Urgent: Very Bad Man Appointed to Revise DSM-V

This man would take your dolls away.

Dr. Kenneth Zucker, whose specialty is fixing girly boys and tomboys, has been named by the American Psychiatric Association to write the new revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the standard used to diagnose and treat mental illness. Zucker is a practitioner and proponent of conversion therapy (read: ex-gay) for what are known in the lingo as gender variant kids. Gays and the DSM have long been at odds, and it's only been since 1974 that plain old homosexuality was removed from the manual. With Zucker and his self-appointed mentor, trans-enemy Dr. Ray Blanchard, at the helm, we can expect, at the least, the recommendation of reparative therapy for "treating" transsexuals and those who might become transsexuals (weird kids). But Mercedes Allen at The Bilerico argues that the fallout could be further reaching:

An additional danger that gay and lesbian communities need to be cognizant of is that if Zucker and company entrench conversion therapy in the DSM-V, then it is a clear, dangerous step toward also legitimizing ex-gay therapy and re-stigmatizing homosexuality.

A two-part NPR series by Alix Spiegel examines Zucker's views and methods: Two Families Grapple with Sons' Gender Preferences: Psychologists Take Radically Different Approaches in Therapy. One concerned family takes their boy-who-acts-like-a-girl to Zucker, "whose treatment aims to help kids feel comfortable with their biological sex," and another takes theirs to Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, "whose approach is to allow the children to live as the gender with which they most closely identify at the time."

How many of us would've ended up in conversion therapy for gender identity issues if playing with the wrong toys and wearing the wrong clothes could land you with the likes of Zucker? My own peacenik parents refused to buy me the toy I wanted more than anything, a gun, naturally, and so I substitued any phallus-shaped object (wax bananas!) or resorted to building weapons out of Legos. It's a slippery slope of bullshit when we're talking about diagnosing and treating children for mental illness because they're not acting like the supposed right gender.

Trans people, whose very existence is still classified as an illness by the DSM (Gender Identity Disorder) are pushing to get the larger GLBT community involved in stopping the APA from going through with this idiotic appointment. However, I haven't been able to find any action going on, besides signing a petition. If anyone has more information please add it to the Comments section.

More:

• A good analysis of the NPR piece at The Bilerico Project: More on Dr. Kenneth Zucker, by Alex Blaze.


• Supporting Boys or Girls When the Line Isn't Clear, NYT


• Parents Consider Treatment to Delay Son's Puberty: New Therapy Would Buy Time to Resolve Gender Crisis, NPR.


• Q&A: Therapists on Gender Identity Issues in Kids, NPR.