More and more people know May 17 is International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHOTB), which originated from May 17, 1990, when WHO removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.
This day is a call for treating homosexuality, transgender and bisexuality equally and giving up prejudice towards this group. It also arouses people’s attention to homosexual, transgender and bisexual groups, as well as all the physical or mental violence and unfair treatment due to the differences in sexual orientation and gender identity.
At that time, what is the reason for the society to define homosexuality as a disease? It is because their gender identity was not one of the mainstream forms and it was a kind of mental disease. In other word, homosexuals were ill and different from normal people. In the 1950s~1960s, many therapists attempted to treat them by means of electric shock, emetic method and other “aversion therapies”.
In the 22 years of struggle, homosexuals have proved to common people that sexual orientation itself did not cause pain to them, but the discriminative and prejudiced social environment made them unaccepted, isolated and stigmatized. The pain brought by this social environment was the real cause of their psychological disorder.According to the data available, the LGBT group has a double suicide idea and in reality the ratio is higher. Their stress sources include discrimination and persecution, a higher degree of child abuse, unstable housing and internal stigmatization. Facing the family rejection, the LGBT group has a risk of suicidal attempt 8 times higher than common people.
In the end, homosexuality was proved to be not a mental illness, but there is still no general consensus at the social level.
In 2014, according to the Working Group on Sexual Disorders Classification and Sexual Health, Department of Mental Health, Drug Abuse, Reproductive Health and Research, WHO:
“There is no evidence that people with different gender identities and sexual orientations need special psychiatric intervention.”
“It cannot be identified as a mental illness just because of difference from the rest.”
We are mankind in need of attachment and heartbeat, so homosexuals should not be isolated due to their orientation to same sex. Lepu Aijia hopes every day is May 17 and IDAHOTB becomes human’s normal day.
Love is love.
