Evelyn Hooker

Evelyn Hooker (1907–1996) was an American psychologist whose research found no measurable psychological maladjustment distinguishing gay men from heterosexual men. Her findings helped challenge psychiatry’s classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Hooker’s 1957 study: A study comparing psychological test results from gay and heterosexual men matched for age, education, and IQ. This was the research that directly tested whether gay men showed greater psychological maladjustment.
American Psychiatric Association: The professional organization representing psychiatrists in the United States. The association’s 1973 decision removed homosexuality from its diagnostic manual.
Judith Wilson: A psychologist and researcher associated with studies of homosexuality and psychological adjustment. Wilson collaborated with Hooker on research examining gay men’s psychological well-being.
Pathologization: The process of interpreting a human trait or experience as a disease or disorder. Hooker’s work challenged the pathologization of homosexuality in psychiatric practice.
Thematic Apperception Test: A projective psychological test in which people tell stories about ambiguous pictures. Hooker used it to compare the personality patterns of gay and heterosexual men.
DSM-II: The second edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published in 1968. It classified homosexuality as a mental disorder before the association reversed that policy.
Frank Kameny: An American astronomer and gay rights activist who challenged discrimination against gay people. Kameny pressed psychologists and public officials to confront the harms of pathologizing homosexuality.
Conversion therapy: Practices intended to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The belief that homosexuality was disordered helped justify efforts to change it, despite evidence of harm.
Rorschach test: A psychological assessment using interpretations of inkblot patterns to explore perception and personality. It was one of the projective tests Hooker applied in her comparison.
Declassification of homosexuality as a mental disorder: The removal of homosexuality as a diagnosis from the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual in 1973. Hooker’s research contributed evidence to the professional debate preceding this policy change.

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