The turbulent evolution of homosexuality: From mental illness to sexual preference
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: This article will present a brief overview of the history of homosexuality. First, homosexuality was seen as a sin and the emergence of psychiatry turned it into a mental illness. Two important theories of Krafft-Ebing and Freud will be discussed in relation to this medicalization of homosexuality. The article will then focus on the turbulent events leading to the removal of homosexuality from the DSM in 1973. The reasons and motives for this removal, as seen by a number of different psychologists, will be discussed, as will its impact. The elimination of homosexuality was seen as a victory, but did it change the general attitude towards gay men and women? In the final section of the paper, a possible similar evolution of acceptance of pedophilia will also be discussed.
Author: I. Zijlstra
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1927345901