Gay Lives and 'Aversion Therapy' in Brezhnev's Russia, 1964-1982 (Genders and Sexualities in History)

Gay Lives and 'Aversion Therapy' in Brezhnev's Russia, 1964-1982 (Genders and Sexualities in History)
by: Rustam Alexander (Author)
Publisher:Palgrave Macmillan
Publication Date: 25 Nov. 2023
Language:English
Print Length:179 pages
ISBN-10:3031458699
ISBN-13:9783031458699
Book Description
This book examines the autobiographies and diaries of Soviet homosexual men who underwent psychotherapy during the period from 1970 to 1980 under the guidance of Yan Goland, a psychiatrist-sexopathologist from Gorky. The examination of these unique and little known documents contributes to our scant knowledge about the practices that many would call a Soviet proto-type of 'aversion therapy'. It also helps us understand the way homosexual people faced "queer dilemmas" of the self and how they sought to reconcile their queer desire with being Soviet.
About the Author