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The American Psychological Association released a Statement on Homosexuality in July 1994. The first two paragraphs are: "The research on homosexuality is very clear. Homosexuality is neither mental illness nor moral depravity. It is simply the way a minority of our population expresses human love and sexuality. Study after study documents the mental health of gay men and lesbians. Studies of judgment, stability, reliability, and social and vocational adaptiveness all show that gay men and lesbians function every bit as well as heterosexuals." "Nor is homosexuality a matter of individual choice. Research suggests that the homosexual orientation is in place very early in the life cycle, possibly even before birth. It is found in about ten percent of the population, a figure which is surprisingly constant across cultures, irrespective of the different moral values and standards of a particular culture. Contrary to what some imply, the incidence of homosexuality in a population does not appear to change with new moral codes or social mores. Research findings suggest that efforts to repair homosexuals are nothing more than social prejudice garbed in psychological accouterments" |
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders. The American Psychological Association declared that it was not a disorder in 1975. more information from:
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If homosexuality is genetic, then discrimination against homosexuals would be "as morally impermissible" as racism and sexism, High Court Justice Michael Kirby told Catholic bishops. Homosexual sexual orientation (defined as an instinctive sexual and romantic attraction to members of the same sex) is a biological trait like left handed orientation. The pattern of inheritance suggests the X chromosone as the likely location of the DNA, with about 20% of women carriers of the trait. Attempts to change specific behaviours do not alter the underlying orientation any more than training a left handed person to write with the right hand changes all the other manifestations of left handedness in their life. The universal prevalence of homosexual orientation in human populations prompts the question, "Does it confer a benefit on human societies or the women who are carriers of the gene?" For example, homosexual orientation may enhance social cohesion or maternal instincts.
Past research has found that a rare number of HIV-infected individuals have gene mutations that knock out CCR5, rendering them resistant to the deadly virus. CCR5 is the recently discovered ``co-receptor'' that HIV uses as a ``door'' to gain entry, and ultimately kill immune cells. Such individuals may be resistant to infection, or if infected, may progress more slowly to AIDS. The new gene variation, known as the 59029-G polymorphism, is ``more common than all other variants found to date,'' according Dr. Philip M. Murphy of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues. Unlike the other mutations, which are found mainly in whites, the newly-discovered gene variation is found in all ethnic groups. About 40% to 60% of people carry the 59029-G gene. In comparison, only about 10% of Caucasians carry another CCR5 mutation. SOURCE: The Lancet 1998;352:866-870.
There is an excellent discussion of sexuality in the book by Martin Seligman "What you can change and what you can't, a complete guide to self improvement" Five levels are identified, the deeper the level the less the change. Sexual Identity: male or female? Sexual Orientation: do you love men or women? Sexual Preference: preferred sexual activity Sexual Role: behaviour, personality and ability Sexual Performance: The Shyness Home Page: An Index to Resources for Shyness
The World Health Organisation reports that 70% of new HIV infections are the result of heterosexual activity. The largest number of new infections are occuring in married women under the age of thirty, who feel powerless to request their husbands practice safe sex. This confirms the pattern of other sexually transmitted diseases, that faithfulness in marriage offers no protection from infection. HIV does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. It is both incorrect and harmful to characterise it as a "gay plague" or a punishment for homosexual activity or promiscuity. As Masters and Johnson have shown people with a homosexual orientation are no more promiscuous than people with a heterosexual orientation. Ignorance and prejudice cause needless suffering to the increasing number of HIV infected people, who have lived by the principle "celebacy in singleness and faithfulness in marriage". Queers have been at the forefront of establishing realistic strategies to address the human suffering associated with HIV infection. Dispelling the ignorance and prejudice surrounding the HIV virus is an important priority for everyone. 82% of AIDS cases among U.S. newborns are attributable to intravenous drug use. (New York State Dept. of Health Coalition for AIDS Prevention, 1995) AIDS is the third major cause of death for women aged 24 to 44 in the US. link to: the body AIDS and HIV information resource |
Knowledge is better than wealth. You have to look after wealth; knowledge looks after you.Aim for knowledge. If you become poor it will be wealth to you: if you become rich it will adorn you.