In his testimony before the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Charles Silverstein persuaded the association to change the language of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders, forging a path that ultimately ended the profession’s pathologizing of homosexuality. Dr. Silverstein died on Jan. 30 at his home in Manhattan. He was 87.

Dr. Silverstein wrote books about gay sex, and served as founding editor of The Journal of Homosexuality that worked to break down prejudices associated with being gay. In 1973, he started the Institute for Human Identity to provide health services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients.