Opening Your Mind To Alternative Lifestyles |
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| With all the hoopla about Ellen Degeneres over the last two months, the last thing you may want to read about is more regarding her coming out of the closet. I do feel, however, that there is a need for the general public to understand more about the nature of homosexuality. | ||
| I applaud Ken Droz for his latest article on this subject. Unfortunately for me, he wrote an article with a very similar flavor to what I was thinking in my head to write about this time. While he did cover much of my same sentiments, I would like to say a bit more about homosexuality. | ||
| From my vantage point, I see a great deal of harm resulting from the general population’s lack of understanding about homosexuality. Many religious people believe that the practice is a sin and that people practicing it “get what they deserve” regarding being infected with HIV. Some disown their sons and daughters for being gay. Some fear that gay people are indiscriminate regarding the age or willingness of the partners they chose. | ||
| It is important for the general population to be more educated regarding the facts about this lifestyle and less histrionic about perpetuating myths. | ||
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Homosexuals make up at least 10-15% of our society. The practice has been in existence since at least ancient times; being accepted by Greek, Roman, Persian,
and Moslem civilizations of that era. In our country, Homosexuality was considered to be a mental disorder of sexual deviancy until December 15, l973. At that time, the
American Psychiatric Association voted that Homosexuality was no longer considered to be a mental disorder and was officially dropped from the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual (DSM-II, at that time). While mental health professionals do not consider homosexuality, per se, to be a problem, many people in our society lag behind this revelation. In some states, there are still laws against sodomy and acts that gay people engage in privately. There are barriers against same-sex marriages, shared insurance policies, and many left-over discriminatory habits that make the gay lifestyle very difficult. |
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| The fact is that most gay people do not chose their sexual preference. Most are born with a built-in preference, just like heterosexuals. Most people would not choose to have a lifestyle in which the majority of the population is either uneducated about, opposed to, outraged by or outwardly discriminating against. Life is difficult enough without having one’s most private, intimate, sexual preferences attacked, judged, exposed in such a way that one’s jobs, careers, relationships, and safety are threatened. | ||
| Most gay people may have a bit of attraction to both sexes, but the same-sex is more appealing to them. Gay people are not child molesters, but some child molesters happen to be gay. Most gay people want healthy, loving intimate relationships. Most “know” that they are “different” from the norm in their adolescent years or even earlier, but may not feel ready, safe, or conscious enough to risk admitting this to themselves or to others. Why is it anyone’s business anyway? Well, coming out allows the freedom to be honest, without having to hide or lie about what is important in one’s life. | ||
| People are people. Gay people are like other people but have a much more difficult time in life due to external forces that lead them to hide, feel ashamed, or fear rejection. I think that the writers of the “Ellen” show did a fabulous job addressing real life issues of a significant group of people in our culture. Homosexuality is a fact of life and it is here to stay. Why hold on to misinformation that is harmful to fellow human beings? Religion teaches moral fabric, kindness, and a way of life. Do we want to follow some biblical teachings without placing them in the context of new understanding and modern culture? | ||
| Hiding children from the reality of homosexual existence distorts reality and sets 10-15% of them up with major self-acceptance problems later on since this is the prevalence rate in our country. We are all working to improve our society and the self-esteem of each one of us. We must first begin to accept alternative lifestyles. This would make life much easier for a large segment of our society. Whether you approve or not, homosexuality is a way of life for many. |
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This article was written by Dr. Laurel A. Sills, a Fully Licensed Clinical Psychologist (since 1987) and Life Coach. She provides direct, down-to-earth, short-term therapy with long-term results. She is passionate in her work and will help you stay motivated to change your life with regular commitment to changing habits in thinking and behaving. See her website at: www.DrLSills.com or www.BuildAStrongerYou.com |
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Copyright 2006© Laurel A. Sills, Psy.D. All rights reserved Back to Articles |