Richard Green (sexologist)
Encyclopedia
Richard Green is an American
sexologist, psychiatrist
, lawyer
, and author
specializing in homosexuality
and transsexualism
, specifically gender identity disorder in children
. Green is the founding editor of the Archives of Sexual Behavior
(1971), and served as Editor until 2001. He is also the founding president of the International Academy of Sex Research
(1975), which made the Archives its official publication. He served on the American Psychiatric Association
DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders.
from Syracuse University
in 1957, his M.D.
from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1961, and his J.D.
from Yale Law School
in 1987.
During his medical studies at Johns Hopkins, Green met John Money
, who was an assistant professor there, and started collaborating with him on research, initially on boys displaying substantial cross-gender behavior. In Money's obituary, Green acknowledges Money and Robert Stoller
, as well as his father, Leo H. Green, for having set the course for his life and career. In the mid-1960s, Money introduced Green to Harry Benjamin
, whom Green acknowledges as having "further honed" his career. In 1969 Green and Money co-edited "Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment", published by Johns Hopkins Press.
Green was founding editor of Archives of Sexual Behavior
in 1971, serving as Editor for 30 years. In 1974 Green and the board of the new journal established the International Academy of Sex Research
, with Green as the founding president; the Archives became the official publication of the Academy. The new organization had a more selective membership than Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
(SSSS), which published the leading US sexology journal of the time, The Journal of Sex Research. The IASR membership has a more medical and biological emphasis, and only accepts applications from published researchers. The IASR also has a more international approach, alternatively meeting in the US and other countries every year. Eventually, the Archives became a premier journal in its field. Green retired as Editor of Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2001 and Editorship was continued by Kenneth Zucker
.
In 1979 Green was a founding committee member of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association
and served as president from 1997-1999. He previously directed the human sexuality
program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
. He has been Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, Professor of Psychiatry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Professor of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College, London. He was on the faculty of Law at UCLA and Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
since 1994. Green served as President of HBIGDA, now known as World Professional Association for Transgender Health, from 1997 to 1999.
Clinical vignettes from Green's work on gender identity disorder
appear in widely used textbooks, such as Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry (10th ed.) The term "gender identity disorder" itself introduced in DSM-III was taken from Green's 1974 work.Sexual Identity Conflict in Children and Adults. New York, Basic Books.He served on the American Psychiatric Association
DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders. In 2006 he was awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal
for Sexual Research.
Green was research director and consultant psychiatrist at the Gender Identity Clinic at Charing Cross Hospital
in London
and Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Criminology, Cambridge and Member of Darwin College, Cambridge. His partner since 1988, Melissa Hines, is a professor of psychology at the Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies
, University of Cambridge
.
in her libel suit against Zsa Zsa Gabor
. He was ACLU co-counsel in a case challenging the Boy Scouts for refusing membership to a homosexual young man in California—Curran v. Mount Diablo Council of the Boy Scouts of America
.
In his work on gender identity in children, Green used common English expressions like "sissy
boy" and "tomboy
" in the titles of some of his publications. His choice of terminology attracted a number of criticisms over its political correctness
.
In 2002 he initiated a debate in a special issue of the Archives of Sexual Behavior
regarding the extent to which pedophilia
should be classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association
, without impinging on the legal and law enforcement aspects. It concluded that sexual arousal to children is subjectively reported "in a substantial minority of “normal” people", and reviewed the level of social acceptance of this historically, but stated that such observations may not entail cultural or legal acceptance today. The paper also raised specific concerns about the DSM-IV definition, some of which were later acknowledged by Ray Blanchard
in his literature review for the DSM-5
workgroup, which proposed a more general nomenclature distinction between paraphilia
s and paraphilic disorders; this proposal is part part of the DSM-5 draft. In 2010 however, Green criticized in stronger terms Blanchard's proposal to introduce hebephilia
as a mental disorder in the DSM-5 (as a subtype the proposed pedohebophilic disorder)Pointing to the legal age of sexual consent in several countries of Europe, this would declare 19 year olds engaged sexually with 14 year olds (legal) as having a mental disorder.
In terms of research on biology and sexual orientation
, Green is optimistic about progress and has told a reporter that "I suspect that at least in your lifetime we will find a gene that contributes substantially to sexual orientation."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sexologist, psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
specializing in homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and transsexualism
Transsexualism
Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender...
, specifically gender identity disorder in children
Gender identity disorder in children
Gender identity disorder in children is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe children who experience significant gender dysphoria ....
. Green is the founding editor of the Archives of Sexual Behavior
Archives of Sexual Behavior
The Archives of Sexual Behavior is a peer-reviewed academic journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research.- History :...
(1971), and served as Editor until 2001. He is also the founding president of the International Academy of Sex Research
International Academy of Sex Research
The International Academy of Sex Research is a scientific society for researchers in sexology. According to John Bancroft, retired director of the Kinsey Institute, IASR "can claim...most of the field's leading researchers." IASR is unique among sexology organizations in that individuals must...
(1975), which made the Archives its official publication. He served on the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders.
Education and career
Green was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
in 1957, his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1961, and his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
in 1987.
During his medical studies at Johns Hopkins, Green met John Money
John Money
John William Money was a psychologist, sexologist and author, specializing in research into sexual identity and biology of gender...
, who was an assistant professor there, and started collaborating with him on research, initially on boys displaying substantial cross-gender behavior. In Money's obituary, Green acknowledges Money and Robert Stoller
Robert Stoller
Robert Jesse Stoller , was an American psychoanalyst.-Life and works:Stoller graduated with an M.D. from the University of California at San Francisco in 1948, and proceeded to join the psychiatry faculty at UCLA following his initial medical practice.Stoller was a Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA...
, as well as his father, Leo H. Green, for having set the course for his life and career. In the mid-1960s, Money introduced Green to Harry Benjamin
Harry Benjamin
Harry Benjamin was a German endocrinologist, widely known for his clinical work with transsexualism. He was raised in an observant Ashkenazy Jewish home.- Early life and career :...
, whom Green acknowledges as having "further honed" his career. In 1969 Green and Money co-edited "Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment", published by Johns Hopkins Press.
Green was founding editor of Archives of Sexual Behavior
Archives of Sexual Behavior
The Archives of Sexual Behavior is a peer-reviewed academic journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research.- History :...
in 1971, serving as Editor for 30 years. In 1974 Green and the board of the new journal established the International Academy of Sex Research
International Academy of Sex Research
The International Academy of Sex Research is a scientific society for researchers in sexology. According to John Bancroft, retired director of the Kinsey Institute, IASR "can claim...most of the field's leading researchers." IASR is unique among sexology organizations in that individuals must...
, with Green as the founding president; the Archives became the official publication of the Academy. The new organization had a more selective membership than Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality , formed in 1957, is a non-profit, professional membership organization that says it is "the oldest professional society dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality." It reports to have more than 1,000 members and has a quarterly...
(SSSS), which published the leading US sexology journal of the time, The Journal of Sex Research. The IASR membership has a more medical and biological emphasis, and only accepts applications from published researchers. The IASR also has a more international approach, alternatively meeting in the US and other countries every year. Eventually, the Archives became a premier journal in its field. Green retired as Editor of Archives of Sexual Behavior in 2001 and Editorship was continued by Kenneth Zucker
Kenneth Zucker
Kenneth J. Zucker is a Jewish American-Canadian psychologist and sexologist, and head of the child and adolescent gender identity clinic at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Based on his collaboration with Susan Bradley, Zucker is considered an international authority in the field...
.
In 1979 Green was a founding committee member of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association
Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Inc. is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender dysphoria. The organization was originally named after Harry Benjamin, one of the earliest physicians to work with transsexuals...
and served as president from 1997-1999. He previously directed the human sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook
State University of New York at Stony Brook
The State University of New York at Stony Brook, also known as Stony Brook University, is a public research university located in Stony Brook, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island, about east of Manhattan....
. He has been Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, Professor of Psychiatry at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, and Professor of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College, London. He was on the faculty of Law at UCLA and Cambridge. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
since 1994. Green served as President of HBIGDA, now known as World Professional Association for Transgender Health, from 1997 to 1999.
Clinical vignettes from Green's work on gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder
Gender identity disorder is the formal diagnosis used by psychologists and physicians to describe persons who experience significant gender dysphoria . It describes the symptoms related to transsexualism, as well as less severe manifestations of gender dysphoria...
appear in widely used textbooks, such as Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry (10th ed.) The term "gender identity disorder" itself introduced in DSM-III was taken from Green's 1974 work.Sexual Identity Conflict in Children and Adults. New York, Basic Books.He served on the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
DSM-IV Subcommittee on Gender Identity Disorders. In 2006 he was awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld Medal
Magnus Hirschfeld Medal
The Magnus Hirschfeld Medal is awarded by the German Society for Social-Scientific Sexuality Research for outstanding service to sexual science, granted in the categories "Sexual Research" and "Sexual Reform"...
for Sexual Research.
Green was research director and consultant psychiatrist at the Gender Identity Clinic at Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Criminology, Cambridge and Member of Darwin College, Cambridge. His partner since 1988, Melissa Hines, is a professor of psychology at the Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies
Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies
The Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies at the University of Cambridge was created in January 2009 out of a merger of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences and the Centre of International Studies....
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Law practice
Green was co-counsel for Elke SommerElke Sommer
Elke Sommer , born Baroness Elke Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist.-Career:Sommer was born in Berlin to a Lutheran minister and his wife...
in her libel suit against Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
. He was ACLU co-counsel in a case challenging the Boy Scouts for refusing membership to a homosexual young man in California—Curran v. Mount Diablo Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Curran v. Mount Diablo Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Curran v. Mount Diablo Council of the Boy Scouts of America, 17 Cal.4th 670, 952 P.2d 218, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 410 , was a landmark case which upheld the right of a private organization in California to not allow new members on the basis of their sexual orientation. Its companion case was Randall v...
.
Views and controversies
During the APA's heated debate in the early 1970s about the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness, Green argued forcefully in favor of the removal. He argued that the grounds for deciding the issue should be the "historical and cross-cultural groundings in homosexual expression, associated psychiatric features accompanying a homosexual orientation, the emotional consequences to the homosexual of societal condemnation, and behaviors of other species". Green applauded the eventual APA decision while strongly criticizing the fact that the administration put it to a vote, saying that such "a shotgun marriage between science and democracy" was "ludicrous".In his work on gender identity in children, Green used common English expressions like "sissy
Sissy
Sissy is a pejorative term for a boy or man who violates or does not meet the traditional male gender role. Generally, sissy implies a lack of the courage and stoicism which are thought important to the male role...
boy" and "tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
" in the titles of some of his publications. His choice of terminology attracted a number of criticisms over its political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
.
In 2002 he initiated a debate in a special issue of the Archives of Sexual Behavior
Archives of Sexual Behavior
The Archives of Sexual Behavior is a peer-reviewed academic journal in sexology. It is the official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research.- History :...
regarding the extent to which pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
should be classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
, without impinging on the legal and law enforcement aspects. It concluded that sexual arousal to children is subjectively reported "in a substantial minority of “normal” people", and reviewed the level of social acceptance of this historically, but stated that such observations may not entail cultural or legal acceptance today. The paper also raised specific concerns about the DSM-IV definition, some of which were later acknowledged by Ray Blanchard
Ray Blanchard
Ray Milton Blanchard is an American-Canadian sexologist, best known for his research studies on pedophilia, gender dysphoria, and sexual orientation. He has also published research studies on phallometry and several paraphilias, including transvestism and autoerotic asphyxia.-Education and...
in his literature review for the DSM-5
DSM-5
The next edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , commonly called DSM-5 , is currently in consultation, planning and preparation...
workgroup, which proposed a more general nomenclature distinction between paraphilia
Paraphilia
Paraphilia is a biomedical term used to describe sexual arousal to objects, situations, or individuals that are not part of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems for the paraphiliac or persons associated with him or her...
s and paraphilic disorders; this proposal is part part of the DSM-5 draft. In 2010 however, Green criticized in stronger terms Blanchard's proposal to introduce hebephilia
Hebephilia
Hebephilia refers to the sexual preference for individuals in the early years of puberty . Girls typically begin the process of puberty at age 10 or 11; boys at age 11 or 12...
as a mental disorder in the DSM-5 (as a subtype the proposed pedohebophilic disorder)Pointing to the legal age of sexual consent in several countries of Europe, this would declare 19 year olds engaged sexually with 14 year olds (legal) as having a mental disorder.
In terms of research on biology and sexual orientation
Biology and sexual orientation
Biology and sexual orientation is the subject of research into the role of biology in the development of human sexual orientation. No simple, single cause for sexual orientation has been conclusively demonstrated, but research suggests that it is by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and...
, Green is optimistic about progress and has told a reporter that "I suspect that at least in your lifetime we will find a gene that contributes substantially to sexual orientation."
Selected publications
- Green R, Money J (1969). Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment. The Johns Hopkins Press (November 1, 1969) ISBN 0-8018-1038-8.
- Green R (1974). Sexual Identity Conflict in Children and Adults. Basic Books (1974). ISBN 0-465-07726-9.
- Green R (1979). Human Sexuality: A Health Practitioner's Text. Williams & Wilkins; 2nd edition (June, 1979) ISBN 0-683-03764-1.
- Green R (1987). The "Sissy Boy Syndrome" and the Development of Homosexuality. Yale Univ Pr (February, 1987) ISBN 0-300-03696-5.
- West DJ, Green R (eds.) (1997). Sociolegal Control of Homosexuality : A Multi-Nation Comparison. Springer; 1 edition (October 31, 1997) ISBN 0-306-45532-3.
- Green R (1992). Sexual Science and the Law. Harvard University Press (November, 1992). ISBN 0-674-80268-3.