Was LGBTQ considered a mental illness?

Yes. For much of the twentieth century in Western psychiatry, homosexuality was formally classified as a mental disorder. This classification reflected cultural prejudice more than science and was used to justify harmful treatments, including aversive conditioning and involuntary hospitalization.

Activists and some clinicians challenged these views, pointing to research showing that same sex attraction itself does not impair functioning. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality as a diagnosis from the DSM. Later revisions clarified that distress comes from stigma and social conflict, not orientation itself. Similar debates occurred around gender identity, with earlier manuals pathologizing being trans before more affirming frameworks emerged. This history continues to shape distrust of mental health systems for some LGBTQ individuals.