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Homosexuality in a Changing World: Are We Being Misinformed?
Islam Online ^ | 17 February 2003 | Dr. Nadia El-Awady

Posted on 02/26/2004 6:27:36 PM PST by 45Auto

Homosexuality in Psychiatry

Until the early 1970s, the U.S psychiatric establishment classified homosexuality as a mental illness. Homosexuality appeared before this in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the official reference book for diagnosing mental disorders in America and through much of the world, listed as a sexual disorder.

Under growing political pressure from homosexual activists, a task force was set up to review the status of homosexuality; but the members chosen included not a single psychiatrist who held the view that homosexuality was not a normal adaptation. Riots were organized at scientific meetings by gay activists in order to increase the pressure on the Psychiatric Association. Homosexuals wished to be seen as individuals exercising different sexual preferences rather than as being aberrant personalities.

Dr. Bieber pointed out that there were several other conditions in the DSM-II that did not fulfill the “distress and social disability” criteria that were used to define a disorder. These included voyeurism, fetishism, sexual sadism, and masochism. Dr. Spitzer of the American Psychological Association replied that these conditions should perhaps also be removed from the DSM-II, and that if the sadists and fetishists were to organize as did the gay activists, they too might find their conditions normalized!

The APA vote was taken with unconventional speed that circumvented normal channels for consideration of related issues. The factors that determined the decision of the APA to delete homosexuality from DSM-II were summarized as follows:

Gay activists had a profound influence on psychiatric thinking. A sincere belief was held by liberal-minded and compassionate psychiatrists that listing homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder supported and reinforced prejudice against homosexuals. Removal of the term from the diagnostic manual was viewed as a humane, progressive act.

There was an acceptance of new criteria to define psychiatric conditions. Only those disorders that caused a patient to suffer or that resulted in adjustment problems were thought to be appropriate for inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

As a result, homosexuality was eliminated from the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual as a sexual disorder in 1973. The DSM did, however, retain a category called “ego-dystonic homosexuality-the feeling of extreme distress over one’s homosexual preference”. Since then, DSM-III has dropped even this category, and the issue of homosexuality is no longer even mentioned.

However, it appears that in contrast to the results of the vote, the majority of the APA membership continued to view homosexuality as a pathology. A survey four years after the vote found that 69% of psychiatrists regarded homosexuality as a “pathological adaptation.” A much more recent survey suggests that the majority of psychiatrists around the world continue to view same-sex behavior as signaling mental illness. (http://www.narth.com/docs/mentaldisorder.html) It must be noted, however, that the removal of homosexuality from the DSM does not answer the question of whether or not homosexuality is “moral” or whether it is “healthy” for society. In fact, gay-activist researcher Dean Hamer makes a revealing statement about science and morality. He states, “…biology is amoral; it offers no help in distinguishing between right and wrong. Only people, guided by their values and beliefs, can decide what is moral and what is not.” (http://www.narth.com/docs/innate.html)

Introduction Islamic Stance on Homosexuality Homosexuality-Related Research Development Of Sexual Orientation Homosexuality In Psychiatry What Constitutes Normal? Therapy Diseases Related To Homosexuality Sources


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: abnormalpsychology; apa; disorders; dsm; homosexual; homosexualagenda; homosexuality; mentalhealth; mentalillness; prisoners
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1 posted on 02/26/2004 6:27:37 PM PST by 45Auto
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To: 45Auto
Judaism’s Sexual Revolution: Why Judaism (and then Christianity) Rejected Homosexuality
2 posted on 02/26/2004 6:31:35 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
I think it is caused by flouride in the water. There's no doubt about it!
3 posted on 02/26/2004 6:47:40 PM PST by dvan
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To: dvan
Tampering with out Precious Bodily Essence!
4 posted on 02/26/2004 6:56:16 PM PST by jonascord (Don't bother to run, you'll only die tired...)
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To: 45Auto
bump
5 posted on 02/26/2004 6:56:46 PM PST by Stellar Dendrite
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To: dvan
NO! Its the global warming caused by all the SUV's that's causing this.
6 posted on 02/26/2004 6:58:31 PM PST by wagglebee
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To: 45Auto
Bump?
7 posted on 02/26/2004 7:07:39 PM PST by longtermmemmory (Vote!)
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To: 45Auto; little jeremiah; EdReform
Bump and ping.
8 posted on 02/26/2004 7:11:48 PM PST by scripter (Thousands have left the homosexual lifestyle)
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To: 45Auto
I'm sure, by now, there could be a drug to cure these lost minds. I'm sure, if ever such a research was initiated, the roar from the mouths of these lost minds would be deafening.

The first sign of a sick mind is denial of the sickness even though all symptoms are evident, even to the sick mind. Thank the Lord most of them are not voilent.
9 posted on 02/26/2004 7:15:01 PM PST by whereasandsoforth (tagged for migratory purposes only)
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To: whereasandsoforth
Just imagine if the Shrinks still called Gay a mental illness. It would now be covered under the ADA.
10 posted on 02/26/2004 8:04:26 PM PST by aimhigh
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
11 posted on 02/26/2004 8:18:57 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
12 posted on 02/26/2004 8:19:09 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
13 posted on 02/26/2004 8:19:16 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
14 posted on 02/26/2004 8:19:16 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
15 posted on 02/26/2004 8:19:16 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
16 posted on 02/26/2004 8:19:17 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: 45Auto
Whether or not it is a mental disorder, it is certainly a public health catastrophe.
17 posted on 02/26/2004 8:19:32 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: edger
So is stuttering.
18 posted on 02/26/2004 8:22:07 PM PST by PA Engineer (Liberalism is a Hate Crime)
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To: edger
Sorry bout that. Freerepublic locked up.
19 posted on 02/26/2004 8:25:37 PM PST by edger (he)
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To: aimhigh
actually the ADA specifically excludes transexualism from the ADA. Homosexual behaviour would probably be the same.
20 posted on 02/26/2004 9:38:40 PM PST by longtermmemmory (Vote!)
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