Someone right on the FSTDT area said in response:
"Right, because gay activists had such absolute control over the world's medical community in the mid-70s, despite being an as-yet-not-organised and fledgeling group."
That's kind of how I see it. It's really hard for me to believe that you can successfully lobby an organization that deals with facts and data.
Yes, but I thought we were talking about the APA.
(sorry, that was a cheap joke, I have a deep respect for the psychiatric profession and the drugs they occasionally give me)
More on topic, I would not be too idealistic about it. I mean, the whole point is that they had declared homosexuality a mental illness.
That was not based on hard findings.
I think they did the right thing in removing it*, but I would not say it's impossible to lobby an organization into declaring whatever is most politically expedient for them. Being supposed to be based on fact does not magically protect anyone from having biases or self-interest. Humans gonna human.
*obviously. I recognise I have issues, but that's mostly the anxiety disorder, not the wanting to fuck dudes.