This ignorance has given an increase to hate crimes against homosexuals. In 1991, only 8.9 percent of all hate crimes were against homosexuals. In 1995, it increased to 12.8 percent.
Despite this, discrimination against gays is legal in the U.S. Homosexuals can be denied housing, employment, equal pay, public accommodations, and marriage.
In a survey that ran from 1976 to 1981, 850 companies in the United States were questioned on employers and sexual orientation. Sixty percent of the employees said that they have had problems, forty-three percent where harassed, twenty-five percent were fired, and thirty three percent had a really hard time finding another job.
In a 1988 survey of 191 employers in Anchorage, Alaska, twenty-seven percent would not hire a homosexual and ten percent admitted that they would fire one.
Another survey of 1989-1991 salaries stated that, a gay male's income ran eleven to twenty-seven percent lower and a lesbian's ran twelve to thirty percent lower than their heterosexual counterparts.
Homosexuals are also denied the advantages of marriage. These advantages include heath insurance, tax benefits, and visitation in a hospital. All are given to heterosexual couples. A partner also has no right to funeral arrangements or to assume ownership of property (even when jointly owned).
In a survey of 2,074 gay and lesbian people in 1983, showed just how much homosexuals were actually discriminated against. One in every five females and one out of two men began to be harassed, threatened, and assaulted starting in either junior high or high school. Some even had it at home.
Fifteen percent said they have been spit at. One of ten lesbians and one of five gay males said that they have been physically assaulted. Two out of five females and three out of every ten men admitted to being sexually harassed or assaulted. Fifteen percent of lesbians and one out of every five gay male said that they had their property vandalized or even arsoned. Three of every five women and two of every five men said that they were either chased or followed. One of five females and three of ten males said that they have had things thrown at them. One of twenty lesbians and one out of every ten gay males have even been attacked with weapons.
Many people who are homophobic make ignorant stereotypes: the cause of sexuality, gay people are perverted, gays try to recruit others, gay people are most likely to get AIDS, and gay people are more likely to commit sex crimes.
Too many people out there assume they know what causes a person to be gay. Some people say it is because of childhood rape, poor parenting, lack of religious views, a bad experience with the opposite sex, some say it is a mental or emotional disorder, and some even say it is a choice. These, however, are wrong. One person could grow up being rapped, be raised by bad parents, have no religious views whatsoever, and grow up to be heterosexual. Another person could grow up with a perfect childhood and end up being gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Sexuality is not caused by experiences with the opposite sex either. One person could have many horrible experiences with the opposite sex and still end up being heterosexual just like another person could have no bad experiences and turn out to homosexual. Sexuality also has no connection with mental or emotional health. Scientists have been doing many tests to prove this. Why would any person in the right state of mind want to choose to be a controversial person in the society of today? Homosexuals do not choose their sexuality just as a heterosexual person does not choose theirs. In 1983, Doctors Lee Ellis and Ashley Ames did a three year study on the causes of homosexuality. They came to the conclusion that sexual orientation is determined between the second and fifth months of pregnancy, and is neither learned nor can it be changed.
Some people also assume that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals are perverted and obsessed with sex. Some homosexuals will stay with the same partner, wish to get married, and raise a family like some heterosexual couples do. Then again, some gays, lesbians, and bisexuals do not settle down and have many lovers, but heterosexual people also do this.
Homosexuals cannot recruit anyone. Just as you cannot make a gay person heterosexual, you cannot make a heterosexual gay. Scientists are hypothesizing (with the information they have) that a person's sexuality is determined before or shortly after birth. So, if someone is gay, lesbian, or bisexual, it was meant to be.
Many people also assume that the homosexual male is the most likely to get AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) through sex. However, seventy percent of all people that have AIDS received it through heterosexual sex. Sharing needles and male homosexual sex take up about the next twenty-five percent of the AIDS population. Lesbians are the least likely to get AIDS through sex and take up only five percent of the people with AIDS.
Another thing that many people stereotype about gay people is that they are more likely to commit sex crimes. What they do not know it that the heterosexual male is the most likely to commit a sex crime. The acts are usually not about the sex, but about the power that they obtain behind it. Lesbians are the least likely to commit a sex crime.
People also assume that all gay men are non-athletic, sissy, and feminine. This is not always true. There have been many gay men to play professional sports and work at more masculine jobs. Dave Kopay played in the NFL for ten years with the Packers, Greg Louganis has won gold medals at the Olympics, Joe Steffan was a high ranked naval officer, Bob Jackson was a former Mr. Universe, and the many gay police officers.
Many people also assume that lesbians hate men, all female athletes are lesbians, and all lesbians are macho. This is not always true either. Just because lesbians do not sleep with men, that does not necessarily mean that they hate men. Also, a woman's athletic inclination has no link to her sexuality and not all lesbians are necessarily macho. These are just ignorant stereotypes. There is no such thing as "Sissy-Boy Syndrome" either.
There have been many past studies on homosexuality and what causes it. Many thought it could be "cured" or "fixed". However, Sigmund Freud knew that it could not be classified as a mental illness nor could it be "cured".
In 1992, Simon Levay studied human cadavers. If this study, he found out that homosexual men had a slightly smaller hypothalamus than heterosexual men. A heterosexual female's hypothalamus is smaller than a heterosexual male's.
Another study also shows that gay men have less testosterone than they do XY hormones. Lesbians tended to have more testosterone than they had XX hormones. Homosexuals also tended to have different blood chemistry, brain cells, aging, and sleep patterns.
There is much new evidence that points to a biological cause of homosexuality. Many people, however, fear the finding of a biological cause. Some people think that it may be able to be found before birth causing parents to either kill their unborn babies or to inject it with hormones to "fix" it.
Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals receive abuse, especially during high school. Of all the anti-gay violence, most of it is at school. Their peers in high school physically or verbally abuse forty-five percent of homosexual boys and twenty percent of lesbians. Young men are the most common to commit anti-gay violence and only twelve percent of males between the ages of fifteen and nineteen said that they could befriend a homosexual.
Because of this abuse and discrimination, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered teens are five times more likely to miss school out of fear. Twenty-eight percent drop. These children are also more likely to abuse drugs (including alcohol), suffer from depression, and run away.
Of all the victims, 80 percent do not report the violence because they fear being "outed." It does not help much when 85 percent of teachers oppose lesbian, gay, and bisexual themes in their curricula. What enrages me even more is the fact that 42 percent of all homeless youth say that they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. They probably either ran away, for whatever problems they may have developed with coming out to their parents, or they were kicked out.
The educators teach history so that it will not repeat itself. If that is so, then why are similar events happening now that happened hundreds of years ago? During the Dark Ages, books were burned because of their contents. Many people have been burned because they were thought of as heretics or witches. When Hitler was in power, he used propaganda to manipulate Germany against the Jews. Hitler also destroyed books and other sources of information.
I use the book burnings as an example of repeating history, because it is quite similar to that of the vandalism and discrimination against gays and lesbians. The example of the heretics and witches is because of people's ignorance. The people that were killed did not need to die, just as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people do not need to be harassed, tormented, discriminated against, and sometimes even driven to take their own lives. I use Hitler's propaganda because it is significantly similar to how the anti-gay organizations and media of today are attempting to manipulate people to hate.
Another origin of hate and ignorance is religious groups (not all of them). Some religions teach their followers that being gay or lesbian is a sin and that God does not approve of them. I even had one person tell me that "God didn't make gay people, Satan did." It is sad to see the ignorance given to them. I hope for someday this ignorance to end.
Copyright © 1997-98 King Arthur
