Charles Silverstein challenged an entire medical establishment at a time when being openly gay could destroy your career. His courage, intellect and compassion helped save countless lives by affirming that being gay is not an illness, but a natural variation of human sexuality.
1972. A graduate psychology student at Rutgers University, Silverstein faced the challenge of dedicating himself to a field that labeled him as mentally ill. Homosexuality had been classified as a mental disorder in the first edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published in 1952 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
At the time, homosexuality was classified as a “sexual deviation” within the broader category of “sociopathic personality disturbances.” This diagnosis grouped homosexuality alongside transvestism, pedophilia, fetishism and sexual sadism, all under the same stigmatizing umbrella.
This contributed to widespread discrimination and harmful psychological “treatments,” including conversion therapy. Silverstein couldn’t let something as harmful as this be part of his chosen profession. Soon, he joined the Gay Activists Alliance, formed in the aftermath of the Stonewall Uprising.
“It was an organization that many people will tell you it saved their lives,” he would later remark. “And it did for me.” Together, they would achieve something monumental.
Silverstein bravely appeared before the APA, providing a key testimony opposing the classification of homosexuality as a mental illness. Though still a student, Silverstein’s incisive arguments were not only scientifically grounded, but deeply personal. He emphasized the damage this classification caused and urged the APA to base its diagnoses on modern research and ethical responsibility.
Both sincere and sharp, his statements also contained a fair amount of satire. “I threw back at them their [recanted] diagnoses over the decades and how funny it all sounds now,” he said, “and pointed out that their fun had hurt a lot of people.” At the heart of his testimony, Silverstein argued that gay people seeking therapy needed support — not conversion.
This, along with pressure from gay rights activists and progressive mental health professionals, led the APA to remove homosexuality from the DSM in December 1973. It was not only a watershed moment in LGBTQ+ history but also a huge step in scientifically validating the movement for gay rights.
By challenging institutionalized homophobia within the field of mental health, Silverstein legitimized the experiences of countless vulnerable individuals and paved the way for more inclusive practices in therapy and psychiatry.
With this incredible victory under his belt, Silverstein’s career was looking remarkably promising. Just four years later, he would release his first book — The Joy of Gay Sex — in partnership with prominent gay novelist Edmund White.
Based on the best-selling The Joy of Sex, the 207-page book served as a how-to guide with chapters on gay Kama Sutra, cruising and dirty talk. Interestingly, the book also contained a cultural guide on the realities of coming out, gay politics, racism and more.
Celebrated for its sex positivity, the book was groundbreaking in a world where academic sex education contained zero instruction for anything that veered from heteronormativity.
He later spoke of the genesis of The Joy of Gay Sex: “When Ed and I first sat down to talk about the book and we made a list of the entries, it was quite clear that a majority of the entries were not about sex, it was about community and it was about relating to each other.”
“While most people think of all the dirty pictures, what we always thought our greatest contribution was, is trying to write something that we would’ve wanted when we were kids, and that would be something more than just sex. That would be about community.”
Through his prolific career, Silverstein would go on to write several more books demystifying LGBTQ+ mental and sexual health, as well as founding the Journal of Homosexuality, an internationally acclaimed, peer-reviewed publication devoted to fostering an understanding of the complexities, and nuances of sexuality and gender.
Dr. Charles Silverstein’s legacy today stands as a powerful reminder that science must serve truth and human dignity — not prejudice and political agendas.
As LGBTQ+ rights and scientific integrity face renewed challenges in courtrooms and government institutions, Silverstein’s work calls us to defend evidence-based, affirming care and to resist the reemergence of stigma disguised as science.