Exaggerated Inversion

• Published in: Contemporary psychology 1968-09, Vol.13 (9), p.484-485
• Main Author: HOOKER, EVELYN
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Homosexuality (Attitudes Toward); Human; Law (Government); Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0010-7549
• DOI: 10.1037/009540

Reviews the book, The Boys of Boise: Furor, Vice, and Folly in an American City by John Gerassi (1966). As a case history of a sick town in which the mental health movement is equated with communism and tolerance or understanding of homosexuality is synonymous with both, this book is especially recommended reading for political scientists, social psychologists, and sociologists. However, there are shortcomings that seriously detract from its value. It would have profited greatly from a drastic revision. In organization it is repetitious and rambling; in style it is discursive and anecdotal and is aimed at a lay rather than a' professional audience. The topics covered are very broad. As a consequence, the discussion is sometimes shallow and inadequate. This is especially true of the two chapters entitled "The Homosexual and the Analyst" and "The Gay World." The author, nevertheless, is a valuable addition to a growing list of authors who indict our punitive sex laws and plead for psychiatric treatment for those homosexuals who are a danger to society (consensual adults are excluded). Such a list would minimally include the staff of the Institute for Sex Research, members of the American Law Institute, the authors of the Wolfenden Report, Peter Wildblood, and the authors of the UCLA Law Review, March, 1966. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)