|
|
Rolf Gindorf, Düsseldorf (Germany):
Politics of Sexological Organizations: The Example of the DGSS
Scientific organizations, all claims to the contrary notwithstanding, do not exist without politics, whether they realize it or not. Sexological organizations are, of course, no exception. Their politics are rarely considered in open discussion.
Taking the DGSS as an example, the founding chair, ex-President, and Vice President of the 26-year-old organization describes how, and why, it all started, disclosing its gay origins, some of the political considerations, hazards and tricky manoeuvers on the road to success.
About the Author:
Rolf Gindorf, born in 1939. Clinical and Research Sexologist. Director (since 1978), DGSS-INSTITUT (counseling and research) in Düsseldorf. Scientific Advisor, Shanghai Sex Sociology Research Center. - Originally a graduate from a language school, he first worked as a translator. Attending night classes in economics, law, and social sciences he became an export merchant and eventually President/ controlling share holder of an international corporation supplying capital goods to the Middle and Far East. Then he started on his sexological career and studied sexual science, sociology, and psychology at the University of Düsseldorf and the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, San Francisco. Founder (1971), President (until 1979), since then Vice President of the German Society for Social Scientific Sex Research (DGSS). - Main fields of interest: theoretical foundations of sexology; gay research and counseling; AIDS prevention and counseling. (Co-)Author and (co-)editor of over 50 sexological publications, including eight books and two book series. - International activities, memberships, and functions include: Society for the Scientific Study of Sex (SSSS); Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS); Editorial Board, Journal of Homosexuality (New York); Member, Scientific Committees, 13th (Valencia, 1997) and 14th (Hong Kong, 1999) World Congress of Sexology. -
One of the first post-war openly gay political campaigners, he made his own homosexuality public in a magazine article in 1962 (and remained unscratched by the authorities, although the infamous Section 175 of the Penal Code was still in force in its brutal Nazi version). In 1971 he founded one of the nation's first post-war gay lobbying organizations, the "Düsseldorfer Arbeitskreis Homosexualität und Gesellschaft". Later concentrating on gay research and counselling, he remained a friendly, and sometimes participating, observer to new generations of gay activists. - Address: DGSS-Institut, Gerresheimer Str. 20, D-40211 Düsseldorf. Phone: +49 211 / 35 45 91; Fax: +49 211 / 36 07 77; eMail: Rolf.Gindorf@sexologie.org 
|
