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The Negative Health Effects of Homosexuality
SUMMARY: Hollywood and the media relentlessly propagate the image of the fit, healthy, and well-adjusted homosexual. The reality is at polar opposites to this caricature: homosexual and lesbian relationships are typically characterized by instability, promiscuity, and unhealthy and risky sex practices, factors that greatly increase the incidence of serious and incurable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including hepatitis, HPV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and AIDS.
Homosexual activists attempt to portray their lifestyle as normal and healthy, and insist that homosexual relationships are the equivalent in every way to their heterosexual counterparts. Hollywood and the media relentlessly propagate the image of the fit, healthy, and well-adjusted homosexual.
The reality is quite opposite to this caricature which was recently conceded by the homosexual newspaper New York Blade News:
Reports at a national conference about sexually transmitted diseases indicate that gay men are in the highest risk group for several of the most serious diseases. . . .
Scientists believe that the increased number of sexually tranmitted diseases (STD) cases is the result of an increase in risky sexual practices by a growing number of gay men who believe HIV is no longer a life-threatening illness.[1]
Instability and promiscuity typically characterize homosexual relationships. These two factors increase the incidence of serious and incurable stds. In addition, some homosexual behaviors put practitioners at higher risk for a variety of ailments, as catalogued by the following research data:
Risky Sexual Behavior on the Rise Among Homosexuals.
Despite two decades of intensive
efforts to educate homosexuals against the dangers of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other stds, the incidence of
unsafe sexual practices that often result in various diseases is on the
rise.
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
from 1994 to 1997 the proportion of homosexuals reporting having had
anal sex increased from 57.6 percent to 61.2 percent, while the
percentage of those reporting "always" using condoms declined from 69.6
percent to 60 percent.[2]
• The CDC reported that during the same period the proportion of men
reporting having multiple sex partners and unprotected anal sex
increased from 23.6 percent to 33.3 percent. The largest increase in
this category (from 22 percent to 33.3 percent) was reported by
homosexuals twenty-five years old or younger.[3]
Homosexuals Failing to Disclose Their HIV Status to Sex Partners
• A study presented July 13, 2000 at the XIII International aids
Conference in Durban, South Africa disclosed that a significant number
of homosexual and bisexual men with hiv "continue to engage in
unprotected sex with people who have no idea they could be contracting
HIV."[4] Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco
found that thirty-six percent of homosexuals engaging in unprotected
oral, anal, or vaginal sex failed to disclose that they were HIV
positive to casual sex partners.[5]
• A CDC report revealed that, in 1997, 45 percent of homosexuals
reporting having had unprotected anal intercourse during the previous
six months did not know the HIV serostatus of all their sex partners.
Even more alarming, among those who reported having had unprotected
anal intercourse and multiple partners, 68 percent did not know the HIV
serostatus of their partners.[6]
Young Homosexuals are at Increased Risk. Following in the footsteps of
the generation of homosexuals decimated by AIDS, younger homosexuals
are engaging in dangerous sexual practices at an alarming rate.
• A Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health study of
three-hundred-sixty-one young men who have sex with men (MSM) aged
fifteen to twenty-two found that around 40 percent of participants
reported having had anal-insertive sex, and around 30 percent said they
had had anal-receptive sex. Thirty-seven percent said they had not used
a condom for anal sex during their last same-sex encounter. Twenty-one
percent of the respondents reported using drugs or alcohol during their
last same-sex encounter.[7]
• A five-year CDC study of 3,492 homosexual males aged fifteen to
twenty-two found that one-quarter had unprotected sex with both men and
women. Another cdc study of 1,942 homosexual and bisexual men with HIV
found that 19 percent had at least one episode of unprotected anal
sex--the riskiest sexual behavior--in 1998 and 1997, a 50 percent
increase from the previous two years.[8]
Homosexual Promiscuity. Studies indicate that the average male homosexual has hundreds of sex partners in his lifetime:
• A.P. Bell and M.S. Weinberg, in their classic study of male and
female homosexuality, found that 43 percent of white male homosexuals
had sex with 500 or more partners, with 28 percent having 1,000 or more
sex partners.[9]
• In their study of the sexual profiles of 2,583 older homosexuals
published in Journal of Sex Research, Paul Van de Ven et al., found
that only 2.7 percent claimed to have had sex with one partner only.
The most common response, given by 21.6 percent of the respondents, was
of having a hundred-one to five hundred lifetime sex partners.[10]
• A survey conducted by the homosexual magazine Genre found that 24
percent of the respondents said they had had more than a hundred sexual
partners in their lifetime. The magazine noted that several respondents
suggested including a category of those who had more than a thousand
sexual partners.[11]
• In his study of male homosexuality in Western Sexuality: Practice
and Precept in Past and Present Times, M. Pollak found that "few
homosexual relationships last longer than two years, with many men
reporting hundreds of lifetime partners."[12]
Promiscuity among Homosexual Couples. Even in those homosexual
relationships in which the partners consider themselves to be in a
committed relationship, the meaning of "committed" typically means
something radically different from marriage.
• In The Male Couple, authors David P. McWhirter and Andrew M.
Mattison reported that in a study of a hundred-fifty-six males in
homosexual relationships lasting from one to thirty-seven years,
Only seven couples have a totally exclusive sexual relationship, and
these men all have been together for less than five years. Stated
another way, all couples with a relationship lasting more than five
years have incorporated some provision for outside sexual activity in
their relationships.[13]
• In Male and Female Homosexuality, M. Saghir and E. Robins found that
the average male homosexual live-in relationship lasts between two and
three years.[14]
Unhealthy Aspects of "Monogamous" Homosexual Relationships. Even those
homosexual relationships that are loosely termed "monogamous" do not
necessarily result in healthier behavior.
• The journal AIDS reported that men involved in relationships engaged
in anal intercourse and oral-anal intercourse with greater frequency
than those without a steady partner.[15] Anal intercourse has been
linked to a host of bacterial and parasitical sexually transmitted
diseases, including AIDS.
• The exclusivity of the relationship did not diminish the incidence
of unhealthy sexual acts, which are commonplace among homosexuals. An
English study published in the same issue of the journal AIDS
concurred, finding that most "unsafe" sex acts among homosexuals occur
in steady relationships.[16]
Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a collection of more than seventy
types of viruses that can cause warts, or papillomas, on various parts
of the body. More than twenty types of HPV are incurable STDs that can
infect the genital tract of both men and women. Most HPV infections are
subclinical or asymptomatic, with only one in a hundred people
experiencing genital warts.
• HPV is "almost universal" among homosexuals. According to the
homosexual newspaper The Washington Blade: "A San Francisco study of
Gay and bisexual men revealed that HPV infection was almost universal
among HIV-positive men, and that 60 percent of HIV-negative men carried
HPV."[17]
• HPV can lead to anal cancer. At the recent Fourth International AIDS
Malignancy Conference at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Andrew
Grulich announced that "most instances of anal cancer are caused by a
cancer-causing strain of HPV through receptive anal intercourse. HPV
infects over 90 percent of HIV-positive gay men and 65 percent of
HIV-negative gay men, according to a number of recent studies."[18]
• The link between HPV and cervical cancer. Citing a presentation by
Dr. Stephen Goldstone to the International Congress on Papillomavirus
in Human Pathology in Paris, the Washington Blade reports that "HPV is
believed to cause cervical cancer in women."[19]
Hepatitis: A potentially fatal liver disease that increases the risk of liver cancer.
• Hepatitis A: The Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report published by
the CDC reports: "Outbreaks of hepatitis A among men who have sex with
men are a recurring problem in many large cities in the industrialized
world."[20]
• Hepatitis B: This is a serious disease caused by a virus that
attacks the liver. The virus, which is called hepatitis B virus (HBV),
can cause lifelong infection, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver
cancer, liver failure, and death. Each year in the United States, more
than 200,000 people of all ages contract hepatitis B and close to 5,000
die of sickness caused by AIDS. The CDC reports that MSM are at
increased risk for hepatitis B.[21]
• Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver that can cause
cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. The virus can lie dormant in
the body for up to thirty years before flaring up. Although less so
than with hepatitis A and B, MSM who engage in unsafe sexual practices
remain at increased risk for contracting hepatitis C.[22]
Gonorrhea: An inflammatory disease of the genital tract. Gonorrhea
traditionally occurs on the genitals, but has recently appeared in the
rectal region and in the throat. Although easily treated by
antibiotics, according to the cdc only "about 50 percent of men have
some signs or symptoms, and "many women who are infected have no
symptoms of infection."[23]
Untreated gonorrhea can have serious and
permanent health consequences, including infertility damage to the
prostate and urethra.
• A CDC report documents "significant increases during 1994 to 1997 in
rectal gonorrhea . . . among MSM," indicating that "safe sex" practices
may not be taken as seriously as the aids epidemic begins to slow.[24]
In 1999 the CDC released data showing that male rectal gonorrhea is
increasing among homosexuals amidst an overall decline in national
gonorrhea rates. The report attributed the increase to a larger
percentage of homosexuals engaging in unsafe sexual behavior.[25]
• The incidence of throat Gonorrhea is strongly associated with
homosexual behavior. The Canadian Medical Association Journal found
that "gonorrhea was associated with urethral discharge . . . and
homosexuality (3.7 times higher than the rate among
heterosexuals)."[26] Similarly, a study in the Journal of Clinical
Pathology found that homosexual men had a much higher prevalence of
pharyngeal (throat) gonorrhea--15.2 percent compared with 4.1 percent
for heterosexual men.[27]
Syphilis: A venereal disease that, if left untreated, can spread
throughout the body over time, causing serious heart abnormalities,
mental disorders, blindness, and death. The initial symptoms of
syphilis are often mild and painless, leading some individuals to avoid
seeking treatment. According to the National Institutes of Health, the
disease may be mistaken for other common illnesses: "syphilis has
sometimes been called 'the great imitator' because its early symptoms
are similar to those of many other diseases." Early symptoms include
rashes, moist warts in the groin area, slimy white patches in the
mouth, or pus-filled bumps resembling chicken pox.[28]
• According to the CDC, "transmission of the organism occurs during
vaginal, anal, or oral sex."[29] In addition, the Archives of Internal
Medicine found that homosexuals acquired syphilis at a rate ten times
that of heterosexuals.[30]
• The CDC reports that those who contract syphilis face potentially
deadly health consequences: "It is now known that the genital sores
caused by syphilis in adults also make it easier to transmit and
acquire HIV infection sexually. There is a two to five fold increased
risk of acquiring hiv infection when syphilis is present."[31]
Gay Bowel Syndrome (GBS):[32] The Journal of the American Medical
Association refers to GBS problems such as proctitis, proctocolitis,
and enteritis as "sexually transmitted gastrointestinal syndromes."[33]
Many of the bacterial and protozoa pathogens that cause gbs are found
in feces and transmitted to the digestive system: According to the
pro-homosexual text Anal Pleasure and Health, "[s]exual activities
provide many opportunities for tiny amounts of contaminated feces to
find their way into the mouth of a sexual partner . . . The most direct
route is oral-anal contact."[34]
• Proctitis and Proctocolitis are inflammations of the rectum and
colon that cause pain, bloody rectal discharge and rectal spasms.
Proctitis is associated with STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes,
and syphilis that are widespread among homosexuals.[35] The Sexually
Transmitted Disease Information Center of the Journal of the American
Medical Association reports that "[p]roctitis occurs predominantly
among persons who participate in anal intercourse."
• Enteritis is inflammation of the small intestine. According to the
Sexually Transmitted Disease Information Center of the Journal of the
American Medical Association, "enteritis occurs among those whose
sexual practices include oral-fecal contact."[36] Enteritis can cause
abdominal pain, severe cramping, intense diarrhea, fever, malabsorption
of nutrients, weight loss.[37]
According to a report in The Health Implications of Homosexuality by
the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, some pathogens associated with
enteritis and proctocolitis [see below] "appear only to be sexually
transmitted among men who have sex with men."[38]
HIV/AIDS Among Homosexuals. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is
responsible for causing AIDS, for which there exists no cure.
• Homosexual men are the largest risk category. The CDC reports that
homosexuals comprise the single largest exposure category of the more
than 600,000 males with AIDS in the United States. As of December 1999,
"men who have sex with men" and "men who have sex with men and inject
drugs" together accounted for 64 percent of the cumulative total of
male AIDS cases.[39]
• Women risk contracting HIV/AIDS through sexual relations with
infected MSM. According to the CDC, "HIV infection among U.S. women has
increased significantly over the last decade, especially in communities
of color. cdc estimates that, in the United States, between 120,000 and
160,000 adult and adolescent females are living with HIV infection,
including those with AIDS." In 1999, for example, most of the women (40
percent) reported with AIDS were infected through heterosexual exposure
to HIV.[40] That number is actually higher, as "historically, more than
two-thirds of AIDS cases among women initially reported without
identified risk were later reclassified as heterosexual
transmission."[41]
• Homosexuals with HIV are at increased risk for developing other
life-threatening diseases. A paper delivered at the Fourth
International AIDS Malignancy Conference at the National Institutes of
Health reported that homosexual men with HIV have "a 37-fold increase
in anal cancer, a 4-fold increase in Hodgkin's disease (cancer of the
lymph nodes), a 2.7-fold increase in cancer of the testicles, and a 2.5
fold increase in lip cancer."[42]
HIV/AIDS Among Young People
• AIDS incidence is on the rise among teens and young adults. The CDC
reports that, "even though AIDS incidence (the number of new cases
diagnosed during a given time period, usually a year) is declining,
there has not been a comparable decline in the number of newly
diagnosed HIV cases among youth.[43]
• Young homosexual men are at particular risk. The CDC estimates that
"at least half of all new HIV infections in the United States are among
people under twenty-five, and the majority of young people are infected
sexually."[44] By the end of 1999, 29,629 young people aged thirteen to
twenty-four were diagnosed with AIDS in the United States. MSM were the
single largest risk category: in 1999, for example, 50 percent of all
new AIDS cases were reported among young homosexuals.[45]
• Sexually active young women are also at risk. The CDC reports: "In
1999, among young women the same age, 47 percent of all AIDS cases
reported were acquired heterosexually and 11 percent were acquired
through injection drug use."
Homosexuals with STDs Are at an Increased Risk for HIV Infection.
Studies of MSM treated in STD clinics show rates of infection as high
as 36 percent in major cities.[46] A CDC study attributed the high
infection rate to having high numbers of anonymous sex partners:
"[S]yphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia apparently have been introduced
into a population of MSM who have large numbers of anonymous partners,
which can result in rapid and extensive transmission of STDs."[47]
The CDC report concluded: "Persons with STDs, including genital ulcer
disease and nonulcerative STD, have a twofold to fivefold increased
risk for HIV infection."[48]
Anal Cancer: Homosexuals are at increased risk for this rare type of
cancer, which is potentially fatal if the anal-rectal tumors
metastasize to other bodily organs.
• Dr. Joel Palefsky, a leading expert in the field of anal cancer,
reports that while the incidence of anal cancer in the United States is
only 0.9/100,000, that number soars to 35/100,000 for homosexuals. That
rate doubles again for those who are HIV positive, which, according to
Dr. Palefsky, is "roughly ten times higher than the current rate of
cervical cancer."[49]
• At the Fourth International AIDS Malignancy Conference at the
National Institutes of Health in May, 2000, Dr. Andrew Grulich
announced that the incidence of anal cancer among homosexuals with HIV
"was raised 37-fold compared with the general population."[50]
Lesbians are at Risk through Sex with MSM
• Many Lesbians also have had sex with men. The homosexual newspaper
The Washington Blade, citing a 1998 study in the Journal of Infectious
Diseases, reported that "the study's data confirmed previous scientific
observations that most women who have sex with women also have had sex
with men."[51] The study added that "sex with men in the prior year was
common, as were sexual practices between female partners that possibly
could transmit HPV."[52]
• Lesbians have more male sex partners that their heterosexual
counterparts. A study of sexually transmitted disease among lesbians
reviewed in The Washington Blade notes: "Behavioral research also
demonstrates that a woman's sexual identity is not an accurate
predictor of behavior, with a large proportion of 'lesbian' women
reporting sex with (often high risk) men."[53] The study found that
"the median number of lifetime male sexual partners was significantly
greater for WSW (women who have sex with women) than controls (twelve
partners versus six). WSW were significantly more likely to report more
than fifty lifetime male sexual partners."[54]
• A study in the American Journal of Public Health concurs that
bisexual women are at increased risk for contracting sexually
transmitted diseases: "Our findings corroborate the finding that wsmw
(women who have sex with men and women) are more likely than WSMO
(women who have sex with men only) to engage in various high-risk
behaviors" and also "to engage in a greater number of risk-related
behaviors."[55] The study suggested that the willingness to engage in
risky sexual practices "could be tied to a pattern of sensation-seeking
behavior."[56]
• MSM spread HIV to women. A five-year study by the CDC of 3,492
homosexuals aged fifteen to twenty-two found that one in six also had
sex with women. Of those having sex with women, one-quarter "said they
recently had unprotected sex with both men and women." Nearly 7 percent
of the men in the study were HIV positive."[57] "The study confirms
that young bisexual men are a 'bridge' for HIV transmission to women,"
said the CDC.[58]
"Exclusive" Lesbian Relationships Also at Risk. The assumption that
lesbians involved in exclusive sexual relationships are at reduced risk
for sexual disease is false. The journal Sexually Transmitted
Infections concludes: "The risk behavior profile of exclusive WSW was
similar to all WSW."[59] One reason for this is because lesbians "were
significantly more likely to report past sexual contact with a
homosexual or bisexual man and sexual contact with an IDU (intravenous
drug user)."[60]
Cancer Risk Factors for Lesbians. Citing a 1999 report released by the
Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, the
homosexual newspaper The Washington Blade notes that "various studies
on Lesbian health suggest that certain cancer risk factors occur with
greater frequency in this population. These factors include higher
rates of smoking, alcohol use, poor diet, and being overweight."[61]
Elsewhere the Blade also reports: "Some experts believe Lesbians might
be more likely than women in general to develop breast or cervical
cancer because a disproportionate number of them fall into high-risk
categories."[62]
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Lesbians
• In a study of the medical records of 1,408 lesbians, the journal
Sexually Transmitted Infections found that women who have sexual
relations with womenare at significantly higher risk for certain
sexually transmitted diseases: "We demonstrated a higher prevalence of
bv (bacterial vaginosis), hepatitis C, and HIV risk behaviors in WSW as
compared with controls."[63]
Compulsive Behavior among Lesbians. A study published in Nursing
Research found that lesbians are three times more likely to abuse
alcohol and to suffer from other compulsive behaviors: "Like most
problem drinkers, 32 (91 percent) of the participants had abused other
drugs as well as alcohol, and many reported compulsive difficulties
with food (34 percent), codependency (29 percent), sex (11 percent),
and money (6 percent)." In addition, "Forty-six percent had been heavy
drinkers with frequent drunkenness."[64]
Alcohol Abuse Among Homosexuals and Lesbians
• The Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychologists reports that
lesbian women consume alcohol more frequently, and in larger amounts,
than heterosexual women.[65] Lesbians were at significantly greater
risk than heterosexual women for both binge drinking (19.4 percent
compared to 11.7 percent), and for heavy drinking (7 percent compared
to 2.7 percent).[66]
• Although the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychologists
article found no significant connection between male homosexuals and
alcohol abuse, a study in Family Planning Perspective concluded that
male homosexuals were at greatly increased risk for alcoholism: "Among
men, by far the most important risk group consisted of homosexual and
bisexual men, who were more than nine times as likely as heterosexual
men to have a history of problem drinking."[67] The study noted that
problem drinking may contribute to the "significantly higher STD rates
among gay and bisexual men."[68]
Violence in Lesbian and Homosexual Relationships.
• A study in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence examined conflict
and violence in lesbian relationships. The researchers found that 90
percent of the lesbians surveyed had been recipients of one or more
acts of verbal aggression from their intimate partners during the year
prior to this study, with 31 percent reporting one or more incidents of
physical abuse.[69]
• In a survey of 1,099 lesbians, the Journal of Social Service
Research found that "slightly more than half of the [lesbians] reported
that they had been abused by a female lover/partner. The most
frequently indicated forms of abuse were verbal/emotional/psychological
abuse and combined physical-psychological abuse."[70]
• In their book Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them: Battered Gay Men
and Domestic Violence,D. Island and P. Letellier report that "the
incidence of domestic violence among gay men is nearly double that in
the heterosexual population."[71]
Compare the Low Rate of Intimate Partner Violence within Marriage.
Homosexual and lesbian relationships are far more violent than are
traditional married households:
• The Bureau of Justice Statistics (U.S. Department of Justice)
reports that married women in traditional families experience the
lowest rate of violence compared with women in other types of
relationships.[72]
• A report by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health concurred,
It should be noted that most studies of family violence do not
differentiate between married and unmarried partner status. Studies
that do make these distinctions have found that marriage relationships
tend to have the least intimate partner violence when compared to
cohabiting or dating relationships.[73]
High Incidence of Mental Health Problems among Homosexuals and
Lesbians. A national survey of lesbians published in the Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology found that 75 percent of the nearly
2,000 respondents had pursued psychological counseling of some kind,
many for treatment of long-term depression or sadness:
Among the sample as a whole, there was a distressingly high prevalence
of life events and behaviors related to mental health problems.
Thirty-seven percent had been physically abused and 32 percent had been
raped or sexually attacked. Nineteen percent had been involved in
incestuous relationships while growing up. Almost one-third used
tobacco on a daily basis and about 30 percent drank alcohol more than
once a week; 6 percent drank daily. One in five smoked marijuana more
than once a month. Twenty-one percent of the sample had thoughts about
suicide sometimes or often and 18 percent had actually tried to kill
themselves. . . . More than half had felt too nervous to accomplish
ordinary activities at some time during the past year and over
one-third had been depressed.[74]
Greater Risk for Suicide.
• A study of twins that examined the relationship between
homosexuality and suicide, published in the Archives of General
Psychiatry,found that homosexuals with same-sex partners were at
greater risk for overall mental health problems, and were 6.5 times
more likely than their twins to have attempted suicide. The higher rate
was not attributable to mental health or substance abuse disorders.[75]
• Another study published simultaneously in Archives of General
Psychiatry followed 1,007 individuals from birth. Those classified as
"gay," lesbian, or bisexual were significantly more likely to have had
mental health problems.[76] Significantly, in his comments on the
studies in the same issue of the journal, D. Bailey cautioned against
various speculative explanations of the results, such as the view that
"widespread prejudice against homosexual people causes them to be
unhappy or worse, mentally ill."[77]
Reduced Life Span. A study published in the International Journal of
Epidemiology on the mortality rates of homosexuals concluded that they
have a significantly reduced life expectancy:
In a major Canadian centre, life expectancy at age twentyfor gay and
bisexual men is eight to twenty years less than for all men. If the
same pattern of mortality were to continue, we estimate that nearly
half of gay and bisexual men currently aged twenty years will not reach
their sixty-fifth birthday. Under even the most liberal assumptions,
gay and bisexual men in this urban centre are now experiencing a life
expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year
1871.[78]
In 1995, long after the deadly effects of AIDS and other stds became
widely known, homosexual author Urvashi Vaid expressed one of the goals
of her fellow activists: "We have an agenda to create a society in
which homosexuality is regarded as healthy, natural, and normal. To me
that is the most important agenda item."[79]
Debilitating illness, chronic disease, psychological problems, and
early death suffered by homosexuals is the legacy of this tragically
misguided activism, which puts the furthering of an "agenda" above
saving the lives of those whose interests they purport to represent.
Those who advocate full acceptance of homosexual behavior choose to
downplay the growing and incontrovertible evidence regarding the
serious, life-threatening health effects associated with the homosexual
lifestyle. Homosexual advocacy groups have a moral duty to disseminate
medical information that might dissuade individuals from entering or
continuing in an inherently unhealthy and dangerous lifestyle.
Education officials in particular have a duty to provide information
regarding the negative health effects of homosexuality to students in
their charge, whose very lives are put at risk by engaging in such
behavior. Above all, civil society itself has an obligation to
institute policies that promote the health and well-being of its
citizens. --
END NOTES
1. Bill Roundy, "STD Rates on the Rise," New York Blade News, December 15, 2000, p. 1.
2. "Increases in Unsafe Sex and Rectal Gonorrhea among Men Who Have Sex
with Men--San Francisco, California, 1994-1997," Mortality and
Morbidity Weekly Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),
January 29, 1999, p. 45.
3. Ibid.
4. Ulysses Torassa, "Some With HIV Aren't Disclosing Before Sex; UCSF
Researcher's 1,397-person Study Presented During aids Conference," The
San Francisco Examiner (July 15, 2000).
5. Jon Garbo, "Gay and Bi Men Less Likely to Disclose They Have HIV,"
GayHealth News (July 18, 2000). Available at:
www.gayhealth.com/templates/0/news?record=136.
6. Ibid.
7. Jon Garbo, "Risky Sex Common Among Gay Club and Bar Goers,"
GayHealth News (January 3, 2001). Available at:
www.gayhealth.com/templates/97863827496203.../ index.html?record=35.
8. "Bisexuals Serve as 'Bridge' Infecting Women With HIV," Reuters News
Service (July 30, 2000). Available at:
www.mb.com/ph/scty/2000%2D07/sc073004.asp.
9. A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity
Among Men and Women (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978), pp. 308, 9;
see alsoBell, Weinberg and Hammersmith, Sexual Preference (Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1981).
10. Paul Van de Ven et al., "A Comparative Demographic and Sexual
Profile of Older Homosexually Active Men," Journal of Sex Research 34
(1997): 354. Dr. Paul Van de Ven reiterated these results in a private
conversation with Dr. Robert Gagnon on September 7, 2000.
11. "Survey Finds 40 percent of Gay Men Have Had More Than 40 Sex Partners," Lambda Report, January/February 1998, p. 20.
12. M. Pollak, "Male Homosexuality," in Western Sexuality: Practice and
Precept in Past and Present Times, edited by P. Aries and A. Bejin, pp.
40-61, cited by Joseph Nicolosi in Reparative Therapy of Male
Homosexuality (Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1991), pp.
124, 25.
13. David P. McWhirter and Andrew M. Mattison, The Male Couple: How
Relationships Develop (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
1984), pp. 252, 3.
14. M. Saghir and E. Robins, Male and Female Homosexuality (Baltimore:
Williams and Wilkins, 1973), p. 225; L.A. Peplau and H. Amaro,
"Understanding Lesbian Relationships," in Homosexuality: Social,
Psychological, and Biological Issues, edited byJ. Weinrich and W. Paul
(Beverly Hills: Sage, 1982).
15. A.P.M. Coxon et al., "Sex Role Separation in Diaries of Homosexual Men," AIDS, July 1993, pp. 877-882.
16. G. J. Hart et al., "Risk Behaviour, Anti-HIV and Anti-Hepatitis B
Core Prevalence in Clinic and Non-clinic Samples of Gay Men in England,
1991-1992," AIDS, July 1993, pp. 863-869, cited in "Homosexual
Marriage: The Next Demand," Position Analysis paper by Colorado for
Family Values, May 1994.
17. Bill Roundy, "STDs Up Among Gay Men: CDC Says Rise is Due to HIV
Misperceptions," The Washington Blade (December 8, 2000). Available at:
www.washblade.com/health/a.
18. Richard A. Zmuda, "Rising Rates of Anal Cancer for Gay Men," Cancer
News (August 17, 2000). Available at:
cancerlinksusa.com/cancernews_sm/Aug2000 /081700analcancer.
19. "Studies Point to Increased Risks of Anal Cancer," The Washington
Blade (June 2, 2000). Available at: www.washblade.com/health/000602hm.
20. Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) September 4, 1998, p. 708.
21. "Viral Hepatitus B--Frequently Asked Questions," National Center
for Infectious Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention)September 29, 2000. Available at:
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/faqb.
22. "Hepatitus C: Epidemiology: Transmission Modes" Mortality and
Morbidity Weekly Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
1998.Available at: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis
/c/edu/1/default.htm.
23. "Gonorrhea," Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Centers For
Disease Control and Prevention) September, 2000. Available at:
www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/ Fact_Sheets/FactsGonorrhea.htm.
24. "Increases in Unsafe Sex and Rectal Gonorrhea."
25. Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) January 29, 1999, p. 48.
26. J. Vincelette et al., "Predicators of Chlamydial Infection and
Gonorrhea among Patients Seen by Private Practitioners," Canadian
Medical Association Journal 144 (1995): 713-721.
27. SPR Jebakumar et al., "Value of Screeningfor Oropharyngeal
Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection," Journal of Clinical Pathology 48
(1995): 658-661.
28. "Some Facts about Syphilis," Division of Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)October 1999.
Available at: www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/ Fact_Sheets/Syphilis_Facts.
29. "Syphilis Elimination: History in the Making," Division of Sexually
Transmitted Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention)October 1999. Available at:
www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/Fact_Sheets/Syphilis_Facts.
30. C. M. Hutchinson et al., "Characteristics of Patients with Syphilis
Attending Baltimore STD Clinics," Archives of Internal Medicine 151
(1991): 511-516.
31. "Syphilis Elimination."
32. Homosexual advocates object to the use of this term (Gay Bowel
Syndrome), which they say unfairly stigmatizes homosexual behavior.
Health Implications Associated with Homosexuality (Austin: The Medical
Institute for Sexual Health, 1999), p. 55.
33. "STD Treatment Guidelines: Proctitis, Proctocolitis, and
Enteritis," (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) 1993.
Available at: /www.ama-assn.org/special/std
/treatmnt/guide/stdg3470.htm.
34. Jack Morin, Anal Pleasure and Health: A Guide for Men and Women (San Francisco: Down There Press, 1998), p. 220.
35. Health Implications, p. 56.
36. "STD Treatment Guidelines."
37. Health Implications; See Morin, Anal Pleasure and Health, p. 220, 1.
38. Health Implications.
39. "Table 9. Male Adult/Adolescent AIDS Cases by Exposure Category and
Race/Ethnicity, Reported through December 1999, United States," Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention:
available at: www/cdc.gov/hiv/stats/hasr1102/table9.
40. "HIV/AIDS Among US Women: Minority and Young Women at Continuing
Risk," Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention (Centers for Disease
Control)November 14, 2000. Available at:
www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/women.
41. Ibid.
42. "Studies Point to Increased Risks of Anal Cancer."
43. "Young People at Risk: HIV/AIDS among America's Youth," Divisions
of HIV/AIDS Prevention (Centers for Disease Control)November 14, 2000.
Available at: www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/youth.htm.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid.
46. "Need for Sustained HIV Prevention Among Men who Have Sex with
Men," Divisions of HIV/AIDS Prevention (Centers for Disease
Control)November 14, 2000. Available at:
www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/facts/msm.
47. "Resurgent Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Disease among Men Who
Have Sex with Men--King County, Washington, 1997-1999," Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report: Centers for Disease Control, September 10,
1999, pp. 773-777. Available at: www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/
mm4835a1.
48. "Need for Sustained HIV Prevention."
49. Bob Roehr, "Anal Cancer and You," Between the Lines News (November
16, 2000). Available at:
www.pridesource.com/cgi-bin/article?article=3835560.
50. "Studies Point to Increased Risks of Anal Cancer."
51. Rhonda Smith, "HPV Can be Transmitted between Women," The
Washington Blade (December 4, 1998). Available at:
www.washblade.com/health/9901011h.
52. Ibid.
53. Katherine Fethers et al., "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Risk
Behaviors in Women Who Have Sex with Women," Sexually Transmitted
Infections 76 (2000):348.
54. Ibid., p. 347.
55. V. Gonzales, et al., "Sexual and Drug-Use Risk Factors for hiv and
STDs: A Comparison of Women with and without Bisexual Experiences,"
American Journal of Public Health 89 (December 1999): 1846.
56. Ibid.
57. "Bisexuals Serve as 'Bridge' Infecting Women with HIV," Reuters News Service (July 30, 2000).
58. Ibid.
59. "Sexually Transmitted Infections," p. 347.
60. Ibid.
61. Rhonda Smith, "Childbirth Linked with Smaller Breast Tumor Size,"
The Washington Blade (December 17, 1999). Available at:
www.washblade.com/health/000114lh.
62. "HPV can be Transmitted between Women."
63. Katherine Fethers et al., "Sexually Transmitted Infections and Risk
Behaviors in Women Who Have Sex with Women," Sexually Transmitted
Infections, July 2000, p. 345.
64. Joanne Hall, "Lesbians Recovering from Alcoholic Problems: An
Ethnographic Study of Health Care Expectations," Nursing Research 43
(1994): 238-244.
65. Peter Freiberg, "Study: Alcohol Use More Prevelent for Lesbians," The Washington Blade, January 12, 2001, p. 21.
66. Ibid.
67. Karen Paige Erickson, Karen F. Trocki, "Sex, Alcohol and Sexually
Transmitted Diseases: A National Survey," Family Planning Perspectives
26 (December 1994): 261.
68. Ibid.
69. Lettie L. Lockhart et al., "Letting out the Secret: Violence in
Lesbian Relationships," Journal of Interpersonal Violence 9 (December
1994): 469-492.
70. Gwat Yong Lie and Sabrina Gentlewarrier, "Intimate Violence in
Lesbian Relationships: Discussion of Survey Findings and Practice
Implications," Journal of Social Service Research 15 (1991): 41-59.
71. D. Island and P. Letellier, Men Who Beat the Men Who Love Them:
Battered Gay Men and Domestic Violence (New York: Haworth Press, 1991),
p. 14.
72. "Violence Between Intimates," Bureau of Justice Statistics Selected Findings, November 1994, p. 2.
73. Health Implications, p. 79.
74. J. Bradford, et al., "National Lesbian Health Care Survey:
Implications for Mental Health Care," Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology 62 (1994): 239, cited in Health Implications
Associated with Homosexuality, p. 81.
75. R. Herrell, et al., "A Co-Twin Study in Adult Men," Archives of General Psychiatry 56 (1999): 867-874.
76. D. Fergusson, et al., "Is Sexual Orientation Related to Mental
Health Problems and Suicidality in Young People?" Archives of General
Psychiatry 56 (October 1999), p. 876-884.
77. Ibid.
78. Robert S. Hogg et al., "Modeling the Impact of HIV Disease on
Mortality in Gay and Bisexual Men," International Journal of
Epidemiology 26 (1997): 657.
79. Quoted in Gabriel Rotello, Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men (New York: Penguin Books, 1997), p. 286.
[Issue No.: 232, by: Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D., FRC]
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