Editorial | Regrettable ruling in China LGBT case
- Decision regarding textbook description of homosexuality as “a psychological disorder” goes against moves by mainland and international practice
That homosexuality is not an illness is just a fact to be reckoned with nowadays. Unfortunately, traditions and values still make acceptance difficult in some societies. China is no exception.
Even though attitudes towards LGBT communities in some major cities have changed in recent years, prejudice against sexual minorities prevails.
It is regrettable that a mainland court recently upheld a ruling that a university textbook description of homosexuality as “a psychological disorder” was merely an “academic view” rather than a factual error.
Published by Jinan University Press and used by some mainland universities, the 2013 edition of Mental Health Education for College Students listed homosexuality under “common psychosexual disorders” – along with cross-dressing and fetishism. It stated that homosexuality “was believed to be a disruption of love and sex or perversion of the sex partner”.
In a ruling last week, Suyu District Intermediate Court in the city of Suqian upheld a lower court’s decision last year, saying the description resulted from “perceptual differences” and was not a factual error.