After a five-year study by a task force assigned to overhaul China’s classifications of mental illness, the Chinese Psychiatric Association has removed homosexuality from its handbook of mental diseases and no longer considers homosexuality to be a pathological condition. This reversal of previous policy is a major victory for the Chinese gay community. Research that led to this decision included contacting the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which eliminated homosexuality from its own handbook of mental illnesses in 1973. The APA urged the Chinese Psychiatric Association to adopted similar standards. The current APA and new Chinese Psychiatric Association’s guidelines do include language that classifies homosexuality as a “psychological disturbance” for people who are unhappy with their sexual orientation.
Uncategorized
