The Social Construction of Normality: A Sociological Critique of the Process of Changes in DSM Regarding the Case of Homosexuality

The removal of homosexuality from the DSM-II in 1973 marked a turning point in contemporary psychiatric classification. This study examines how and why this change occurred, using a qualitative historical-documentary approach with genealogical sensitivity. Data included DSM editions, American Psychiatric Association documents, professional articles, and historical sources, analyzed through historical reconstruction, review of scientific and professional debates, analysis of social developments and activism, and examination of institutional decision-making.



Findings show that no single cause explains this shift. Developments in research evidence and theoretical debates challenged the pathological basis of the earlier classification. At the same time, social and cultural changes and organized activism strengthened the push for reconsideration. Intra-professional disputes and the institutional mechanisms of the APA turned these developments into an official decision. The redefinition of homosexuality after 1973 was also gradual, not immediate or complete.

The study concludes that diagnostic categories are shaped and reshaped through interaction among specialized knowledge, professional standards, social and cultural context, and the institutions that produce and validate knowledge. This does not deny psychiatry's empirical foundations or reduce diagnosis to social consensus; rather, it stresses the need for a historical and contextualized understanding of classification processes. The findings can support further research on how diagnostic systems are transmitted, interpreted, and applied in different cultural settings, including Iran.