Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 13:07:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Ron Buckmire Subject: CHINA: medicalization of homosexuality Date: Sat, 19 Sep 1998 20:53:00 EDT From: DOUGKIMMEL@aol.com Subject: APA Monitor Article on China Hi, Thought you would be interested in this article that just arrived by mail from the American Psychological Association in their monthly newspaper called APA Monitor. I am mentioned about half-way through. I tried to send it a few days ago, but apparently it did not go through. Sorry if it is a duplicate. Doug Kimmel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- VOLUME 29 , NUMBER 9 -September 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Chinese psychiatrists debate meaning of sex orientation APA backs effort to end discrimination against homosexuals. By Scott Sleek Monitor staff A group of Chinese researchers a few years ago described what they saw as an undeniable social problem in their country: homosexuality. The authors argued that, while most of the 1,000 gay men and lesbians they studied were highly intelligent, well-educated and competent in their work, they had troubled social lives and had been poorly disciplined as children. Lastly, they called on the Chinese medical community to beef up its efforts to 'treat' and 'prevent' homosexuality, describing it as an 'inestimable hidden danger.' While American conservatives, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R–Miss.), have drawn criticism for likening homosexuality to alcoholism and kleptomania, China's medical community"not to mention its general public"widely brand gay men, lesbians and bisexuals as mentally ill. Chinese mental health specialists, in various journal articles, argue that homosexuality disrupts societal harmony and increases sexual crimes. Although homosexuality isn't a crime there, in the past authorities have used antihoo- liganism laws (recently removed from Chinese criminal law) to arrest gay men in bars and parks. But now, China's gay community is encouraged by the fact that Chinese psychiatrists and other segments of Chinese society are openly debating the way sexual orientation should be classified in the profession's diagnostic manual, which is undergoing a revision. An increasingly vocal group argues that it's a normal, although relatively rare, phenomenon and in no way constitutes moral corruption. And in the United States, a group of scholars and students, many of them Chinese, are trying to change the Chinese society's attitudes toward gay men, lesbians and bisexuals. At a meeting in Los Angeles last year, they formed the Chinese Society for the Study of Sexual Minorities (CSSSM), an organization of researchers and activists from various disciplines, including psychology. APA is involved in the effort as part of its campaign to end discrimination against gay men, lesbians and bisexuals worldwide. Since 1993, APA's committees on International Relations in Psychology and on Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Concerns have been trying to encourage other mental health organizations to adopt policies that reject the concept of homosexuality as mental illness. Hodge-podge Many foreign countries and mental health organizations follow the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria, which states that 'homosexuality by itself is not a mental disorder.' But psychiatric organizations in many countries, such as India, Poland, Brazil and Belarus, still label homosexuality as a mental disturbance, according to data compiled by the American Psychiatric Association a few years ago. Some countries, such as Kazakhstan, still have laws punishing homosexual practices. But American psychologists, along with human rights advocates, see China as a platform for possible change. That's because Chinese psychiatrists recently opened debate about the classification of homosexuality in the Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders, that country's equivalent to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM- IV). The debate was triggered last year when a paper by American psychologist Douglas Kimmel, PhD, was distributed in Chinese translation at a conference for medical professionals. The paper took a historical perspective on homosexuality as a diagnostic entity. Kimmel also has studied the lives of older gay men and found that many have stable relationships and lead happy lives. APA's Public Interest Directorate is drafting a letter to send to China's psychiatric association asking members to consider the scientific evidence that homosexuality is not a mental disturbance. CSSSM, meanwhile, is trying to keep China's gay community up to date on Western research on homosexuality and bisexuality. CSSSM has established a biweekly online journal called Tao Hong Man Tian Xia (www.csssm.org), with articles written by members of the organization and other scholars. Included is Western research on gay-related issues. This isn't the first time APA has formally raised concerns about a foreign entity's treatment of gay men and lesbians. In 1994, APA Chief Executive Officer Raymond Fowler, PhD, wrote to the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, urging it to release an official statement rejecting homosexuality as a mental disorder. Two months later, the organization reported that the government had adopted WHO's classification that 'sexual orientation by itself is not to be regarded as a disorder.' Gay rights activists in the United States agree that changing the Chinese psychiatric community's views on homosexuality isn't easy, no matter how much pressure is brought to bear. Clinton Anderson, APA's officer for gay, lesbian and bisexual concerns, says he's not sure how the American mental health profession's urgings will be received by China's medical community and its communist government, which has been criticized worldwide for its poor human rights record. 'I am uncertain how our letter will be received,' he says. 'But the Chinese who have contacted us here in the states have urged us to go ahead and send it.' Science, not politics But the CSSSM activists are encouraged, mainly because they're using a scientific approach rather than political strategy. The government has traditionally advocated a proscience, antireligion policy, meaning officials aren't likely to consider religious edicts against homosexuality, they say. And You Yun, a CSSSM member and psychology graduate student in the Midwest, believes the government, for the most part, wants to stay out of the debate to keep its reputation in the world front from becoming even more controversial. 'In general, it seems like the Chinese government wants to look good in the international community,' says Yun, who came out as a lesbian after she moved here from China in 1991 ('Yun' is a pen name: the student has still not made her sexual orientation public in China.) 'It seems to me that [government officials] want to show to the world that they only want to go after forces they consider antistate. So if the gay, lesbian communities don't have open conflict with the states, the government shouldn't react much.'