Lecture 21
Sexual Disorders
Lecture Outline
I. Introduction
II. Homosexuality
A. Homosexuality as abnormal
B. Homosexuality as normal
III.Discussion: (Guests)
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I. Introduction
Your text discusses various abnormal patterns of sexual behavior as
identified in the DSM-III-R. These include sexual dysfunctions and
sexual deviations or the paraphilias (from the Greek para meaning
"beside" or "amiss", and philia meaning love). These are two quite
distinct classes of disorders: the former referring to problems with
normal sexual performance (eg: male erectile disorder, or what was once
called impotence), the latter referring to deviations in what society
accepts as normal sexual behavior (eg: fetishes). Let us look in more
detail at this second class of behaviors: deviations from normative
behavior.
It is exceedingly difficult to find The definition for what
constitutes sexual deviation. There is nothing absolute about what is
appropriate sexually. For example (Bootzin & Acocella, 1984):
a) Mangaia (an island in the South Pacific): adolescents have
sex every night, both males and females are instructed by
their older partners, it is expected that each youth have
around three orgasms per night. The general expectation for
all people who live here: many partners all through one's
life.
b) Inis Beag (an island off the coast of Ireland): sex is a
taboo topic, couples wear underwear during sex, women report
never having orgasms.
Even within our culture, there is nothing absolute about accepted sexual
practices. Traditional sexual morality has come under widespread
question in recent decades.
II. Homosexuality
Perhaps the most controversial sexual variation in Western culture
is homosexuality: sexual activity with a member of one's own sex.
Homosexuality has been practiced since the earliest periods of recorded
history, and has even been widely accepted in certain cultures (Strong &
Johns, 1977). Yet in our society, homosexuality is severely
stigmatized. Many homosexuals are still faced with the difficult choice
of remaining "in the closet" or "coming out".
Historically, psychology once viewed homosexuality as a disorder.
This view was reflected in the DSM-II: homosexuality was listed as one
of the sexual deviation disorders. During the 60's and 70's, however,
there was growing debate over this. Defining homosexuality as a
disorder seemed more based on values than on any data. In 1973, the
board of trustees of the American Psychiatric Association voted to drop
homosexuality from its list of disorders. They stated that
homosexuality is "a normal form of sexual life" (APA, 1974, quoted in
Bootzin & Acocella, 1984). The DSM-III reflected this change: a new
diagnostic category was formed: "ego-dystonic homosexuality". This
category included only those homosexuals who were distressed by and
rejected their own homosexuality. In the revised DSM-III, even this
category has been dropped. Now there is merely a category termed
"Sexual disorders not otherwise specified" - a residual category for
disorders in sexual functioning that are not classifiable in any of the
other specific DSM-III-R categories. A person with persistent and
marked distress about his/her sexual orientation could be placed in this
category. Homosexuality per se has thus been removed, at least
"officially", from the list of psychopathologies.
This is not to suggest that all psychologists see homosexuality as
normal:
A. Homosexuality as abnormal
There have been numerous theories identifying homosexuality as
abnormal. Some researchers (eg: Bieber, 1976) claim to have
identified abnormal patterns of upbringing and relationships that
seem to lead to homosexuality. Homosexuality is thus said to be
the result of disturbed early experiences, including poor family
life (eg: for men - extremely poor father-son relationships and an
overly involved mother) and poor relationships with same-sex peers.
Psychoanalytic theorists suggest that these experiences caused the
homosexual to be afraid of heterosexuality, so they become
homosexual as a means of denying their fear of same-sex peers.
B. Homosexuality as normal
There has been much criticism (eg: Davidson, 1976) concerning
the data used to support the "abnormality" argument. These
criticisms are typically along these lines: Research shows that
homosexuals do not in fact suffer from more mental illness than
heterosexuals. The families of homosexuals also do not seem to
differ in significant ways from those of heterosexuals. The
psychological problems suffered by homosexuals may be caused
instead by the prejudices and discrimination they meet. Human
behavior, this argument continues, is infinitely variable. There
is no rational or scientific reason to see homosexuality as
abnormal; it is merely a value judgment.
III. Discussion
The remainder of today's class will be devoted to a discussion with
representatives from the local gay/lesbian support group. They are
here to answer your questions and clarify your misconceptions, and maybe
even challenge you preconceptions. Many of you undoubtedly have
questions as well as misconceptions. How about:
-do you want to be the opposite sex? Is that the
problem?
-how can we let you have contact with our children?
Won't you "convert" them?
-what about AIDS? Is it your fault? Your punishment?
-are all gay men effeminate? All lesbian women "butch"?
-is there a distinctly homosexual personality type?
-do you want to be heterosexual if you could?
-what was your childhood like?
-what is your present life like?
-what are "gay-bars" like?
-what are the differences between gay men and lesbian
women?
-what about the Bible's prohibition? How can some of you
claim to be religious?
-what was it like for you to "come out of the closet"?
-what were the reactions of your family and friends when
they found out?
I leave the remainder of the hour to our guests...
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