Betty Berzon (January 18, 1928 – January 24, 2006) was an American author and

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

known for her work with the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

communities.

Biography

Berzon was born in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, to a Jewish family.Finding Aid to the Betty Berzon Papers, 1928-2006 Coll2011.004
/ref> She was among the first psychotherapists to assist gay clients. After coming out as gay in 1968, she began providing therapy to gays and lesbians. In 1971, during a UCLA conference called "The Homosexual in America," Berzon became the first psychotherapist in the country to come out as gay to the public. Also in 1971, she organized the ''

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center'' as well as an organization of gays and lesbians within the

American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 37,000 members are involve ...

(the Gay Psychological Association, now known as the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues); the APA declassified homosexuality as a mental illness two years later.WeHo News , News
Berzon temporarily attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

before enrolling in

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in 1952 and graduating in 1957. She then obtained her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

in 1962. In 1976, Berzon and her partner Teresa DeCrescenzo were among the eight founding members of the Western Gay Academic Union.Betty Berzon, 78; Writer, Psychotherapist, Activist Helped Establish L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center - Page 2 - Los Angeles Times
/ref> Berzon later became president of the national Gay Academic Union. Berzon also served on the boards of many gay organizations, including the LA Gay and Lesbian Center (1972-1975), the Whtman-Radclyffe Foundation (1976-1977), the Gay Academic Union (1977-1979), the National Gay Rights Advocates (1979-1984), and the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (1984-1994).

Death and legacy

Berzon was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in 1986. She was treated by

mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...

and her cancer remained in remission for many years. The cancer returned in 2001, and Berzon died on January 24, 2006. She is survived by Teresa DeCrescenzo, the president of Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services, whom Berzon met in 1973 and married during a mass

wedding ceremony A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

at the 1993

March on Washington The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...

. In 2007 Ventura Place in

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

was renamed Dr. Betty Berzon Place in her honor, making it the first street ever officially dedicated to a known lesbian in California. Also in 2007 the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

magazine '' The Advocate'' named Berzon one of 40 "heroes." In 2013, the

Lambda Literary Foundation The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

launched the Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award, an award for LGBTQ writers of exceptional talent and promise who have published at least one book in any genre of literature, which was presented as part of the

Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

program until 2016. In 2016, the award was taken over by

Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...

, which now presents it as part of the

Triangle Awards A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non-collinear ...

. The Betty Berzon Papers (1928-2006) are Coll2011.004 at the

ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries is the oldest existing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organization in the United States and one of the largest repositories of LGBT materials ...

. The Betty Berzon Papers (1972-1979) are Collection Number 7312 at the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at the Cornell University Library.

Publications

Berzon's books included ''Positively Gay'' (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

), ''Permanent Partners'' (

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

), and ''The Intimacy Dance'' (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

). Berzon also wrote a personal memoir, ''Surviving Madness, a Therapist's Own Story'' (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) in which she discussed her previous suicide attempt and institutionalization. The book received the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

for best lesbian memoir in 2003.WeHo News , News
For many years, she wrote an advice column on gay relationships for

PlanetOut.com PlanetOut, Inc. is an online media company or entertainment company exclusively targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) demographic. Originally founded as an early internet-based media company by Tom Reilly in 1995, it operat ...

References

External links

Betty Berzon, R.I.P.

Associated Press Obituary printed in SF Gate

L.A. Times Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berzon, Betty 1928 births 2006 deaths American advice columnists American women columnists American psychology writers Deaths from breast cancer 20th-century American Jews LGBT Jews Lambda Literary Award winners American lesbian writers LGBT people from Missouri American LGBT rights activists LGBT memoirists Women science writers American women memoirists American memoirists 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American Jews 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American women