Gayborhood celebrates the 50th anniversary of Philly psychiatrist John Fryer's pivotal speech for LGBTQ rights
Philadelphia InquirerMay 02, 2022
May 3—Local leaders and activists gathered in the Gayborhood on Monday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
Mayor
Wearing a mask to disguise himself and using a voice modulator, Fryer told the APA, "I am a homosexual. I am a psychiatrist." His testimony helped persuade the APA to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder at its 1973 meeting, "ending treatments such as chemical castration, electric shock therapy, and lobotomy and paving the way for advances in LGBT civil rights," according to the marker, which was installed in 2017.
From 2017: Honoring a gay psychiatrist credited with getting homosexuality declassified as an illness
Fryer was also a professor at
In addition to the tribute, both
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