Within the first few minutes of listening to the Podcast, “81 Words,” from This American Life, my mind began to wander to the concept of deviance. When I think of deviance, I think of an act, or desire, that goes against the socially constructed norm. In this case a grand act of sexual deviance, which is considered a civil deviance, leads to grand social change. As I continued listening, I was saddened by the realization that John Spiegel, the main figure in the episode, was a homosexual physiatrist during a time when homosexuality was thought to be a disease. I imagine the fear to coming out to this biased professional world, as the podcast described it, their inner homophobia. I believe Mr. Spiegel, and physiatrists alike, feared their credibility if they came out pre 1970s. Listening, I wondered what was going …show more content…
It feels reminiscent of torturing someone, and then trying to obtain credible information out of them. At that point, they’re so beaten down that their demeanor has changed, and the information becomes less valuable. I’m frustrated that this information and research was considered enough to classify homosexuality as a disease, or insanity. The speech “Stop It, You’re Making Me Sick,” greatly inspires me. It is a perfect example of how sexual deviance, which went against society at this time, can lead to oppression of a certain persons. For as far back as people can remember, certain persons with deviant traits have been labeled, and more often than not the label has an apparent negative connotation. The speech written by Ronald Gold further sells the idea that a person with more power (authority) than the particular minority, has the ability to “make” that minority anything they wish; I.e, sick, wrong,