By Dr. Margie Nichols - In 1973, homosexualy was removed om the DSM, the psychiatric ‘Bible, as a mental illns. Many LGBT people don’t fully unrstand the cril role that polil actn agast the mental health muny played advancg lbian and gay rights.
Contents:
“GAY IS GOOD”: HISTORY OF HOMOSEXUALY THE DSM AND MORN PSYCHIATRY
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Nearly 50 years ago, LGBTQ+ activists achieved what was lled the “greatt gay victory” of the time: succsfully phg members of the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn (APA) to remove the diagnosis of homosexualy om the official classifitn of mental illns, the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs (DSM). Declassifitn, as the years-long effort was known, culmated 1973, when May, LGBTQ+ voic were heard at the annual APA nference, and later the APA Board of Tste voted to remove homosexualy om the DSM.
The classifitn of mental illns was born om the legacy of multiple systems of power: the Amerin legal system crimalized homosexual behavr; feral and state ernments had not yet dified protectns for queer and trans people seekg employment and hog; and an sistence on heteronormative genr rol stigmatized anyone who viated om their role as a “woman” or a “man. Dubbed the “homophile” movement, gay and lbian rights anizatns major ci like New York Cy, San Francis, and Philalphia started to prsure elected officials and lnch public mpaigns for LGBTQ+ visibily and rights.
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Activists ramped up their efforts after years of mpaigng om the outsi: they cid to go straight to the APA nferenc where practners attend panels and discsns of psychiatry and psychology—and uld prs to classify homosexualy.
Karla Jay, a lbian activist who participated disptg a panel discsn on “sex problems” that advoted shock treatment to “cure” homosexualy, said that prottors shouted to the APA members, “off of the uch and to the streets! “Pull your urage up by your bootstraps and disver ways which you as homosexual psychiatrists n be appropriately volved movements which attempt to change the attus of both homosexuals and heterosexuals toward homosexually, ” Fryer plead.
” The roundg le was somewhat of a double entendre: the APA was lerally sayg that Gold, as a gay man, was ill, implyg that the “medil profsnals” were creatg sickns where there was none. “In fact, the ntroversy over the homosexualy diagnosis was able to reach such heights of publicy part bee the APA had never had e to reach nsens on a standardized fn of mental illns, ” Lewis wr.