Research Into Homosexuality?

[Yahweh]

I suppose this thread can be a nice educational resource into debunking the claims of homophobia.

I'm looking for rather generalized information, which is any kind of serious research into some of the myths that demonize gay people. Examples: What is the average life expectancy, what is the rate of domestic violence, what is the risk of AIDS/viral infections, what is the risk of physical/mental/health disorders, etc.

Sure, its fun to debunk homeopathy myths, but now its time to debunk homophobia myths


I'll go first:

This anti-gay article titled Homosexual Lifestyle reveals severe methodological flaws:

Of 400 consecutive Australian cases of molestation, 7 boys and 4 girls were assaulted by male teachers. Thus 64% of those assaults were homosexual.

I think it would help if the researcher took the time to assess the actual orientation of perpetrators involved rather than assume that all male-male molestations are committed by homosexuals. (Actually, throughout the above source, the author indicates that not all male-female molestations are committed by heterosexuals. This is probably done to inflate the dangers posed to children by homosexual/bisexual men.)

That research was done by a person named Paul Cameron, and I've found a critique of his methodology here.

 

[Loon]

I think it would help if the researcher took the time to assess the actual orientation of perpetrators involved rather than assume that all male-male molestations are committed by homosexuals. (Actually, throughout the above source, the author indicates that not all male-female molestations are committed by heterosexuals. This is probably done to inflate the dangers posed to children by homosexual/bisexual men.)

The general approach is that you cannot be a little bit gay. If you are a man and you think Tom Cruise is good looking, you are a flaming drag queen. They then say "well, he molested a boy, so he must be gay!" At the same time, molesting a girl doesn't make the man straight- he did something bad, so he's probably gay.

Rather unrelated: if there were a proven correlation between homosexuality and sex crimes, I would argue that part of the reason was that society was repressing gays and not allowing them a sexual outlet (I think this is why there is the whole molesting priests thing- no sexual outlet).

 

[Bikewer]

Which leads to the silly "If we let priests get married, they wouldn't molest children" idea.

The phenomenon of pedophilia in the priesthood is a subject for a different thread, perhaps.

 

[CBL4]

As far as the molestation thing, it seems obvious that if you tell people that their sexual desires are perverted that they are more likely to become warped sexually and molest children. It also seems that devout, homosexuals would try to prevent their "abominations" by becoming celibate (priests for example) which would also increase propensity to molest children.

I realize that obviousness and truth are frequently different things. I wonder if anyone has done a study to check this in societies with different level of bigotry towards homosexuals?

CBL

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Very good question.

Being a pedophile does not automatically make you gay. When a male molests a child, and it's a boy, he still isn't definitely gay. Not only that, but we all know that there are female teachers that molest boys. Some rather infamous cases there.

What percent of pedophiles are gay? I don't know. I still think that doesn't have much to do with what children they molest so much. Pedophiles are pedophiles. I haven't seen much on the preferences of pedophiles when it comes to adults, since they don't prefer adults. Are they ever attracted to adults? I'm sure some are...but are they gay?

One thing I did see somewhere was that people who are molested turn into molesters. Not all do, there are some that do though. These pedophiles are pedophiles, and I have no idea if they are gay or not. There is no mention of their preference to adults. There is something about those experiences as a child affecting them so that they prefer them. Thus, they are not attracted to adult males though.

Any information on this would be great. I have to turn in for the night.

 

[Zep]

I have been informed by gay people I know that the percentage of pedophiles in the male gay community is pretty much the same as in the male straight community. That is, male gays (and bisexuals) are just as likely to be pedophiles as male straights. So it would seem likely that pedophilia is gender-related, NOT a sexual preference related, "condition".

 

[Zep]

Of 400 consecutive Australian cases of molestation, 7 boys and 4 girls were assaulted by male teachers. Thus 64% of those assaults were homosexual.

This little quote is taken from the following source: McGeorge J, Sexual assaults on children, Medical Science & the Law, 1964:4:245-253. I followed up and found this:

Homosexuals are NOT more likely to be child molesters. In a random sample of 175 child sex offenders 76% report having exclusive adult heterosexual behavior, and 24% report having adult bisexual behavior. The sexual attraction towards children is a pathology unrelated to sexual orientation.

A Groth-1978, Archives of Sexual Behavior 7(3): 175-181

http://www.jeramyt.org/gay/gayhealth.html

Also:

In a fifth study of 148 offenders who sexually assaulted under-age persons in Massachusetts, 71 (51%) selected only female children, 42 (28%) selected male children, and 31 (21%) assaulted both male and female children. Moreover, the authors report that "offenders attracted to boy victims typically report that they are uninterested in or revulsed by adult homosexual relationships and find the young boy's feminine characteristics ... appealing" (p. 20). They found that of those pedophiles that were attracted to both children and adults (51%), 83% were exclusively heterosexuals, and 17% were bisexual. A Groth-1978, LAE Journal (Lambda Alpha Epsilon American Criminal Justice Association) 41 (1): 17-22 1. In yet another study at the Children's Hospital in San Diego, of the 140 boys presenting with sexual abuse, only 4% of the assaults were by homosexuals.
M Spencer-1986, Pediatrics 78 (1):133-138

http://www.jeramyt.org/gay/gayscience.html

 

[Bikewer]

Pedophilia is one of many Paraphilias, and the conditions have little to do with one's sexual orientation.
With the exception that males are more subject to paraphilia than are females.
John Money, who wrote extensively on the subject, theorized that this was due to the more complex process that males go through in development.

As I recall (forgive me if I don't get the numbers exactly right), there are some 45 categorized types of paraphilia, of which women are subject but to about seven.

 

[Dr Adequate]

For those who missed it on GS&TP... the LESBIAN STUDIES INSTITUTE

Heheheh.

 

[Art Vandelay]

I think it would help if the researcher took the time to assess the actual orientation of perpetrators involved rather than assume that all male-male molestations are committed by homosexuals.

Well, strictly speaking, the part you quoted is correct: the assaults were homosexual. And it's hard to dispute that the perpetrators were sexually attracted to members of their sex. Now, apparently the psycological community has decided to classify people as homosexual solely on the basis of their attraction to adults. But I hardly think it is a "myth" if someone else has a different classification system (although you hint that their classification is inconsistent, labeling same sex offenders as "homosexual", but considering opposite sex offenders to be "undetermined").

 

[Ladewig]

"At least nine separate studies done since 1990 have found that homosexual youth have significantly higher rates of suicide."

Perhaps the higher rates of suicide and attempted suicide are the results of the organized bigotry found in high schools and churches.

 

[Bikewer]

My wife works as a florist, and there's a fairly large range of gay customers. (place has a rep for being gay-friendly)

The horror stories are tough to take. 15-year old kids thrown out of their houses when they "came out" to parents; that sort of thing. One mother told the kid that "God had cursed her" with a homosexual son.
Then there's the persecution that takes place in schools. We hear tales in the media of acceptance and such, but there's still a large segment of society that steeped in homophobia.

Little wonder the suicide rate is high.