ABSTRACT
Although changing leadership of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) did not propel the organization into the forefront of social activism in the United States, it reflected a greater responsiveness to the social problems from which psychiatrists had traditionally insulated themselves. This change was evident in the dramatic events surrounding the controversy over the diagnosis of homosexuality, which occurred just as plans for the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-III) were being formulated. The principal source of information about the DSM controversy over homosexuality is Robert Spitzer. He was a member of the Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics, which produced DSM-II, he had not been assigned to resolve the conflict. Spitzer did not accept the position of gay activists that homosexuality was a normal variant of sexual behavior. He proposed a middle ground between their position and the assertion that homosexuality was pathological. He decided that homosexuality was a form of irregular sexual behavior.
