WHAT ARE GAYS, LESBIANS AND BISEXUALS?
Once a human being reaches puberty the affections and emotion
ties all human beings feel for one another take on a sexual (or erotic)
dimension. The nature of the prime object of such feelings is termed sexual
orientation . With gay men it is other men who are the prime objective of
sexual attraction, with lesbians it is other women, while bisexual men and
women can be attracted to members of either sex.
DOES THIS MEAN GAY MEN ARE ATTRACTED TO ALL MEN, OR LESBIANS TO ALL WOMEN,
OR BISEXUALS TO EVERYONE?
This is a possibility, but in practise most gays, lesbians and
bisexuals are as discriminating in their attractions as heterosexual men and
women. As with heterosexuals, gays, lesbians and bisexuals come in all shapes,
sizes and models - some are drawn by purely physical attractions, others to
personalities, or a mixture of the two. As anyone who thinks about the matter
long enough will realize, the source of sexual attraction between any persons
is often quite mysterious and defies simple categorization.
ARE GAYS, LESBIANS AND BISEXUALS OBSESSED WITH SEX?
When a person is at ease and confident with their sexual
orientation and can express it freely, then the sexual part of their
personality can assume a role as part of their whole personality. Such people
are unlikely to be obsessed with any one aspect of themselves. When a person
is closeted , and their sexuality is a suppressed part of their personality
then it may become an obsession, in the same way that someone denied food
tends to be rather preoccupied with their next meal, or someone short of
money becomes very preoccupied with paying their bills, or carefully counts
the cents. A healthy, well-balanced gay man, lesbian or bisexual is only as
likely to be obsessed with sex as a healthy, well-balanced heterosexual.
IS HOMOSEXUALITY UN-NATURAL?
This depends what you mean by natural . If you mean something
which occurs in nature, then yes. Many animals take part in same-sex activity,
and the more highly evolved social mammals, and especially the primates (apes,
monkeys, lemurs etc) have all been observed to take part in such activity.
This is purely an observation and has no bearing on what is usually meant when
someone says homosexuality is un-natural. What they really mean is Is
homosexuality against human nature? Homosexual behaviour is known from
practically all human societies - both those that accept same-sex behaviour
as part of the spectrum of human nature, and those that have strong, even
brutal taboos against such behaviour. The issue only really makes sense when
seen in the context of the nature of the individual concerned, and current
understanding of human sexuality suggests the majority of adult humans are
capable of forming strong emotional, even sexual bonds with members of their
own sex. A minority can only form such bonds with members of their own sex.
This does not mean that the majority of adult humans either will, or should
form such bonds. It is simply a neutral observation. What is usually meant by
this question is that homosexuality is immoral. Morals are a human invention
and vary depending on cultural setting and religious belief - these are even
more variable than the nature of human sexual attraction.
WHAT CAUSES HOMOSEXUALITY?
This is a very loaded question, as it assumes heterosexuality as
a given norm , and something causes people who are homosexual to vary from
this norm . Ultimately we will know what causes homosexuality when we also
kow what causes heterosexuality. At present much interest centres on
whether or not human sexuality is caused by genetic factors. Studies of
identical twins (individuals who are genetically identical) raised apart
suggest that there may be a gay gene , or actually, a gene or genes that
control whether or not an individual has a tendency to be heterosexual or
homosexual. Of such identical twins, if one is gay or lesbian, there is a more
than even chance (between 20 and 35% depending on whom you read) that the
other twin will be gay or lesbian. This also means that between 65 and 80% of
other twins will NOT be gay or lesbian. The balance of evidence at present
suggests a genetic factor may be involved, but there is not a direct co-
relationship between possession of the gay gene and the sexual orientation
of the individual. Environmental factors and hormones are also involved.
It is easier to be categoric about what does NOT cause homosexuality. There are more myths about this than just about any other aspect of human behaviour. The old Freudian notion that homosexual men have distant fathers and overbearing mothers has never stood up to close scrutiny, and even Sigmund Freud himself revised his opinion on this. A very small, but very vocal minority of psychiatrists still hold to this model, as do a burgeoning group of religiously motivated zealots, but the model has no rational basis. Likewise the old myth that homosexuals are recruited by being seduced in their youth by older men and women does not bear up to close examination. Young people who are sexually abused by adults usually suffer years of trauma and uncertainty about their sexuality - they have been deprived of the right to explore their own sexuality as they mature. The vast majority of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals realize the nature of their sexual orientation long before they even know other people like them exist.
Demonic possession, or demonic oppression to give it the more modern terminology, is currently enjoying a revival among homophobic religious zealots. Such beliefs belong in the same museum as the beliefs that migraine and epilepsy are signs of possession, and that left-handed poeple are sinister .
CAN HOMOSEXUALITY BE CURED?
This begs the question as to whether homosexuality is a sickness
in the first place. For most of this century homosexuality was considered an
illness - both physical and/or mental. Most professional bodies associated
with physicians and psychiatrists no longer hold to this view. Nevertheless
there is a small but very vocal movement active today, usually religiously
inspired, that sees homosexuality as a sickness - physical, psychiatric, or
spiritual , and offer cures . Such organizations play heavily on misplaced
feelings of guilt, loneliness or discomfort with a persons sexual orientation
to manipulate and control their subjects. There is no rational or scientific
basis for such cures . Even in the days of routine psychiatric treatment
(during the 1940s to early 1960s), the most ardent supporters of the illness
model reported success rates for cures no higher than 10 or 15%. Physical
cures involved such barbaric practises as aversion therapies (chemical or
electro-convulsive), hormone implants or even neurological surgery (usually
prefrontal lobotomy - a crude technique that deliberately induces severe
brain-damage). Objective studies of well-adjusted gay men and lesbians over
more than forty years have failed to reveal any neurotic differences between
them and well-adjusted heterosexuals.
HOW MANY GAYS, LESBIANS AND BISEXUALS ARE THEIR IN THE GENERAL
POPULATION?
This is a truly difficult question to answer, for the simple reason
that very few individuals are completely candid about their sexual orientation
when questioned, and most surveys rely on volunteers, so are not valid random
samples of the general population. A further complication depends on the
nature of questions asked. Many individuals who occasionally engage in same-
sex activity, or only at one or a few times throughout their lives, do not
regard themselves as anything other than completely heterosexual.
The 10% figure so often quoted goes back to the studies made by Kinsey and his assistants in the 1940s, when all male same-sex acts were illegal. His survey relied heavily on men in prisons and mental institutions. Furthermore, he was looking for the incidence of same-sex acts throughout his subjects lives, rather than trying to identify and count homosexual persons. His reports (on men) published in 1949 and (on women) published in 1952, suggested that between 2 and 4% of US adults are exclusively homosexual throughout their lives. These figures have been confirmed by most surveys undertaken since that time, with a range varying between 1.5 and 6%. Given the statistical methods used this is hardly surprising. The 10% figure is a journalistic invention of the time, derived from the higher figures Kinsey quoted for adults who at some stage in their lives had experienced same-sex activity to orgasm (Kinsey suggested a figure in this category as high as 35%, though it includes largely adolescent experiences that may have no bearing at all on adult sexuality, and the sexual experiences of men and women in the armed forces and prisons, where such behaviour is probably more widespread than in the general population).
Conservative commentators, pushing a homophobic agenda in recent years, have attempted to suggest Kinsey s data is completely discredited (a position also supported by many religious fundamentalists). For their own reasons they need to believe in the lowest possible number for gays and lesbians in the general population. This is a rhetorical position that ignores the work done since Kinsey, and willfully disregards the statistical nature (with its inherent errors) of the data. All that can be said for certain is that between 2 and 6% of the adult population are exclusively homosexual in their orientation, and an unknown percentage are effectively bisexual all the time, or at some point in their lives.
Conservative and religious homophobes use the lowest possible figures to argue against extending human rights to gays, lesbians and bisexuals, but in this area the figures are irrelevant. Human rights are relevant to individuals, and no quorum is required to qualify, any more than a religious sect requires a certain number of adherents before it is protected under clauses in law guaranteeing freedom of belief, or a political party requires a certain number of members before qualifying for freedom of speech or thought.
HOW DO YOU SPOT A GAY/LESBIAN/ BISEXUAL?
Much of the time with great difficulty! The old idea that all gay
men were effeminate, sensitive souls, with swishy hips, lip wrists and an
effete manner vanished during the 1960s and 1970s, likewise the stereotype
that lesbians were all mannish creatures who wore men s clothes and were
generally butch. For sure some gay men and lesbians play up to these
stereotypes, either because that is the persona with which they feel
comfortable, or just to adopt an in-your-face attitude. Most of the time
gay men, lesbians and bisexuals are as visible, or invisible as they choose to
make themselves. Even in a gay bar, or lesbian coffee house, GAYDAR can be
less than 100% reliable. In western Europe and North America, body language
may be a guide - it is not usual for men to physically express affection in
public, or hold eye contact for long periods during conversation, but such
conventions are entirely cultural, and mean little or nothing in Eastern
Europe, Latin countries, or in the near and middle East and India.
The easiest way to find out if a person is gay, lesbian or bisexual, is to ask. Though the answer received will depend on the way the question is framed, and the circumstances under which it is asked!
HAVE THERE ALWAYS BEEN GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE?
The simple answer is yes, but as ever the issue is a little more
complex than it first appears to be. The concepts of homo- and
heterosexuality are actually little more than 100 years old, and the idea of
a gay, lesbian or bisexual identity is even more recent, dating back to the
post World War II years, or possibly the 1920 in Europe and North America.
Such concepts are still quite alien in other, non-western cultures and
societies. The oldest records of human behaviour make reference to same-sex
behaviour, and these include the writings of ancient Sumer, India and China,
and pictures on pottery and wall paintings from Minoan Crete - the record
goes back at least 5000 years. Over those 5000 years every oral and written
tradition makes reference, either neutral, favourable or condemnatory to
same-sex behaviour. What this means in modern terms is open to much debate,
as what was acceptable in such traditions has varied enormously.