Homosexuality in the DSM
First published in , DSM-II (the second edition of the American classification of mental disorders, and a forerunner of DSM-5) still listed homosexuality as a mental disorder. On December 15, , at a time when society often still views gay people as deviants, the American Psychiatric Association reverses a century-old decision, issuing a resolution stating that homosexuality it neither a mental illness nor a sickness. To underline the point, the association removes homosexuality from its influential reference tool, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Psychiatrists decided 50 years ago being gay wasn’t a mental
Homosexuality in the DSM Homosexuality is not classified as a mental disorder in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); it was removed in the s after activism and research showing it to be a normal variation of human sexuality rather than a pathology. The road to this decision was neither easy nor linear. This event underscored the power of activism to bring about transformative change, even in the face of entrenched societal norms. 
How LGBTQ+ Activists Got “Homosexuality” out of the DSM
In , the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed the diagnosis of “homosexuality” from the second edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). This resulted after comparing competing theories, those that pathologized. Updated June 24, Reviewed by Kaja Perina. In the s and s, many therapists offered aversion therapy of the kind featured in A Clockwork Orange to "cure" male homosexuality.
History of DSM and Homosexuality
Nearly 50 years ago, LGBTQ+ activists achieved what was called the “greatest gay victory” of the time: successfully pushing members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to remove the diagnosis of homosexuality from the official classification of mental illnesses, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). By citing homosexuality as a mental illness, the APA. Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 
The removal of homosexuality from the DSM
With the exception of homosexuality all of the other mental disorders in DSM-II fulfill either of these two criteria.” The resolution marked a major milestone for equality for gay people. The first DSM, created in , established a hierarchy of sexual deviancies, vaulting heterosexual behavior to an idealized place in American culture. The change signaled to the country that there was not an inherent link between mental illness and homosexuality.
The Removal of Homosexuality from the DSM
The original DSM classified homosexuality as a "Sexual Deviation," a classification maintained by DSM-II in However, in December , the APA Board of Trustees voted to amend DSM-II, removing the general category of homosexuality and replacing it with "Sexual Orientation Disturbance." That same year, a position statement on homosexuality and civil rights was released. In , DSM-III. .
Out of DSM
Here is the story of how, in three short years in the early s, the gay community managed to move from all-out warfare with psychiatrists to the removal of homosexuality as a disorder in the DSM. . The American Psychiatric Association removes homosexuality
In , the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), leading to changes in the broader cultural beliefs about homosexuality and culminating in the contemporary civil rights quest for marriage equality. This paper reviews the history of theories about human sexuality that led up to that event and outlines the current. .