Robert Vivian Storer (1900–1958), Australian venereologist, sex educator, and writer, was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1900. Educated at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, he left Australia in 1921 and graduated from

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (die ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, as a general practitioner in 1923. He then undertook postgraduate study in

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

for two years. He returned to Adelaide in 1925 and set up a venereal disease practice there. Two years later he married and moved to Sydney. In the mid-1930s he practiced in London before settling permanently in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1939. Storer was active in

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

and family planning circles in Australia in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and was a founding consultant of the Australian Family Planning Association when it was formed in 1928. He later left the Association following disagreements with them over the best means of educating people about sexuality and contraception. Storer wrote a number of sex education books in the 1920s and '30s, which were notable for their accepting attitude to

human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, including

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

and bisexuality. Storer's sexual encounters with men were the subject of tabloid newspaper stories and court actions. Storer was deregistered by the General Medical Council in 1936 for "infamous professional conduct" (advertising his practice in the daily press). He returned to Australia and started a consulting pharmaceutical company in Melbourne, where he died in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storer, Robert 1900 births 1958 deaths Alumni of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Australian LGBT writers 20th-century Australian LGBT people