Science News

Sex behaviors taken off disease list

Published: Nov. 17, 2008 at 2:23 PM

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Swedish health officials said transvestism and six other sexual behaviors will no long be listed as diseases.

Lars-Erik Holm said the National Board of Health and Welfare is declassifying the behaviors as illnesses to avoid strengthening prejudice against the behaviors, the Swedish news service Tidningarnas Telegrambyra reported Monday.

"These individuals' sexual preferences have nothing to do with society," Holm told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Fetishism, fetishistic transvestism, sadomasochism, gender identity disorder in youth and multiple disorders of sexual preferences are among the behaviors that will also be removed from the disease list.

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