researcher of homosexuality and proponent of gay rights. “No One Wants to Be Cast Out, Either”: Experiences of Professional Gay Women in Psychotherapy, Produced & Directed by Betty Walker, PhD and Marilyn Mehr, PhD.
Evelyn Hooker video, Courtesy of OutHistory. Thank you