This blog post has nothing to do with dance. Please read it anyway, please. :)
I didn't think it would be necessary for me to have to write this article, but sadly, it is becoming more and more evident to me that some individuals cannot grasp the simple concept that homosexuality is
in fact NOT a mental disease, disorder, or illness.
First, allow me to start off with some basic definitions:
Disease: A disorder of structure or function in a human that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
Disorder: a disruption of normal physical or mental functions.
Illness: a disease, or period of sickness affecting the body.
Now all you have do is apply the word mental (meaning "in the mind/brain") to any of these definitions, and there you have the definition of a mental disease, disorder, or illness. In the psychology world, these words are used interchangeably, so for the rest of this article I will just use "mental disorder".
It is common knowledge that mental disorders are classified as ones that cause distress and/or harm for the person with the sickness, and potential distress and harm for others around them. That being said, I will ask my imaginary friend, here: Do you really think that there is any harm in being a homosexual? Does being homosexual cause them harm? Is it causing harm to others around them?
"Yes it causes harm. Why do you think so many homosexual men and women end up depressed?"
Sure, many homosexual individuals go through life being mental unstable and depressed. Many unfortunately end their own lives, but back up for a second. Is it because they are gay, or is it because they are being bullied? If you said something along the lines of "their gay-ness is detrimental to their own health", then you should go smack your head against a textbook. Imagine that you go through your whole life with everyone around you telling you that you are worthless, you are weird, and you are going to Hell. Imagine you were bullied every single day because of what you like. Heck, I would be depressed, too. Bulling is the problem, not the circumstance of being gay. It is a correlation, not a cause-effect situation.
"Okay, but homosexuality is harmful to others around it. It makes parents upset, and it's just not normal. Isn't a deviation from normal things considered a disorder."
True, the definition of a disorder is "a disruption of normal" functions. However, what is normal? I don't mean to sound like a "hippy", but I'm being serious. There is a grey area in the "normal" functions of society. Think about this for a minute: A long time ago, it was not considered "normal" for women to pursue higher education. It was not "normal" for people of different races to fall in love. It
was normal for girls to marry and start families before they reached the age of 17. NOW, we have television shows exploiting the deviation and horror of teen pregnancy. Case in point; what is considered "normal" today could be changed tomorrow.
Concerning the statement that homosexuality is harmful to others; no. It's just not. Really. No... Your gay son and his boyfriend are not going to make you die. So relax. Sure, it causes distress in some households because people tend to care a lot (and way too much) about what everyone else will think, but none of that should matter. Remember when little Suzy came home that one time with a tattoo on her arm, dyed her hair pink, and started dating a guy named Flea who owned a motorcycle? Yeah. I bet that was a little distressing, too. How dare she deviate from "the normal"?! But I also bet you got over it.
"Alright, but I know this guy who went through Reparative Therapy, and now he's not gay anymore. So he must have gotten his problems fixed."
Okay ma'am or sir... First of all, my spell checker says that "reparative" isn't even a word... Second of all, I call bullshit on this kind of "therapy" and so does every other
real professional out there in the field. This is NOT an empirically supported form of therapy, thus there is no way of telling that it truly works. Homosexuality is not something you can "fix" because it's not broken. That's like saying I should go to a therapist to get rid of my attraction to White men. It's absurd! Just the thought of this so-called "reparative therapy" makes me sick to my stomach. I'm sure I will be writing more articles concerning it's questionable procedures.
Also, if your "former" gay friend says that the shrink got rid of his gay-ness, there are only two explanations:
One-he is
lying to you, and is still very much attracted to the same-sex, but is ashamed of himself because the world around him tells him that he should be.
Two-he never really was gay in the first place. He probably had one tiny gay thought or experimented in his youth, and now irrationally fears eternal damnation.
Well, I hoped I cleared that up just a bit for those who do not seem to grasp this fact. Homosexuality is fine. Homosexuals are fine. Leave them alone. They are not sick, and they definitely don't need your help getting on the "right path". Trying to change them is the equivalent of trying to get me to stop being an awkward person. It's just not going to happen. Homosexuality is NOT a disease because it does no harm to
anyone. If anything, people who are homophobic should be considered the ones with the sickness. The deep hatred for homosexuals is more detrimental than homosexuality itself. Not only are homophobic people chronic bullies, but their fear (phobia = fear) is highly irrational.
If you still aren't convinced that homosexuality is not a disorder, go take a look in the American Psychological Association's
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. You wont find homosexuality anywhere in it. Smart people wrote this manual, and I trust smart people.
Who are the crazy one's now?
