title: Homosexuality--illness or life-style?
abstract: This paper addresses the issues of the labeling and selective discrimination of homosexuals. Psychiatry is encouraged to adhere to the medical model and treat the homosexual patient who is in conflict and motivated by inner turmoil and distress rather than assuming the job of society's regulator and the judge of acceptable behavior. The author discusses the concept of gender identity and presents evidence for the idea that homosexual behavior has its etiology in early child development. The cultural stigma of gender dysphorias is also discussed in detail as playing a sigificant role in the eventual character formation of an adult homosexual.
mesh_terms: D005783:Gender Identity; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012961:Sociology