A Critical Historical Analysis of the Medical Construction of Lesbianism

Abstract

Lesbians are frequently treated with insensitivity, antagonism, and discrimination in health care encounters. The authors argue that contemporary health care experiences of lesbian clients cannot be understood apart from a critical examination of the historical construction of medical ideologies that pathologized lesbianism. An excavation of historical data about medical conceptualizations of lesbian women is undertaken to demonstrate how cultural and medical ideologies throughout the century have reinforced each other to shape lesbians' health care experiences and influence public policies. By illuminating both the prejudicial content of medical theories as well as the emancipatory actions of lesbian and gay communities to change stigmatizing diagnostic and treatment situations, the authors attempt to demystify ideologies about lesbians that motivate clinicians, administrators, educators, researchers, and theorists in the delivery of health services.