Originally Posted by
AntonLaVey
Originally Posted by
tkthafm
We agree it's not physical, but then how about claiming it to be a mental illness/disorder/condition. I know what I'm saying isn't "PC" but looking at it from the other side, why not ? I know it was once more widely viewed that way but activism & changes in norms ended it.
Here's this from the APA:
http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx
Is homosexuality a mental illness or emotional problem?
No. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals agree that homosexuality is not an illness, a mental disorder, or an emotional problem. More than 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown that homosexuality, in and itself, is not associated with mental disorders or emotional or social problems. Homosexuality was once thought to be a mental illness because mental health professionals and society had biased information.
In the past, the studies of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people involved only those in therapy, thus biasing the resulting conclusions. When researchers examined data about such people who were not in therapy, the idea that homosexuality was a mental illness was quickly found to be untrue.
In 1973 the American Psychiatric Association confirmed the importance of the new, better-designed research and removed homosexuality from the official manual that lists mental and emotional disorders. Two years later, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution supporting this removal.
For more than 25 years, both associations have urged all mental health professionals to help dispel the stigma of mental illness that some people still associate with homosexual orientation.
Maybe you can shed more light on this, but what scientific studies can possibly rule out if something is a mental disorder or not. Isn't it a gray area that depends on what the scientist views "normal" behavior to be in the first place ? For example, it says "data was examined" ... what ?
A
mental disorder or
mental illness is a
psychological or
behavioral pattern generally associated with
subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of
normal development or
culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of
affective,
behavioural,
cognitive and
perceptual components. The recognition and understanding of
mental health conditions has changed over time and across cultures, and there are still variations in the definition, assessment, and
classification of mental disorders, although standard guideline criteria are widely accepted. A few mental disorders are diagnosed based on the harm to others, regardless of the subject's perception of distress. Over a third of people in most countries report meeting criteria for the major categories at some point in their lives.
The distress and disability homosexuals feel about their sexual orientation is not inherent, it has more to do with how society treats them. Most homosexual people are fine the way they are, the problem isn't with homosexual people the problem is with homophobes making their lives a living hell
-In the dark ages of science and medicine they made attempts to "cure" homosexuality as a mental illness using various cognitive therapies and failed miserably. It is as difficult to change a person's sexual orientation as it is to change their personality traits and DNA.
For example, if a kid is a minority at a school and gets bullied and picked on everyday. Would it be fair to focus on changing everything about him and labeling him abnormal just to cater to the majority who have a problem with his race. Let that marinade for a second. Until homosexuals start going to the mental clinics in droves to seek help with changing their homosexuality, it is not a psychological illness
Well, it does say only
generally associated with distress, but I can see your point.
For the record I don't think being gay is something that can be changed or 'cured'.
