Genres

Documentary

Duration

77 min

Director

Richard Schmiechen

Rating

4.2

Release Date

January 1, 1992

Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker

Original title: Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker

Synopsis

The life and work of the woman described as "The Rosa Parks of Gay Rights". 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.