An extremely important PSA by way of eestiplika:
The American Psychiatric Association has announced the members of the work groups who will review scientific advances and research-based information to develop the fifth edition of the APA's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - the DSMV.
The DSM is used as a reference source worldwide by clinicians and researchers as well as insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers.
The expert just named to chair the revisions on sexuality and gender is Kenneth Zucker. Zucker is famous for forcing gender-variant children into reparative therapy in an attempt to 'cure' them.
Zucker has named Ray Blanchard to the work group that will rewrite Gender Identity Disorder. Blanchard coined the term autogynephilia to describe men with an erotic desire to be women and proposed a theory that all trans women could be usefully classified as either autogynephiles or extremely effeminate gay men who needed to become female to express their sexuality.
The fact that Zucker and Blanchard are even involved in the revisions on sexuality and gender is a scary idea as it could mean that the DSMV recommends that trans people are put into reparitive therapy - which is effectively conversion therapy. It is also likely that Gender Identity
Disorder would be diagnosed as some kind of homosexuality rather than have an independent diagnosis - homosexuality would be back in the DSMV and classed as a mental illness.
I would be grateful if you would help by spreading the word about an online
petition which can be found here and also to contact the American Psychiatric Association to put some pressure on them to consider removing Zucker and Blanchard from the DSMV work groups.
This really does effect everyone in the LGBT community as the DSM is used worldwide. It is likely that these 'experts' would push to reclassify homosexuality as a mental illness and recommend that LGBT people be prescribed reparative therapy as a 'cure'. I believe that we need to let the APA know what we think.
The DSM is used as a reference source worldwide by clinicians and researchers as well as insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers.
The expert just named to chair the revisions on sexuality and gender is Kenneth Zucker. Zucker is famous for forcing gender-variant children into reparative therapy in an attempt to 'cure' them.
Zucker has named Ray Blanchard to the work group that will rewrite Gender Identity Disorder. Blanchard coined the term autogynephilia to describe men with an erotic desire to be women and proposed a theory that all trans women could be usefully classified as either autogynephiles or extremely effeminate gay men who needed to become female to express their sexuality.
The fact that Zucker and Blanchard are even involved in the revisions on sexuality and gender is a scary idea as it could mean that the DSMV recommends that trans people are put into reparitive therapy - which is effectively conversion therapy. It is also likely that Gender Identity
Disorder would be diagnosed as some kind of homosexuality rather than have an independent diagnosis - homosexuality would be back in the DSMV and classed as a mental illness.
I would be grateful if you would help by spreading the word about an online
petition which can be found here and also to contact the American Psychiatric Association to put some pressure on them to consider removing Zucker and Blanchard from the DSMV work groups.
This really does effect everyone in the LGBT community as the DSM is used worldwide. It is likely that these 'experts' would push to reclassify homosexuality as a mental illness and recommend that LGBT people be prescribed reparative therapy as a 'cure'. I believe that we need to let the APA know what we think.