National Gay & Lesbian Task Force questions the APA on DSM choices
There appears to be a growing schism within LGBT circles regarding the APA appointments of Kenneth Zucker and Ray Blanchard to the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group (see the APA statement here). Today, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force issued a press release calling Zucker and Blanchard “clearly out of step with the occurring shift in how doctors and other health professionals think about transgender people and gender variance.”
The APA and Jack Drescher has stepped up in favor of the appointments.
Thus far, to the best of my knowledge, the opposition has primarily been from transgender advocacy groups and writers. The press release stops short of calling for the appointments of Zucker and Blanchard to be canceled, but rather expresses disappointment. I wonder if any other advocacy groups will follow suit.
[...] Warren Throckmorton links to several resources discussing this topic: “There appears to be a growing schism within LGBT circles regarding the APA appointments of Kenneth Zucker and Ray Blanchard to the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group . . . “ [...]
Jack Drescher’s words were actually really good to read. I have confidence the APA knows what it is doing.
Unfortunately, the APA has resorted to flat out lying in order to defend its appointment of Zucker:
http://www.ssonet.com.au/display.asp?ArticleID=8400
“Dr. Zucker and his service team at CAMH in Toronto have the longest-standing research-clinical service for children and youth with gender identity problems in North America. The goal of his therapy is the opposite of conversion therapy in that he considers well-adjusted transsexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual youth to be therapy successes, not failures,” the APA statement read.
As is well documented on this blog and in several other places, Zucker clearly considered transsexual youth to be “a bad outcome,” to quote Bailey.
Hello Warren,
this is the self same Jack Drescher who said of women with CAIS.
“They are either heterosexual because they think they are women, or homosexual men because they have XY chromsomes”. clearly Jack Drescher has little understanding of things like women with CAIS yet alone transgender and transsexual folks.
I often find Jack Drescher’s views unconvincing. I don’t consider him evil or bad or a liar, just someone who has little awareness of what he is talking about in certain areas.
Which does beg a few questions about his own suitability in his involvement in this discussion with regards diagnostic models.
You would not have a Dentist working as a Neurosurgeon, so what is Drescher all about?