John Paul De Cecco (April 18, 1925 – November 2, 2017) was an American academic. He was a professor of psychology at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

, the editor-in-chief of the ''

Journal of Homosexuality The ''Journal of Homosexuality'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research into sexual practices and gender roles in their cultural, historical, interpersonal, and modern social contexts. History The founding editor-in-chief was Char ...

'' from 1975 to 2009, and a "pioneer of

sexuality studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

Early life

John Paul De Cecco was born on April 18, 1925, in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

. He had four siblings, and he was of Italian descent. His father was a restaurant and property owner. His three maternal uncles were members of the Mafia who "married prostitutes." De Cecco graduated from Allegheny College, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in biology in 1946. He subsequently earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in European history from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, in 1949 and 1953 respectively. He took additional coursework in educational psychology at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. He also attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1968-1970.

Academic career and political activism

De Cecco became an assistant professor of education and psychology at

in 1960. He eventually became a full professor of psychology. De Cecco took part in the opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War. He was a member of the

Gay Activists Alliance The Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) was founded in New York City on December 21, 1969, almost six months after the Stonewall riots, by dissident members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). In contrast to the Liberation Front, the Activists Alliance s ...

and the faculty adviser of the Gay Students Coalition at SFSU, co-founded by Mark Thompson. With Michael G. Shively, De Cecco was the co-founder of the Center for Homosexual Education, Evaluation and Research (CHEER) at SFSU in 1975. De Cecco served as editor-in-chief of the ''

'' from 1975 to 2009. Additionally, he was a "member and sponsor" of the

GLBT Historical Society The GLBT Historical Society (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society) (formerly Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California; San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society) maintains an extensive collection ...

. De Cecco was the author of several books.

Personal life, death and legacy

De Cecco resided in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, where he died on November 2, 2017, at age 92. He was described as a "pioneer of

" who had been "in the forefront of three decades of change in gay-related academia". He received the 1992

Magnus Hirschfeld Medal The Magnus Hirschfeld Medal is awarded by the German Society for Social-Scientific Sexuality Research (DGSS) for outstanding service to sexual science, granted in the categories "Sexual Research" and "Sexual Reform". It is named in honour of Germa ...

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Cecco, John P. 1925 births 2017 deaths American people of Italian descent People from Erie, Pennsylvania Allegheny College alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Michigan State University alumni San Francisco State University faculty LGBT studies academics LGBT people from Pennsylvania Gay academics American gay writers