the tindog coffeehouse

Can a bunch of psychiatrists agree on what is considered “normal” sexual behavior and what is “abnormal”? And can we trust their conclusions?

The American Psychiatric Association is setting out to update their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a guide used by psychiatrists and psychologists to help diagnose mental health disorders, and of course one of the most controversial sections is the area related to sex.

So what is considered normal and what isn’t? Is erectile dysfunction or low sex drive normal? Are they biological/medical conditions or mental health disorders? What about sadomasochism or pedophilia or transgenderism? What about homosexuality? Where do you draw the line?

The group’s conclusions have wide-ranging consequences.

“Psychiatric diagnoses affect child custody decisions, self-esteem, whether individuals are hired or fired, receive security clearances, or have other rights and privileges curtailed. Criminals may find that their sentences are either mitigated or enhanced as a direct result of their diagnoses. The equating of unusual sexual interests with psychiatric diagnoses has been used to justify the oppression of sexual minorities and to serve political agendas. A review of this area is not only a scientific issue, but also a human rights issue.”

And those diagnoses have changed over time.

“Definitely a change in culture affects diagnoses,” Leiblum says. “We used to think oral-genital sex was deviant and we have embraced that. Masturbation was evidence of out of control behavior, now we see it as not only normative but to be encouraged.”

So can we trust these conclusions to guide our own views of sexuality when those conclusions are always changing?

One guide on sexuality that has never changed is the Bible, and it is very clear on what the proper role of sex is in our lives, what is good and what is not good. It’s very clear that sex is a good thing but meant between a man and woman who are married.

If you’re looking to define what is normal and what is deviant, wouldn’t it make more sense to use a guide that doesn’t change over time? If you’re building a house, could you trust a ruler if the definition of a “foot” or a “yard” was relative rather than absolute?

It goes back to the old saying: “What one generation tolerates the next generation embraces.” Therefore, what is considered “normal” may not necessarily be “right”.