In his groundbreaking work on psychoanalysis, published in 1896, Sigmund Freud famously classified homosexuality as sexual disorder. Fifty years later, a shift in thinking about homosexuality occurred among two groups: psychotherapists and gay people themselves. In the field of psychology, both practicioners and researchers began to question homosexuality’s inclusion among disorders like neurosis and schizophrenia, while at the same time — perhaps as a result — the gay rights movement was founded. (Forget Stonewall, the movement began with the formation of the Mattachine Society in Los Angeles by Harry Hay and others, on November 11, 1950.)
By 1973, the mental health community had reached a consensus. That year, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of personality disorders.
So it is shocking, and yet not surprising, to learn today that the Pentagon is still using Freud’s long-descredited diagnosis:
A Pentagon document classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder, decades after mental health experts abandoned that position.
The document outlines retirement or other discharge policies for service members with physical disabilities, and in a section on defects lists homosexuality alongside mental retardation and personality disorders.
Talk about internalized homophobia! This is purely willful ignorance, also known as bigotry, plain and simple.
No wonder Iraq is a quagmire.
