Evelyn Hooker and the Fairy Project

by Gayle E. Pitman, Sarah Green (Illustrator)

A pioneering psychologist, Hooker was a poet and a towering figure in LGBTQ+ rights.

This evocative biography tells the story of Evelyn Hooker, the extraordinary woman behind the research, advocacy, and allyship that led to the removal of the “Homosexuality” diagnosis from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Written by Stonewall award-winning author Gayle Pitman, Hooker’s groundbreaking work is captured like never before. At the end of the book, a “Note to Readers” provides information about how to be an effective ally to LGBTQ+ people; other endmatter included are a timeline, discussion questions, reading list, and additional resources, written by Sarah Prager.

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer

160 pages, Hardcover

Published October 26, 2021

About the author

Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology at Sacramento City College. Her writing, research, and teaching focuses on issues of gender and sexual orientation. She lives in Northern California.

Reviews

[Thegirlintheafternoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

My library classifies this as YA; it's definitely middle grade. Very informative! 3/5 stars.

[Sally Kruger]

Many women are remembered for their roles in changing history, but few know about Evelyn Hooker. Evelyn began college in the 1920s. She excelled in her studies of psychiatry and mental health. The unusual nature of Evelyn's career is that despite society's disapproval, she spent her career focused on homosexuality.

Encouraged by a friend, Evelyn applied for and received a grant to study gay men. Her study focused on 30 homosexual men and 30 heterosexual men in a control group. What Evelyn aimed to prove was that homosexuality should not be considered a mental illness. Her goal was to have references to sexuality removed from mental health documentation. Evelyn achieved her goal, but it didn't happen until 30 years after her study was completed.

Author Gayle E. Pitman's biography of Evelyn Hooker presents a fascinating story of a woman determined to make a difference in the lives of homosexual individuals. Her battle to change the thinking of society is still an on-going fight for many, but we have her to thank for providing important documentation in the fight.

[Meghan Costigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another long-awaited read! This book chronicles the life work of Dr. Evelyn Hooker, a psychologist whose groundbreaking research laid the groundwork for discounting homosexuality as a mental illness. As an LGBTQ+ individual with an educational background in psychology, I was particularly fascinated by her life story & research protocols & was left feeling all the more grateful for all she did. However, the narrative often gets interrupted by poems inspired by some of the events that happen in her story, & while maybe someone thought they'd be important to include for the purpose of additional pathos, I didn't think they were necessary. Otherwise, it's nice to have a written work that highlights & celebrates the woman whose work helped improve the lives of self-identified outsiders in a predominantly heteronormative society.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was curious about Evelyn Hooker after reading about her in Making Gay History. I wanted to like this book but the format just didn't seem to work for me. The poems distracted me more than anything. I appreciated the other background context on LGBT issues or historical moments but I felt a bit loss sometimes why they were being mentioned. The packaging felt young although this was targeted as YA. It felt like a Who Was...? title. Maybe this could have been a graphic novel? Anyway, I'm glad to have read more about Evelyn Hooker and her allyship and I'll probably seek out the documentary about her.

[Sarah Ressler Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an interesting book and really grounded people in history, including indigenous history, and then followed how homosexuals were classified in DSM and how Evelyn Hooker’s research significantly helped overturn their diagnosis as a mental disorder. Fascinating and uplifting. Written for late elementary and above. Love the use of various poetry forms throughout the nonfiction tale. A fascinating experiment to do with students to show how nonfiction research can be turned into poetry!

[Jessica Arend · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Anna Grace Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick, easy YA non-fiction for book 9/50

[Savannah Gray]

i picked this up at the library because of its cute cover and the fact that it was a YA biography on Evelyn Hooker and her research that helped decriminalize ‘homosexuality’ in the DSM, with cute illustrations scattered throughout. i figured it would be a quick and interesting read.

when i say this book really hit me hard, i mean it. to read about the experiences of LGBT+ people in america and the horrors they faced in mental institutions breaks my heart and honestly makes me squirm. the hard work and research of allies like Hooker does not go unappreciated for a second. as a mental health worker, as a lesbian, as a human, it makes me deeply sad to think about the realities of treatments such as electroshock therapy or lobotomies. we have come a long way in the past 100 years & we still have a ways to go.

“[Evelyn] shared a story about a woman who had approached her at a party to thank her for her work. When her parents found out she was a lesbian, they responded by sending her to a mental institution known for using shock therapy, and this woman knew that’s what she’d be in for. However, the doctor who was assigned to treat her had read Hooker’s research, and he ultimately decided not to go through with the shock treatments. ‘I’ve wanted to meet you because I wanted to tell you what you saved me from,’ the woman said to Evelyn” (pg 118).

[joelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars :))

as someone who doesn’t lean towards non-fiction, this is a must read biography- genuinely.