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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 | May 17, 1929 New York City, US |
| Died | March 20, 2017 (aged 87) New York City, US |
| 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[citation needed]. 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 collaborated. He died of cancer on March 20, 2017.[1][3]
- The Action Approach. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1969. First printing, July, 1970
- The Heart of Psychotherapy: A Journey into the Mind and Office of a Therapist at Work. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984, reprinted 1996.
- Invisible Masters: Compulsions and the Fear that Drives Them. New York: Grove/Atlantic Press, 1993.
- Nearer to the Heart's Desire. New York. Grove/Atlantic Press, 1992.
- Numberland. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1987.
- The Pliant Animal: Understanding the Greatest Human Asset. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981.
- Self Creation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1978.
- Shakespeare on Love. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.
- Society and the Healthy Homosexual. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1972, reprinted 1983.
- Statistics: An Intuitive Approach. Belmont, California: Brook's/Cole, fourth printing, 1981.
- The Taboo Scarf. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1990.
- Why Men Won't Commit: Getting what you Both Want Without Playing Games. New York: Atria Books, 2003.
- The Projection Principle. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.
- Will Power! Using Shakespeare's Insights to Transform Your Life. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996.
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