George Weinberg (May 17, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was a Jewish-American psychologist. He was the author of several books. He coined the term "homophobia" in the 1960s, it first appearing in the press in 1969.
George Weinberg | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, US | May 17, 1929
Died | March 20, 2017 New York City, US | (aged 87)
Occupation | Psychologist |
Known for | Coining the term "homophobia", writing The Taboo Scarf. |
Spouse | Dianne Rowe |
George Weinberg was born on May 17, 1929, to a Jewish family.[1] His father, Frederick Weinberg, was a lawyer while his mother, Lillian Hyman, was a secretary for a law firm.[1] He grew up without his father in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.[1]
Weinberg graduated from City College of New York, and went on to earn a master's degree in English from New York University in 1951, where he also studied statistics at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.[1] He subsequently earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Columbia University.[1] Weinberg's extensive background in mathematics was reflected in his doctoral thesis, "Clinical versus Statistical Prediction in Psychology", and he later wrote the textbook, Statistics, An Intuitive Approach.[1]
Weinberg coined the term "homophobia". He began contemplating it after remembering having witnessed abhorrence towards a lesbian friend while preparing to deliver a speech in 1965.[1][2] The word was first printed in Screw on May 5, 1969, followed by Time a few months later.[1] Gay Times stated after his death in 2017 that he invented it in 1965.[3] By 1972, Weinberg explained the use of term in Society and the Healthy Homosexual. He suggested that those who harbor prejudice against homosexuals, and not homosexuals themselves, are suffering from a psychological malady, an irrational state of mind. Weinberg, though heterosexual himself, became a leader in the (successful) campaign to have homosexuality removed as a diagnostic category from the DSM, the professional therapeutic handbook. He was instrumental in shifting public perception of homosexuality.[2]
Weinberg's widely read, seminal 1984 book, The Heart of Psychotherapy, described innovative therapeutic methods that de-emphasize traditional therapy's approach.[4] He instead presented immediately practical tools that patients can use to help themselves.[4]
Weinberg was married to Dianne Rowe,[1][3] with whom he collobroated. He died of cancer on March 20, 2017.[1][3]
Dr. Weinberg was preparing to speak before the East Coast Homophile Organization in 1965 when he began thinking about a recent incident.
Dr. Weinberg is most famous for coining the word 'homophobia' back in 1965, creating the term after thinking about a recent incident, just before speaking at the East Coast Homophile Organisation.
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