Mid-December 2020 we received the sad news that Svein Skeid passed away aged 70 in Oslo shortly after experiencing a heart attack. A recognized activist in the gay and BDSM scene, Svein fought tirelessly to eradicate the psychiatric diagnoses associated with fetishism and BDSM.
BDSM (short for: Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, Sadism & Masochism) is based on the use of physical sensations to evoke pleasure. The dominant Top inflicts pain on the obedient, submissive sub in mutual consent in order to satisfy the desires and desires of both partners in a safe environment. Pain is an assessment of the brain and does not always have to be bad or even undesirable but can be converted into pleasure.
The WHO is the publisher of the “International Classification of Diseases” (ICD), the most important, globally recognized classification system for medical diagnoses. The currently valid version lists mental and behavioral disorders with the letter F in Chapter 5. The disorders of sexual preference are found under code F65. By classifying erotic fetishism (F65.0), transvestitism (F65.1) and BDSM (F65.5) under this key number, a pathological disorder is ascribed to these preferences and practices. This is comparable with the earlier classification of homosexuality as a disease that had to be treated.
Activist Svein Skeid had set himself the goal of removing these three sexual preferences from the diagnosis code and thereby combating the associated discrimination. In an interview he once said: “I get angry about injustice, prejudice and stupidity that psychiatry leads to. When they claim we are violent, people think that we are.” With the internationally active, pansexual project group called ReviseF65 from Norway, which was chaired by Svein Skeid, he mainly worked on sex-political education. As a result of the tireless efforts of ReviseF65, the relevant diagnostic keys were removed from the catalog in Norway on February 1, 2010.
Within six years, diagnoses were cleared in all Nordic countries, following the example of the Norwegian model and the pioneering work of Revise F65. This increased the pressure on the WHO to follow this example. Through persistent educational work and influencing political decision-makers, Svein was able to celebrate the greatest success to date with ReviseF65 in June 2018: the WHO announced to delete the diagnoses of fetishism, fetishistic transvestitism and BDSM from the “International Classification of Diseases” in the new, fundamentally revised ICD-11. Consensual sexuality has nothing to do with psychiatry. This WHO decision is an extremely important recognition of our sexual diversity.
As a true leather fetishist and practicing BDSM Master, Svein revolted over four decades, did pioneering work and received recognition through successes, awards and honors. I was lucky enough to get to know Svein personally and I remember our correspondence on BLUF in 2018, when he proudly and passionately told me about his activities. There are few who have left such a big mark in the history of the leather scene as he did. Svein had special requests for his funeral: the black coffin was flanked by the rainbow and leather flags and was carried to the grave by men dressed in black leather. Thank you for your great, exemplary commitment for all of us Svein. We will honor your memory.