Wednesday, September 17, 2008

De-List Kink from the DSM

Kinky is NOT a Diagnosis!
DSM Revision Petition

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The DSM Revision Petition is gathering signatures from individuals
and organizations calling on the American Psychiatric Association
(APA) to adhere to empirical research when revising the diagnoses in
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Statements currently within the DSM Paraphilias criteria are
contradicted by scientific evidence therefore NCSF must conclude that
the interpretation of the Paraphilias criteria has been politically
not scientifically b based. This politically motivated
interpretation subjects BDSM practitioners, fetishists and cross-
dressers to bias, discrimination and social sanctions without any
scientific basis.

Petition:
"We, the undersigned, support the American Psychiatric
Association's (APA) own goal of making its Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual (DSM) a scientific document, based on empirical research and
devoid of cultural bias. A diagnosis of a mental disorder can
have a severe adverse impact on employment opportunities, child
custody determinations, an individual's well-being, and other areas
of functioning. Therefore we urge the APA to remove all diagnoses
that are not based upon peer-reviewed, empirical research,
demonstrating distress or dysfunction, from the DSM. The APA
specifically should not promote current social norms or values as a
basis for clinical judgments."

To sign, go to: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/DSMrevisionpetition
(You can make your signature anonymous on this secure petition site
so it doesn't appear on the Internet)

To find out more about the DSM and the Paraphilias section, read the
NCSF & ITCR: The Foundation for NCSF's "White Paper on the DSM
Revision" at www.ncsfreedom.org

For more information, email: DSMrevisionpetition@yahoo.com

Please distribute to organizations and individuals and ask them to
sign on!

###

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization
committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in
the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who
practice forms of alternative sexual expression.

NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the
SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face
discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
917-848-6544
media@ncsfreedom.org

www.ncsfreedom.org

Friday, September 5, 2008

NPR Commentator Discovers That Self-Esteem Can't Be Built on Shame

For a refreshing change, here's something to applaud: a schoolteacher gave a commentary on National Public Radio in which she described how her experience with one of her students last year taught her that making an issue of how she dressed only had the effect of making that, rather than educational goals, the focus of their relationship.

I've sent NPR a message applauding this insight and encourage others to do likewise. You can read or listen to the commentary at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94288145.

Eric Hamell