Homosexuality is no longer an illness

On 15 December 1973, the board of the American Psychiatric Association made a decision that would change the lives of millions of people. From then on, homosexuality was no longer considered a mental disorder. The professional association removed it from its diagnostic manual, the DSM, one of the most influential reference works in psychiatry worldwide.

How heavily the old diagnosis weighed is shown by a look back. Exactly twenty-three years earlier, a Senate report had been sent to members of the US Congress. It argued that homosexuals were mentally ill and therefore a security risk to the state. In those years, thousands lost their jobs in the military and the civil service. The diagnosis of illness was therefore never merely a medical question. It provided the justification for exclusion.

The change of course did not come by itself. Activists such as Barbara Gittings and Frank Kameny disrupted professional conferences for years and demanded a say. One appearance in 1972 remains unforgettable: a psychiatrist stepped up to the lectern wearing a mask and using a distorted voice, calling himself "Dr. H. Anonymous". He declared that he was homosexual and a psychiatrist himself. Only much later did John Fryer reveal himself as the man behind the mask.

In its resolution, the association stated that it would no longer impose the label of illness on anyone who felt healthy and coped well in everyday life. At the same time, it came out in favour of laws protecting homosexual people from discrimination.

The impact reached far beyond the United States, even though the World Health Organization did not follow suit until 1990. And much stayed the same for the time being. Sodomy laws remained in force in most states, and so-called conversion therapies were offered for decades to come. Nevertheless, the decision is considered a turning point. Those considered ill are treated. Those considered healthy can demand rights.