Being Gay was a Mental Disorder in Alberta until today!?!?

It is kindad stupid it was in there for so long, but kewl it has been taken of. BTW, the homosexuality part is still in some editions of the DSM, not explicitly stated as a disorder but in there nevertheless. And uhm being a transsexual is still a disorder... It is as Gender Identity Disorder, but the new edition of DSM is coming in 1213 and a lot of changes are speculated.
According to Psych, society decides what is consider abnormal and what is not, so I guess since it was taken off ppl are finally coming out their closets and supporting the gay community.=P

 

I hate that transgenderism/transsexualism is still listed as a disorder, it gives WAY too much credibility to people who would try to tear me down around here...

 

This is sad.. at least they finally removed it now, though it should have been done a LONG time ago.

 

In some ways, i get it. Keeps some of the more whackjobs from fiddling with their junk then suing,
but it also makes it harder for people who actually want to fix their bodies, and in some instances can make you unaccrediable because you have a "mental illness"

Check your calander, 1213 passed about a thousand years ago

 

WOW! I honestly did not know this! That was disgusting.
I'm from Canada, LGBT have so many rights here and whatnot. I wouldn't have expected this at all! Damn Alberta, you disappoint me.

 

The way I see it, it's implying that the mismatch of body to mind is the disorder, and that through surgery and acceptance towards your true gender you are "cured." Or something like that.

 

Maybe so with the case of people who are straight-up transsexual to the point of self mutilation and other extreme forms of body modification. I can see that being considered a disorder, but only if the transgenderism severely impacts one's mental and emotional ability to survive in day to day settings.

But what about people who are simply genderqueer? I don't believe they should be labeled with a "gender identity disorder" just because they choose not to permanently identify with either gender.

Really, being outside societal norms in and of itself should never be labeled a disease. At least that's my take on it.

 

I think the reason it wasn't removed in the past was just because people didn't notice it. I'd hope it hasn't been "diagnosed" in the last 30-40 years. Any psychologist knows that Canada doesn't consider homosexuality a disease, and hasn't for a long time now.

It reminds me of a local law prohibiting people from tying their horses up on main streets after dusk. It's still a law. Not like the police are going around looking for horses in the late hours of the night...

 

Amazing that gay marriage was legal in Alberta before being homosexual was removed from the list...

 

Check your calander, 1213 passed about a thousand years ago [/QUOTE]

erm, yea, sorry.lol It is in May, 2013. =P

And well, for anything to be considered a disorder in the DSM- It must impair the life of the person, it could be socially or whatever... I do in a way see, that transsexualism would impair a person life socially( and in work, in some way or another), bt uhm I think the same can be said for some homosexuals. And Homosexuality is not a disorder...Either way, the word Disorder, just plain sounds wrong... and there is nothing wrong with trans-gender ppl.

 

I'm of the school of thought that a mismatched gender identity is a disorder, simply because of one reason: people who present with it are utterly miserable until you match their exterior gender with their "correct" one. A repeating theme I've read about in psychological literature is a persistent negative preoccupation (or a dysphoria, hence the term "gender dysphoria") with one's assigned sex that doesn't go away until they place themselves in a role that reflects their brain's gender and allows them to naturally express themselves as male/female. The evidence is irrefutable as well that "the wrong body" is an accurate depiction: you can Google for studies that show brains of transgendered individuals resemble those of the respective cisgendered opposite.

From what I've read, the best thing done for these individuals was adopting the opposite gender's body and role. I understand the term "disorder" has negative connotations or implies that society look down upon the individual, but looking down on people who have psychological conditions is sophomoric and juvenile in my opinion.

By removing the classification as a disorder, we would be depriving millions of transgendered individuals to live as closer to who they are. Insurance companies would proceed to view the SRS procedure as "cosmetic", people will perpetuate the myth that transgenderism is a sort of sinful rebellion, and daily life would soon become hell as reminder after reminder of their mismatch is shoved in their face. Imagine if you were a transwoman who had to keep filling out "M" on legal forms under "sex" because the legal system refuses to respect your condition? It would be a GIGANTIC step backward.

I could only imagine such a thing as being hell on earth to go through, which is why I give all of you guys and girls credit. Don't ever think you're not strong willed, that stuff takes titanium balls to go through.

 

I have to completely agree with everything you said. And if you look at the definition of disorder, "a disturbance in physical or mental health or functions." That is what gender dysphoria does. At first, before you can come out and live the life you want to, it conflicts with your mental health making you depressed and all those classic feelings. While physically..it all depends on how you deal with depression. But then, from that you would say "So once you come out, it's no longer a 'disorder'?" And there is the contradiction.

Yes, the word disorder has bad connotations associated with it. That doesn't make a disorder sinful, wrong, or anything like that.

Although, personally, I'd like to see a better description of gender dysphoria and homosexuality, and any other natural and rare occurring. Disorder, although it may describe them somewhat, it's not a good portrayal of what they really are. They are naturally occurring feelings that may or may not affect someone physically and/or emotionally, and the word "disorder" does not accurately account for that at all.

Surely, there must be some word that describes them better and without bad connotations. :/

 

Birth defects are as naturally occurring, as could be clinical depression or even autism. The real thing people need to do is be more mature about how they address the topic of a disorder and stop kicking in the teeth of the wounded.

 

The title only showed up as Being Gay was a Mental Disorder, and here I was ready to come in here guns a blazin'

Aw, well...I'll holster this bad boy for next time

 

This is a non-issue, according to the article it's basically a price list of what doctors can charge for.

Because the Canadian Psychiatric Association (which is the important one) hasn't seen homosexuality as a disorder since '82, doctors weren't trying to charge for 'curing it' so it likely went completely unnoticed.

This is by no means a reflection of Alberta or Canada in my opinion and is just one of those crazy things that was left on the books for too long, like those laws which prohibit things like eating oranges in a bathtub on a sunday in Georgia.

 

I think this was just something left on the books.

Although, Alberta and PEI were the only two provinces in Confederation that did not already have legalised Gay Marriage before Ottawa mandated it Nationwide in July 2005.

The Albertan Premier even threatened to use the 'not-withstanding clause' of our constitution to prevent gay-marriage in Alberta for a renewable period of 5 years. But, thankfully he decided against it and now Gay-Marriage is legal in all 10 provinces and 3 territories! 5 years and counting!

 

Yeah, but Alberta is still the most concervative province. It's the only province that doesn't allow gay adoption!

 

True. I think two territories don't permit gay adoption either (Nunavut and Yukon).