BPS Core Textbooks Series

Developed in collaboration with the British Psychological Society

Chapter 33 – Acts of Resistance: Psychology and LGBTQIA+ Activism

Chapter Summary

This chapter explores the intersection between psychology and LGBTQIA+ activism, tracing the contested terrain of sexual and gender diversity through a critical historical and conceptual lens. Beginning with the legacy of psychological pathologisation and the erasure of queer lives, it examines how activists, scholars, and community movements resisted normative frameworks and challenged the authority of psychology to define ‘normal’ sexuality and gender. Key moments such as the removal of homosexuality from the DSM, the emergence of trans and intersex activism, and the impact of queer theory are examined alongside pivotal figures such as Evelyn Hooker and Celia Kitzinger. The chapter introduces ‘activism’ and ‘queer theory’ as its critical thinking tools, foregrounding the ways in which both political resistance and conceptual disruption have reshaped psychological knowledge. Ontologically, it explores how categories such as ‘homosexual’ have been historically constructed and contested, while epistemologically it challenges assumptions about objectivity, neutrality, and scientific authority. The chapter closes by reflecting on how contemporary psychology can learn from activist strategies and decolonial perspectives to build more inclusive, pluralistic, and reflexive frameworks. It invites students to see psychology as a site of struggle, ethics, social justice, and possibility.

Chapter 33 – Quiz

  • Chapter 33 – Flashcards

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  • Chapter 33 – Key Readings

    Beccalossi, C. (2020). Types, norms, and normalisation: Hormone research and treatments in Italy, Argentina, and Brazil, c. 1900–50. History of the Human Sciences, 34(2), 113-137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695120941193 

    Drescher, J. (2015). Out of DSM: Depathologizing homosexuality. Behavioral Sciences, 5(4), 565-575. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs5040565 

    Ellis, S. J. (2025). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, and queer psychology an introduction (Third edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 

    Hegarty, P. (2018). A recent history of lesbian and gay psychology: from homophobia to LGBT. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.  

    Hubbard, K. A., & Griffiths, D. A. (2019). Sexual offence, diagnosis, and activism: A British history of LGBTQIA+ psychology. American Psychologist, 74(8), 940-953. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000544 

    Jones, R. M. (2023). Defeating the ‘social danger’ of homosexuality while ‘forging the fatherland’: Sexual science and biotypology in Mexico’s national development, 1927–57. History of the Human Sciences, 36(5), 122-151. https://doi.org/10.1177/09526951231199581 

    Minton, H. L. (1997). Queer Theory: Historical Roots and Implications for Psychology. Theory & Psychology, 7(3), 337-353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354397073003 

    Rivers, I., & Ward, R. (2012). Out of the ordinary: representations of LGBT lives. Cambridge Scholars Pub. 

    Russell, G. M., & Bohan, J. S. (2006). The case of internalized homophobia: Theory and/as practice. Theory & Psychology, 16(3), 343-366. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354306064283 

    Sutton, K. (2020). Kinsey and the psychoanalysts: Cross-disciplinary knowledge production in post-war US sex research. History of the Human Sciences, 34(1), 120-147. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695120911597 

    Taavetti, R. (2024). Low on the Kinsey scale: Homosexuality in Swedish and Finnish sex research, 1960s–1990s. History of the Human Sciences, 37(5), 21-44. https://doi.org/10.1177/09526951241245040 

    Vasilovsky, A. T. (2018). Aesthetic as genetic: The epistemological violence of gaydar research. Theory & Psychology, 28(3), 298-318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354318764826 

    Weinstein, D. (2018). Sexuality, therapeutic culture, and family ties in the United States after 1973. History of Psychology, 21(3), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1037/hop0000043 

    Woodman, D. (2023). LGBT+ Communities: Creating Spaces of Identity. IntechOpen. 

  • Chapter 33 – Reflective Questions

    1. How did psychology contribute to the pathologisation of LGBTQIA+ identities in the 20th century? 
    2. What was the significance of Evelyn Hooker’s research, and how did it challenge mainstream assumptions in psychology? 
    3. In what ways has queer theory redefined the way psychologists think about sexuality and gender? 
    4. Why is activism considered a critical thinking tool in the context of LGBTQIA+ psychology? 
    5. What does the story of intersex advocacy reveal about the relationship between medical power, psychological authority, and lived experience? 

  • Chapter 33 – Weblinks

    Kinsey Institute – Wikipedia (Educational Resource)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinsey_Institute

    This page gives an explanation of the founding of, and some influential works by the Kinsey Institute, along with mentions of notable figures in psychology who did work there during their careers.

    LGBTQ Psychology – Wikipedia (Educational Resource)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_psychology

    This page gives an extensive overview of the founding, tenets and practises in LGBTQ psychology, including discussions of particularly influential individual pieces of work, or figures who have given important contributions to the field.

    Queer Britain (Archival Site)

    https://queerbritain.org.uk

    This page gives information on the Queer Britain movement, and the history of LGBTQ activism and more in the UK, giving students access to extensive information on the real-world implications of the topics talked about in this chapter.

    Stonewall (Organisation Homepage)

    https://www.stonewall.org.uk

    This page provides a home to the online presence of the UK Stonewall organisation, focusing on advocacy and education on LGBTQ+ rights, containing a wild variety of resources from policy documents to campaign information.

    ACT UP Oral History Project (Archival and Education Resource)

    https://www.actuporalhistory.org

    This page contains an archive of 187 interviews with members of the organisation ACT UP, or the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power. The interviews document many perspectives on activism for individuals with AIDS, and covers the history of these movements for students to learn about.