Ten myths about homosexuality

1. You need to have sex before you know if you are gay

Most straight people know they’re straight before they have sex. It’s no different if you’re gay, lesbian or bisexual. Your orientation is about who you are attracted to emotionally and physically.

2. Being gay is a choice

When did you decide to be heterosexual? Of course you didn’t ‘decide’ to be straight, because it isn’t a choice. Neither is being gay. It’s just the way you were born, and the way you feel inside.

3. Homosexuality is a mental illness or a disease

Homosexuality is a normal part of human sexuality. The idea that being gay is wrong is based on culture, traditions, or religious belief.  But from a medical or psychiatric point of view, being homosexual is perfectly normal.

Being gay is natural. Humans are not the only ones to have homosexual relationships: researchers have found examples among many animal species, from elephants to dolphins, from bears to buffalo.

4. There’s a cure for being gay

Being gay, lesbian or bisexual isn’t a disease, so you can’t be ‘cured’. There’s no scientific evidence that anything can change you from being homosexual to being heterosexual. It’s just the way you’re made. People who are unhappy about their homosexuality, perhaps for religious reasons or because of social and cultural pressure, sometimes learn to suppress their sexual feelings.

Some people try to change their sexuality through therapy, exorcism, or religious rituals. These can have very damaging effects, and none of them provide a ‘cure’. Many doctors and psychologists have spoken out against this ‘conversion’ or‘ex-gay’ therapy. These programs hurt the person who goes through them, and they can’t do anything to change a person’s sexual orientation.

If you have been or are thinking of going to ex-gay therapy, check out the site Beyond Ex-Gay.

5. Gays and lesbians can turn other people into homosexuals

You can’t be ‘converted’ to homosexuality, any more than you can be ‘cured’ of homosexuality. It’s just the way you’re made. And gays and lesbians aren’t out to ‘recruit’ people to homosexuality, even if it were possible!

Some people say they became properly aware of their sexuality through a particular person or experience – but that didn’t ‘make’ them homosexual. Most gays and lesbians say they’ve always known about their sexual orientation.

6. You’ll be cured of your homosexuality if you get married, or make love with someone of the opposite sex

No experience will make you straight if you’re homosexual. If you’re straight, sleeping with someone of the same sex can’t make you gay, and it’s the same the other way round. Again, it’s just the way you’re made.

So-called ‘corrective rape’ can never change a person’s sexuality. In any circumstances, rape is a serious crime.

7. You can tell homosexuals by the way they look and act

Just like heterosexuals, gay men and lesbian women don’t all look or behave in the same way. There are some gay and lesbian people who might fit into a stereotyped image, and plenty more who don’t. And there are homosexual people in all walks of life.

8. All homosexuals are paedophiles

A paedophile is someone who is sexually attracted to children. They may be straight or gay. There’s absolutely no relationship between being homosexual and being a paedophile.

9. Homosexuals are likely to have Aids – It’s a gay disease

Around the world, HIV/AIDS is more common among heterosexuals than homosexuals.  Anyone who engages in unprotected sex is at risk, whether they’re straight or gay.

10. The way homosexuals have sex is disgusting

Some straight people are horrified at the idea of homosexual sex. This is because they wouldn’t like to do it themselves, not because there’s anything ‘disgusting’ about gay sex.

People tend to associate sex between gay men with anal sex. But many gay men don’t have anal sex – they prefer to make love in other ways.And many heterosexuals like anal sex. Whether you’re into it or not is a matter of personal preference, whether you’re gay or straight.

Gay women can have sex in all sorts of ways too – just like straight couples.

If you think homosexual sex is disgusting, it’s just because you’re looking at it and judging from your own point of view. After all, your favourite food might be delicious to you, but revolting to someone else!