oh good god

This is where a lot of the anti-gay stuff comes from, I am sure. so
glad the guy relies on teh Family Research Council for his facts. It
has "research" right there in the name, after all.

Sampler:

> The common thread that ties these studies together is that not one
> produced any result that established a biological link to sexual
> orientation. What has been shown is that the most prevalent common
> denominators in homosexual orientation are dysfunctional relationships
> with the same-sex parent and early childhood sexual abuse. Three
> facts about homosexuality are indisputable:
>
> * There is no scientific evidence that supports the conclusion
> that homosexuality is inborn or that it is unchangeable.
> * A person can be seduced into the homosexual lifestyle.
> * A person can leave the homosexual lifestyle and live a fully
> productive and fulfilling heterosexual life, albeit not without
> difficulty, as with any life-altering addiction.


Really? One might add that there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that homosexuality is learned behavior either. At least not that I am aware of. I am also not sure that the scientific lit supports the third claim that people can actually not be gay. The second point is probably correct, at least partially, in that youths who are sexually ambiguous and confused might "experiment" and so they might be the people that are used to support claim three. But those who are gay from birth aren't changing.

the historical stuff here is really inadequate as well. Sexuality is such a complicated idea, and for this numbnuts writer to say that because the word homosexuality was used in such and such a manner and didn't come into usage until the 1930s means that homosexuals don't actually exist, is ridiculous and stupid. And ignorant. and stupid.

There is a lot of stuff written on this subject, and the historical scholarship seems to suggest that the line between gay and straight was far more blurred in the 19th century--especially for women. Lot of evidence of women (with families and husbands) expressing love for other women in ways that would be clearly assumed as gay now, but was not then. It is in the early years of the 20th century when people started freaking out about the family that the lines become more rigid. And that family freakout occurred for a lot of reasons--immigration, birth control, changing roles for women, etc.