Homosexuality is Not a Pathology

Consensus of Scientific Opinion

1. Professional Opinions
2. Gay Relationships
3. Allegations of Promiscuity
4. Mental Health

Appendices

1. Appendix A is a critique of the Bell and Weinberg study.
2. Appendix B is a series of criteria (under development) that should be used to establish the scientific credibility of ex-gay therapies.
3. Appendix C is an essay on the problems with ex-gay therapy, but ultimately defends the need for their continued presence.
4. Appendix D describes the data from the most rigorously created and best replicated studies on the percentage of gay and lesbian people in the general population.
5. Appendix E describes the results of several population-based studies on the issue of gay-suicide, and school-related fears of violence of GLB students.

a) Historically, psychoanalysts have been the primary opponents to the depathologization of homosexuality in the 1973 APA decision, Socarides and Bieber being by far the most vocal opponents of the decision. However, in a recent survey of psychoanalysts (n=82; Friedman) they found that "no respondents strongly endorsed the type of pathological model proposed by Socarides" (p. 84), and that "the responses of the group as a whole were more towards a health than illness model."

R Friedman-1996; Journal of Homosexuality 32: 79-89

b) In another recent study, it was reported that 47.3% of psychiatric training directors (n=198) view homosexuality as normal or somewhat normal, 51.2% view homosexuality as neutral, and 1.5% view it as somewhat pathological or pathological.

Townsend-1995, Academic Psychiatry 19:213-218

2) Gay Relationships

a) One study which appears to support the idea that homosexuals are highly promiscuous was published by Bell and Weinberg, and is often cited by the Christian Right, and even some secular sources. However, their data is highly suspicious, and cannot be generalized to the entire homosexual population. Because of their methodology, their data is valuable only as a case study for the sample they studied, but it is not by any means representative of the general gay population. See Appendix A for my specific critique of this study, and why their statistics on gay promiscuity are so bizarrely high.

b) In a study of sexual behavior in homosexuals and heterosexuals, the researchers found that of gay and bisexual men, 24% had one male partner in their lifetime, 45% had 2-4 male partners, 13% had 5-9 male partners, and 18% had 10 or more sexual partners, which produces a mean of less than 6 partners. (The statistics I did by myself using the data presented, which is presented as a percentage of total males interviewed, both gay and straight (p. 345)--they can be verified yourself by looking at the numbers given in the paper)(Fay; n=97 gay males of 1450 males total). In a parallel study, a random sample of primarily straight men (n=3111 males who had had vaginal intercourse; of the total sample of n=3224 males, only 2.3% had indicated having had sex with both men and women), the mean number of sexual partners was 7.3, with 28.2% having 1-3 partners, and 23.3% having greater than 19 partners (Billy). This data indicates that gay men may have fewer number of sexual partners than heterosexuals.

J Billy-1993: Family Planning Perspectives 25:52-60
R Fay-1989, Science 243:338-348

In another set of studies, the first (n=2664) showed that gay men had an average of 6.5 sexual partners in the past 5 years. In fact, the authors of this paper report that "homosexual and bisexual men are much more likely than heterosexual men to be celibate" given the data in the table below, which compares their data to a second, parallel study of only heterosexual men (n=1235, age=18-49 yrs). The table indicates the percentage of men having the given number of sexual partners in the previous year [top row: Binson; bottom row: Dolcini]:

orientation	no partners	1 partner	2+ partners
gay	24 %	41 %	35 %
straight	8 %	80 %	12 %

D Binson-1995: Journal of Sex Research 32: 245-54.
M Dolcini-1993: Family Planning Perspectives 25: 208-14.

A third major study, by Laumann, appears on the surface to indicate that gay men do have many more sexual partners than heterosexual men. However, a more extensive analysis of the data gives a more balanced perspective. Laumann fails to explore the radically skewed nature of the data. Typically this indicates that the mean, the statistic presented by Laumann, may not be the best measure to report. A further analysis of the GSS data (on which Laumann based his results) indicates that the median (50th percentile) number of sexual partners for heterosexuals is five and for homosexuals is six (http://www.jeramyt.org/gss/partners.html). The discrepancy between the mean and median is indicative of a small sub-population of gay males who tend towards high rates of sexual partners, skewing the mean, while the majority of gay men tend to have rates about the same as heterosexual males.

Laumann, Edward, et al. The Social Organization of Sexuality : Sexual Practices in the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.

c) 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

In a second study of 1206 convictions for child molesters in New Jersey, 80.7% were heterosexual acts and 19.3% were homosexual acts.

E Revitch-1962, Diseases of the Nervous System 23:73-78

In a third study, 47% of males convicted of sexual abuse against male children were in an heterosexual marriage.

P Gebhard-1965, Sex Offenders, New York: Harper and Row

In a fourth study in Great Britain, in a review of 200 sexual assaults on boys, only 32 of the perpetrators were homosexuals.

J McGeorge-1964, Medicine, Science and the Law 4:245-53

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

In a sixth study of 136 convicted sex offenders, over 80% had been involved in adult long-term heterosexual relationships.

Simon C--1992, J Interpersonal Violence. 7:211-225

In a seventh 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

In an eighth study, also at a children's hospital, of 269 children evaluated for sexual abuse by known adults, 0.7% of the children were abused by an indentified gay or lesbian adult and 88% were abused by identified heterosexuals. The rest of the children (of a total 352 children sample) were either abused by another child or teenager (21% of the total sample, all of whom were abused by opposite gender children/teens), or by strangers for whom no sexual orientation was known (11.6% of the total sample).

Jenny C--1994, Pediatrics. 94(1):41-4

Finally, the discussion of whether or not homosexuals versus heterosexuals are more likely to molest children completely ignores the current state of research on the psychopathology of the child molester. By definition, the pedophile is a person who is sexually attracted to children. Since children do not typically have the secondary gender-differentiated characteristics of adults, the typical heterosexual or homosexual are not sexually attracted to children. If an adult is attracted to a child, it is related to the child's vulnerability. Even if the child is a male being abused by an adult male the pedophile is not attracted to male characteristics, as found in the above study by Groth, which would be presumed if the abuser were "homosexual".

Murray JB.--2000 Journal of Psychology. 134(2):211-24 (Review article)

4) Psychological Testing Affirms the Mental Health of Homosexuals

4) They used Kinsey 2-6 for their inclusion of homosexual population. Their sample does not represent only homosexual persons, but also includes bisexual persons.

Many gay and lesbian people experience ego-dystonia because of their homosexuality. Some studies have shown that most people who experience this phenomenon come from authoritarian backgrounds with religious fundamentalism as a backdrop. Whether this ego-dystonia is experienced for religious reasons, or cultural reasons, the phenomenon is very real. We see the most dramatic influence of this phenomenon played out in the fact that about a third of all gay/lesbian teens attempt suicide, a significantly larger percentage than heterosexual teenagers. This self-loathing about their sexual identity, combined with the fact that they have no community support group, unlike racial minorities, make this population especially vulnerable to psycho-social difficulties. Many people feel that one alternative to embracing their sexuality is to explore reparative, or similar therapies in an attempt to become heterosexual.

Several problematic issues appear in this debate. These issues center around consent. First, is a person who is experiencing ego-dystonic homosexuality aware of the issues involved with ex-gay therapies? If the person is experiencing a culturally or religiously-induced self-loathing and heterosexism, they may perceive that their dissonance is caused from moral beliefs about the sinfulness of homosexuality, whereas it is actually caused by a misinterpretation of their self-loathing and heterosexism. It is normal practice for a psychotherapist to examine issues like this when exploring treatment options for the client. On the one hand there is the need to alleviate the perceived distress of the client, in this case their homosexuality, while at the same time exploring the real cause of their distress, which may or may not be caused by homosexuality itself. For example, some psychiatric patients express a perception of paranoia, but aren't best served by hiring security guards to give them a sense of security. On the contrary, they are best served by exploring the cause of the paranoid feelings, and helping alleviate the cause of the problem, not simply the symptom. In the case of ex-gay therapy, self-loathing and internalized heterosexism/homophobia may be the causative agent that leads the client to believe that s/he would prefer not to be gay, and may lead them to believe that attempting to become heterosexual is the best treatment course, rather than addressing the deeper issues, and accepting their inherent sexuality. Another consent-related issues involve GID therapy, developed by George Rekers, in which effeminate male children, or masculine female children are placed into therapy with the purpose of preventing them from becoming homosexuals as adults. A final consent-related issue involves the fact that most ex-gay counselors are neither trained in psychological sciences, nor are the ministries themselves under any regulation. Consequently there is no way for a consumer-advocacy group to alert possible clients to which ex-gay ministries are abusive, and which are not abusive.

Despite all of this, I do in fact maintain that there is a need for ex-gay therapies. While I believe they should come under the jurisdiction of a national licensing agency, there are definitely people for whom ex-gay therapy should be explored, and ethically, no person should ultimately be denied treatment for a condition which causes mental anguish. There is little question that homosexuality, because of massive social stigma, causes mental anguish among many people who experience same-gender attraction. However there is a separate issue that must be addressed. That issue is the psychological make-up of the person for whom ex-gay therapy is sought.

Most of the ex-gays with whom I have experience, and have read about in the ex-gay and psychological literature refer to sexual lives of homosexual promiscuity and obsessive homosexual thoughts. These behaviors and thoughts are attributed by the ex-gay to a belief about the inherent nature of homosexuality--sinful and pathological. However, studies show that the vast majority of gays and lesbians are as psychologically and socially healthy as heterosexuals, and are no more prone to promiscuity than are heterosexuals. This points to a peculiarity in those gays (lesbians typically do not experience this phenomenon) who experience sexually obsessive homosexual thoughts, and who engage in high-risk, anonymous sexual behavior. Many of these gays end up searching for treatment for their homosexuality. While some studies indicate that self-loathing and internalized heterosexism leads to such behaviors, and in fact this may be the case with many such gays, it may also be the case that these gays have a pathological etiology for their homosexual feelings.

Regardless of the lack or presence of specific environmental influences, most people would regard high-risk, anonymous sexual behavior as maladaptive and psychologically unhealthy. Many of the ex-gays with whom I have experience and have read about in the ex-gay and psychological literature, who have described a true change in personal sexual orientation seem to come from backgrounds of such maladaptive behaviors. With the presence of many types of sexual dysfunction in Western society, ministries/therapies that deal with specific sexual dysfunctions are greatly needed. Because of this need, I support the continued presence ex-gay ministries, with the caveats described above. While some may argue that what these clients really need is to learn better relational skills, it may well be that there is some biological component to homosexuality that these people lack, and experience homosexuality because of trauma inflicted on them as young people and not as a naturally occurring process. If this is the case, that would help explain both the high rates of promiscuity and psychopathology of this small segment of the homosexual population, as well as the high association of successful sexual reorientation among this population.

Studies are consistent in their findings of an increased risk of suicide among GLB-youth. The political Religious Right interprets this as an indicator that having homosexual feelings indicates an inherent pathology. However the studies presented above contradict that interpretation. A more salient interpretation, given the overwhelming evidence of the clear mental health of GLB's, is that increased rates of violence and assault, and a lack of parental and social support for GLB youth (all of which are supported by existing data) are part of the etiology of increased suicide attempts and ideation of GLB youth.
There have been nine studies since 1990, examining suicide among GLB youth (one of which is not presented below because the author, DuRant-1998, does not give raw data, only correlation data--see the page referenced above). Of these, only one (Shaffer, 1995) shows no significant difference of suicide rates between GLB and non-GLB youth, and this was done post-mortem on youth who had committed suicide, with sexual-orientation of these youth determined by interviews of parents, teachers and friends.

The GLB-sample populations present the following statistics:

The population-based populations present the following statistics: