It is well known that in 1973 homosexuality was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which was a significant early milestone on the way to equal rights for LGBT people. After all, if our sexual orientation is not considered a sickness, there is no a priori reason to deny us any job, or not to accept us as productive members of society. And why, after all, should we be considered "ill"? After all, Evelyn Hooker demonstrated that homosexual men were no more likely to be mentally ill than heterosexual men way back in the 1950s.
So imagine my surprise to read the following:
The results of a Southern California man’s most recent routine physical revealed a few conditions that really did not surprise him: He has a B-12 deficiency, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
But it was another condition, identified as “chronic” on Matthew Moore’s patient plan, that blindsided him: His physician had listed “homosexual behavior” as a disease on his chart.
Moore, an openly gay man, was understandably shocked, as he told NBC News: “My jaw was on the floor. At first, I kind of laughed, I thought, ‘Here’s another way that gay people are lessened and made to feel less-than,’ and then as I thought about it and as I dealt with it, it angered me.”
This is fairly mind-boggling.
More over the fold...
This diagnosis was the result of a routine physical examination. When Moore confronted his physician, she defended herself thusly:
[It] “is still up to debate” whether or not homosexuality is “thought of as a disease,” according to Moore.
Apparently, the physician has not been acquainted with the DSM for about 40 years.
Moore wrote to the Torrance Memorial Physician Network informing them of this bizarre diagnosis and demanding that his $30 co-pay be refunded. They complied with his request and apologized for the incident.
“We would like to unequivocally state that the Torrance Memorial Physician Network does not view homosexuality as a disease or a chronic condition and we do not endorse or approve of the use of Code 302.0 as a diagnosis for homosexuality.”
See? "Homosexual behavior" has its own code! 302.0! Maybe I should get a bumper sticker or something.
[EDIT: Per the comments, code 302.0 corresponds to Ego-Dystonic Sexual Orientation, which means an individual has a "sexual orientation at odds with one's idealized self-image, causing anxiety and a desire to change one's orientation..." This is clearly not the case for Moore, and is obviously a misdiagnosis.]
Seriously, forty years have passed since homosexuality has been considered a disease. I suppose it's not a stretch to assume that the physician who diagnosed Moore with his "chronic condition" has a certain world view in order to justify her opinion that "it's still up to debate." The physician's identity was not released.
It is appalling that we have to continue to go back and fight these old battles while we try to make progress on expanding LGBT rights. The sooner the old attitudes die, the better for us all.