How far have we come with homosexuality?

RSLancastr said:
When I was in high school (71/72 - 74/75), I knew some guys who were gay, but definitely not openly so. If any had "come out", they would likely have been beaten severely. I knew of no lesbians, open or otherwise.

When my kids were in high school (97/98 - 2000/2001), they had many friends who were openly gay or openly lesbian. It seemed to be no big deal to their classmates - just a point of (generally) good-natured kidding. there were openly gay and lesbian couples at their proms.

I call that progress.
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Did you and your kids attend high school in the same town?

Not doubting your story, it's just that the type of community (rural vs. urban) can often impact attitudes towards homosexuality.
 
commandlinegamer said:
Joel Burns: 'It gets better'

We still need more politicians, indeed more people of all walks of public life like this to spread this message:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4&
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Powerful stuff. It was painful to see those photos and hear those stories.

I'm glad Burns got a standing ovation. I just wish the bullies could see (and care about) how much trauma they inflict.
 
johnny karate said:
Did you and your kids attend high school in the same town?

Not doubting your story, it's just that the type of community (rural vs. urban) can often impact attitudes towards homosexuality.
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Not the same town, but fairly similar suburban towns about 5 or so miles apart, both in the San Gabriel Valley near Los Angeles.
 
Well,

Here in the Netherlands, the battle had pretty much been won.

Now that the demographics are changing so quickly in our main population centers, the old times are returning.

Young Muslims seem to be pretty homophobic and violence against gays is increasing.
 
openingmind said:
How far do you think and feel society has come as regards to accepting homosexuality in the last twenty years?
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Human beings has been accepting and practicing "homosexuality" a long time. It is not a new trend in human history.

openingmind said:
What do you hold up as evidence of progress?
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Progress in comparison with what?

openingmind said:
Where do you think society is stagnated on the issue?
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In the identity concept.

Greenberg suggests that the idea of a stable, lifelong homosexual identity is an invention of modern Western societies. He agrees with the French theorist Michael Foucault that "it was the production and dissemination of a medical discourse in the recent past that gave birth not just to the concept of a homosexual person, but also to homosexuals themselves, and at the same time, to their antitwins, heterosexual persons. In the beginning was the word!"

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=246

openingmind said:
What do you think are the worst arguments against homosexuality that you've heard, both in the then and now?
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Worst arguments? It is no such thing. Arguments are valid once it can be understand with reasonable meanings.
 
openingmind said:
* As trite as it may be, I hold up gays in the mainstream media as a sign of progress. Twenty years ago a homosexual character in a sitcom was almost unheard of and now it's commonplace. Twenty years ago if there was a gay person on television it was probably a "very special episode" and it involved a man dying from AIDS. Now you see gay characters and their gayness isn't even a topic.
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I see this as a progress of the privacy invasion of the mind.

openingmind said:
* A lot of headway seems to be made as regards the biological origin of homosexuality. Even Mormon professors at BYU support a biological theory:

http://mormonstories.org/?p=1158
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I understand the modern homosexual behavior as a kind of paraphilias:

Paraphilias are sexual disorders characterized by specialized sexual fantasies and intense sexual urges and practices that are usually repetitive in nature and distressing to the person.The special fantasy, with its unconscious and conscious components is the pathognomonic element, sexual arousal and orgasm being associated pehnomenia. The influence of the fantasy and its behaviral manifestations extend beyond the sexual sphere to prevade the human beings are to assist in bonding, to express and enhance love between persons, and for procreation. Paraphilias are divergent behavior in that they are concealed by their participants, appear to exclude or harm others, and disrupt the potential for bonding between persons. Paraphilic arousal may be transient in some persons who act out their impulses only during periods of stress or conflict.

http://fittestmind.net/Articles/paraphilias.htm

openingmind said:
* In contradiction of my last point: the Mormon "Prophet" recently publicly denounced homosexuality.

* On the other hand, LGBT support groups are now widely available to high school students.

That's just off the top of my head.

What do you think?
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I think LGBT support groups should stay away from the schools and the community life, except when required to assist groups of homosexuals in special situations (provide legal advice, medic counseling, etc)
 
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Aepervius said:
How far have we come ? I am not sure. I haven't recently found animated media (games, film, cartoon) which did not portray homosexualy as anything but mockery. Once those media give up the "funny prejudice" en masse, and starts portraying the homosexual in a non charicatural way, maybe one can tell there was progress.
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Type "hentai gay" in any web searching engine with safe search off and will be surprised...
 
Pardalis said:
No. I don't know what kind of "modern" science journals you are reading, but homosexuality has long been declassified as a paraphilia.
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Yes.

But I did not elected the American Psychiatric Association (and others associations) as representative of my thinking and my mind.

Originally coded as 000-x63, homosexuality was the top of the classification list (Code 302.0) until the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM in 1973. Other organizations followed suit, including the American Psychological Association in 1975, and the National Association of Social Workers.[27] Martin Kafka writes, "Sexual disorders once considered paraphilias (e.g., homosexuality) are now regarded as variants of normal sexuality."[28]

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=6444420
 
TubbaBlubba said:
"Homosexuals are overrepresented in pedophilic crimes."


This is, of course, an equivocation of "homosexual pedophilia" and the sexual orientation homosexuality, which seem to have surprisingly little to do with each other.
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Yes... Little to do with each other...

Britain’s Leading Gay Activist Calls for Lowering of Age of Consent to 14
By Hilary White

LONDON, September 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of Britain’s leading homosexualist activists has called again for the lowering of the age of sexual consent from 16 to 14, saying that this will reduce incidents of sexual abuse of young people. Peter Tatchell, founder of the group OutRage!, wrote on the website Big Think, “Whether we like it or not, many teenagers have their first sexual experience around the ages of 14 or 15.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/sep/10090110.html
 
SnakeTongue said:
Yes.

But I did not elected the American Psychiatric Association (and others associations) as representative of my thinking and my mind.

Originally coded as 000-x63, homosexuality was the top of the classification list (Code 302.0) until the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the DSM in 1973. Other organizations followed suit, including the American Psychological Association in 1975, and the National Association of Social Workers.[27] Martin Kafka writes, "Sexual disorders once considered paraphilias (e.g., homosexuality) are now regarded as variants of normal sexuality."[28]

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=6444420
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It doesn't say what you seem to think it says. It says it was once regarded as paraphilia, and now is no longer so. I.e., it actually says that it's been declassified, which is exactly what Pardalis was saying in the bit you quoted.
 
SnakeTongue said:
Yes... Little to do with each other...

Britain’s Leading Gay Activist Calls for Lowering of Age of Consent to 14
By Hilary White

LONDON, September 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of Britain’s leading homosexualist activists has called again for the lowering of the age of sexual consent from 16 to 14, saying that this will reduce incidents of sexual abuse of young people. Peter Tatchell, founder of the group OutRage!, wrote on the website Big Think, “Whether we like it or not, many teenagers have their first sexual experience around the ages of 14 or 15.”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/sep/10090110.html
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Why not quote what the man himself has to say about it:

http://www.petertatchell.net/age of consent/age of consent index.htm

Contrary to the malicious misrepresentations of many of my critics, the public debate I am urging is not about adults having sex with children. Child sex abuse is wrong. Full stop. I do not, and never have, endorsed the sexual abuse of children by adults. What I am talking about is sexual relations between young people of similar ages...

...Given that most young people now start having sexual relations around the age of 14, an age of consent of 14 might be more realistic and reasonable. If sex at 14 is consensual, and no one is hurt or complains, is criminalisation in the public interest? Is it in the 14-year-old's interest?

Another option would be to introduce a tiered age of consent, where under-age sex would cease to be prosecuted, providing both partners consent and there is no more than, say, two or three years difference in their ages. This tiered age of consent exists in Italy, Switzerland and Israel. It is designed to prevent the criminalisation of younger people of similar ages, while protecting the vulnerable from possible manipulation by those much older.

The issue is not whether the under-16s should have sex - I do not advocate early sexual activity - but whether they should be criminalised for consensual behaviour. Young people should be able to enjoy sexual relationships without being penalised by the law, providing sex is consensual and both partners are mature enough to understand the implications of their actions...
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bikerdruid said:
it is exactly like that.
we call ourselves 'queer' because we have taken back the word.
it is our word.
it can no longer be used against us.
i often refer to myself as 'fag' or 'faggot' for the same reason.
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Who or what gave you such right to reclaim as "your word"?

Words belong to all living human beings, like you or not.
 
Pardalis said:
I'm happy for you. What does that have to do with what we were talking about?
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Because this is a forum, where people post their personal opinion about different subjects.

(It is amazing that I have to answer such question to senior members of this community)
 
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HansMustermann said:
It doesn't say what you seem to think it says. It says it was once regarded as paraphilia, and now is no longer so. I.e., it actually says that it's been declassified, which is exactly what Pardalis was saying in the bit you quoted.
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Yes, correct. I know was "declassified".

But the theory still exist and have enough evidence to be recognized.

A theory which was "declassified" by a selected group of scientist do not equal being "dismissed" by universal acceptance.

The selected group of scientists do not represent the universal understanding, but their personal understanding.
 
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