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Homosexual: Difference between revisions
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Current statistics claim that about one person in ten is homosexual. This has contributed to the historical view that it is unusual at best, a serious deviation at worst. Until 1973, the [[wikipedia:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]], basically the official textbook for abnormal psychology, listed homosexuality as a mental disorder <ref>Filed under DSM-II 302.0: "Sexual Orientation Disturbance (homosexuality)"</ref>. Just about the only term that has escaped the pejorative label is "Bi", as in "[[Useful Notes/Bisexual|Bisexual]]," meaning "attracted to members of ''both'' sexes". This is partially because the term is relatively new, as is the idea that sexual orientation is a spectrum; and it's also because bi people are still willing to sleep with people of the opposite sex, which is a big point in its favor.
Since homosexuality is harmless as far as sexual abnormalities go, why is there so much hostility towards and/or disapproval of it? One interpretation has to do with conditions people have lived in through history. In the past, child mortality rates were horrific; an average of ''one child in two'' died before the age of five<ref>Today, it's one in twenty, and that's the the lowest it's ever been; just sixty years ago, it was ''three'' of twenty</ref>. [[Death
Many animal species include homosexual members, just like humans do; and since it's such a widespread phenomenon, biologists theorize that homosexuality in a population must be an adaptive trait despite the stigma. When the population equals or exceeds the food supply, homosexual (and asexual) members of a population can contribute to the well-being of the community, but do not add more children. The end result is that the children of the straight and bi members of the population have a better environment and a better chance of surviving because there are more people to support each child. Infant mortality goes down, the next generation is smaller but healthier, and the genes for homosexuality are passed down to the next generation through their siblings, who are more likely to survive because of the improved environment. If this theory is correct, improved acceptance of gays and lesbians should eventually help mitigate the problem of overpopulation in crowded countries.
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The point is that this is an issue where personal morality, religion and politics all intersect, and if you talk about it openly someone might ask you for a political justification to what you had thought of as a purely-religious opinion (or vice versa). To call it a mess would be an understatement.
The growing acceptance of homosexuality as a lifestyle ''does'' bring up one issue that, for good or ill, even open-minded straight people could consider problematic: the idea of single-gender parenting. What ''are'' the implications on childhood if a child [[Has Two Mommies]] or [[Has Two Daddies]]? Religious conservatives would have you believe that this will result in all manner of perversions, like child abuse, [[Mind Rape]] and bestiality. What little scientific research has been done, however, suggests that if anything the opposite is true: homosexual parents tend to be more settled, more sane and more involved as parents--in general, better. Supporters like to point out that gay couples don't get accidentally pregnant quite as often as straight ones; they have to take very active steps and thus have plenty of time to prepare (or back out). They are also a great boon to the adoption industry. Thus far, claims that open homosexuality will bring about [[The End of the World
Politics aside, the important thing is that homosexuality has existed for eons and will not be going anywhere any time soon. Gays are as diverse in interests and mannerism as any other group, and even though they continue to face persecution in many parts of the world, more and more countries are coming to the conclusion that gay rights are human rights not bound by any religious or moral doctrine.
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