It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives

It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives (German: Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt) is a 1971 German camp film directed by Rosa von Praunheim. The plot follows the adventures of a young gay man from the province who arrives in Berlin. He gradually leaves behind his innocence led by his increasing appetite for excitement in the big-city gay scene. He moves from one gay milieu to another caught in his addiction for fashion and sexual experiences. Scenes from Daniel's life and the various milieus he frequents are accompanied by voice-overs that are sometimes commentaries about the different gay life’s styles and sometimes represent dialogue or narrations. There is no synch sound. The voice over and dialogue recorded do not match what is on the screen. The reception of the film was controversial. Many viewed the harsh view of gay men culture depicted as such attack that it prompted the videotaping of a short, Audience Response to Its not the Homosexual…, shot during a screening and discussion interview with von Praunheim in 1973 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and currently precedes many of the film’s screenings.