The social construction and medicalization of the DSM: Pathologizing expressions and variations of sexuality

Trends in anthropological and cross-cultural research of sexuality have included an increased emphasis on the utility of a social constructionist approach. While still in its early stages of development, such scholarship has raised some important issues. Specifically, the variability of human sexuality found across cultures draws attention to the Western biomedical models that emphasize biological imperative over social and cultural influences on sexual behavior, particularly that which is considered deviant, or pathological.;This analysis of the anthropological and cross-cultural literature was undertaken to consider the processes that have resulted in the construction of the editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and to demonstrate how select expressions and variations of sexuality are pathologized using masturbation and homosexuality as diagnostic illustrations. Questions concerning the identification, classification, and maintenance of masturbation and homosexuality guide the search for information. The major finding is that, historically, while Western notions of sexual deviance have changed over time, the process through which it has occurred has essentially remained the same and will likely to continue as such into the future. The overall conclusion of this analysis concerns the consequences illuminated by the creation of and societal responses to deviant individuals. The evident refusal within the profession of psychology to acknowledge the cultural factors that have resulted in the pathologizing and classification of "abnormal" behaviors call into question the bounds of ethical practice.