Classification of homosexuality as a 'disease'
January 1992
Until the World Health Organisation (WHO) removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Disease as late as 1992, it was officially considered to be an illness or disease. This legitimised the attempts of doctors and psychiatrists and others to 'cure' it by a variety of methods including forms of aversion therapy and other psychiatric treatments
It also reinforced negativity and poor self-esteem amongst both gay men and lesbians, those close to them and the public in general.
New theories about the origins of homosexuality, based on the medical model, - nature or nurture - continue to be proposed and the debate continues, but most gay people don't actually care!
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