My career happens to be in Computer Science. One of the things that really irked me off at one point was learning about the homophobic plight of Alan Turing. Turing is arguably one of the founders of modern computer science and he played a huge role in defeating the Germans in WWII by deciphering their code. He should have been hailed as a hero for the war, but was instead vilified, tried, and convicted for homosexuality. Punishment was either prison or being chemically neutered.
It is shocking to me that this is still such a heated topic. Homosexuality has been around for as long as we have records. There have been various forms of it:
- Egalitarian where the partners are equal
- Gender-based where the two partners take on male or female roles
- Age-based where there is a wide discrepancy in ages
In modern western society, the egalitarian type of homosexuality is most prevalent, but in roman times, it was common and accepted for men to have homosexual relationships with young boys. The Koran also discusses young boys as a reward for men.
It is difficult to tell just how prevalent homosexuality is in modern society, mostly because of the rampant homophobia in some parts of the country. In addition, there is the difficulty in defining homosexuality – does a single homosexual experience make a person homosexual; does it require multiple experiences; or is it only when someone is exclusively homosexual, or self-identifies as homosexual? Generally, though, most research indicates that 35% to 40% of the population has had some homosexual encounter and an estimated 4% of the population claim to be exclusively homosexual. Homosexuality is also present in various animal species including a number of primates. Some report that it is well-documented behavior in more than 500 different species.
From a scientific standpoint, there is no evidence that a gene or genes exist that promote homosexuality. In addition, the American Psychiatric Association has been clear that “treatment attempts to change sexual orientation are ineffective” . They go on to say, however, that the risks are great and can include anxiety, self-destructive behavior, depression, and suicide.
I can’t specifically explain how homosexuality made it past evolution, but then attributes acquired through natural selection are extremely complex and sometimes very difficult to explain. What we can say is that homosexuality is a natural phenomenon and we must give homosexuals the same rights as every other citizen, including marriage and all the rights that that includes.
However, this stance is one that tends to cause even liberal religious people to baulk. It has been a rallying force for religious people across the country, but especially in the Bible belt. Otherwise conflicting groups like Catholics, Protestants, and Mormons unite in their stance that homosexuality is evil. As Michelle Goldberg puts it:
“Homosexuality has become the mobilizing passion for much of the religious right. A populist movement needs an enemy, but one reason the Christian nationalists are so strong is that they’ve made peace with many old foes, especially Catholics and African-Americans. Gay people have taken the place of obsolete demons.”
The Humanist stance on this topic is quite clear. Homosexuality is natural and is here to stay. We must provide the same rights to homosexuals that heterosexuals have and we should never be prejudiced or homophobic.
References
Steve Jones, Darwin’s Ghost
Sara Goudarzi, LiveScience, November 2006, Homosexual Animals Out of the Closet
www.medicow.com/topics/Reparative-therapy
Michelle Goldberg, Kingdom Coming
Sean Curley, Humanism for Parents
