Homosexualitet i tre klassifikationssystem under tre decennier: Ett queerteoretiskt perspektiv på SAB, UDK och DDC.

Abstract

The aim of this masters thesis is to, from a queertheoretical point of view, examine the possibilities to classify the subject homosexuality in three different classification systems. The three systems that have been analysed is the Swedish classification system SAB, the Universal Decimal Classification UDC and Dewey Decimal Classification DDC. The analysed editions are updates from the beginning of the 1970´s until today. The emphasis has been on how well the systems correspond to the changing society. We found several differences between the three systems, but also some resemblances. During these 30 years the main placing for homosexuality have been in the section for medicine, and later on the section for social science, in all the three systems. SAB have not during these 30 years classified homosexuality as a mental disease that both UDC and DDC have and still do. However, in DDC there has been a gradual change of opinion about homosexuality. From the 1970´s when it clearly was a mental disorder to, in the late 1980´s, when it was made equal to heterosexuality. In the UDC on the other hand almost nothing happened for 30 years. Homosexuality was only seen as a disorder until the beginning of the 21^st century. Then they also upgraded homosexuality from a disorder to a natural sexual feeling equal to heterosexuality. Although SAB has not classified homosexuality as a disorder, it is the only system out of the three that has not made it equal to heterosexuality.