History of DSM and Homosexuality

The original DSM classified homosexuality as a "Sexual Deviation," a classification maintained by DSM-II in 1968. However, in December 1973, the APA Board of Trustees voted to amend DSM-II, removing the general category of homosexuality and replacing it with "Sexual Orientation Disturbance." That same year, a position statement on homosexuality and civil rights was released.

In 1980, DSM-III further revised this classification, removing homosexuality as a disorder except in cases where individuals experienced anxiety or depression about their sexual orientation, thus introducing "Ego-Dystonic Homosexuality." By the 1987 DSM-III-R edition, any reference to homosexuality was eliminated; this trend continued in the subsequent DSM-IV and DSM-5 editions.