ABSTRACT
In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) published the third edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III). This document was celebrated for its deletion of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders, and was hailed as the symbol of the new, "medical" psychiatry. The APA's furor diagnosticus has led even some mainstream psychiatrists to question the association's motives for publishing one version of the DSM after another. In 1991, the APA published DSM-IV Options Books: Work in Progress. The profession of psychiatry seems determined to ground its medical legitimacy on creating diagnoses and pretending that they are diseases. Unlike regular physicians, who have no need to rename diabetes or hypertension, psychiatrists labour under the unremitting pressure of cultural forces to slap approving or disapproving labels on certain behaviours. DSM-IV is scheduled for publication in 1994. The profession of psychiatry seems determined to ground its medical legitimacy on creating diagnoses and pretending that they are diseases.
