sexual deviation

After all, when an allegation of “sexual deviation” brings two boys’ parents in for a long, tense conference, “Armand,” which recently premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, emphasizes that what actually happened is “less important” to the grown-ups than their own agendas.

At the time, homosexuality was categorized as a mental disorder and “sexual deviation” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a reference volume regarded as the authoritative guide to mental health diagnoses.

Mr. Jeffress also submitted an evaluation by a psychologist claiming Mr. Hawkins did not “demonstrate sexual deviation” but was instead driven to watch the pornographic images as “a way for him to explore his curiosity about homosexual activity and connect with his emotional peers.”

At the time, immigration law banned “aliens afflicted with sexual deviation,” among others suffering from “psychopathic personality,” from entry to the United States.

I had come to this country as a fourteen-year-old, in 1981, but I had been aware of my “sexual deviation” at the time, and this technically meant that I should not have entered the country.