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Sexuality Officer
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Date Posted: Wednesday, June 02, 11:30:50pm
A BRIEF OUTLINE OF HOMOSEXUALITY:
Here is some information on homosexuality, plagiarised largely from the Encarta article on this subject:
- Conservative estimates suggest that 2 to 4 per cent of the male population is (openly) gay and that the percentage of females who are lesbians is much lower than this;
- In ancient Greece, homosexual acts were accepted and even expected in some sections of society;
- However, more recently Judeo-Christain beliefs that homosexuality is immoral and sinful have prevailed;
- The idea that homosexuality is a pathology, rather than merely an inherent weakness, developed in the 19th century;
- Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychoanalyst, considered homosexuality a deviant condition;
- A study was conducted in 1993 to establish whether sexual orientation is genetically determined, but the study was inconclusive;
- During the first half of the 20th century, homosexuality was largely concealed, and gay men and lesbians were often subjected to discrimination and prejudice;
- During World War II, homosexuals were the targets of persecution in Nazi Germany;
- Alfred Charles Kinsey, an American biologist, published two famous reports on homosexuality, entitled 'Sexual Behavior in the Human Male' (1948) and 'Sexual Behavior in the Human Female' (1952), which helped to demystify homosexuality;
- In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association eliminated homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses;
- The first gay protest against discrimination by police occurred in New York in 1969, and is known as the Stonewall riot;
- Such groups as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (USA) and Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (Canada) have advocated gay and lesbian rights;
- The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand have all enacted legislation that specifically outlaws discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals;
- One of the greatest challenges with which the gay community has been faced is that of HIV/AIDS, which first appeared among gay people in the 1980s;
- With the onset of the AIDS epidemic, gay men experienced increased discrimination, especially in the areas of housing and health insurance;
- In 2001, The Netherlands became the first country to legalise same-sex marriages, which meant that same-sex couples would have the same rights as heterosexual couples in are areas of inheritance, taxes, divorce, and pension benefits;
- Belgium legalised same-sex marriage shortly after, and many other Eastern European countries also recognised same-sex relationships, but referred to them as 'civil unions' or 'registered partnerships' rather than marriages;
- In Canada in 2002 and 2003, the prohibition on same-sex marriages was deemed unconstitutional, and now same-sex couples from any countries may travel to Canada and marry (i.e. there are no residency requirements);
- Same-sex marriages are recognised in the state of Massachusetts, and, as of early this year, 38 US States ha passed leglisation that specifically outlawed same-sex marriage or recognition of same-sex relationships;
- Prior to a policy change in 1993 under the Clinton administration, gay men were banned from serving in the military;
- Under the new policy, commonly termed the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, homosexual activity is still forbidden, and studies have shown that discrimination against gay men in the military is still rampant;
- Gay-rights studies is increasingly being taught in universities, churches have been established to assist the gay community, and national publications such as 'Christopher Street' and 'The Advocate' deal with gay issues;
- Many openly gay people have been successful in the political arena, among them are Australian Senators Brian Greig, Bob Brown, and Penny Wong; and
- In a landmark case in the United States in 2003 ('Lawrence v. Texas'), the United States Supreme Court ruled that laws prohibiting sodomy between members of the same sex were unconstitutional, and as such the decision in 'Bowers v. Hardwick' was overturned.
PLEASE NOTE: I have used the words 'homosexual' and 'homosexuality' throghout this article, as these were the terms used in the article I was summarising. However, I understand that these terms are widely disliked among members of the GLBTI community, on the grounds that 'homosexual' was a term that wider society gave us and that it is connotative of wider society's misconceived idea that homosexuality is associated with immorality, illegality, and illness. Also, some might object to its use on the grounds that it focuses on our sexual activities rather than on who we are as people.
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