God, Homosexuality and Health……. (3)

The texts and emails are still pouring in. Majority of them tilt towards condemnation. One Pastor (please let me not mention his church), said all homosexuals are possessed by evil spirits, and they need deliverance. What can I say! He even wanted me to refer all homosexuals to him for prayers.

Then my regular reader, Nathan Egba from Bayelsa State, recalled for me, that a law had actually been passed in Nigeria called; “Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act”, passed by the National Assembly and quietly signed into law, by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 without fan-fare. I have now recalled and stand corrected.

Now what are the problems of Homosexuality? .

♥ These problems mainly arise because society treats Homosexuality as abnormal.

♥ 1st – homosexuals have difficulty admitting their sexual preference even to themselves. On average, it takes 6 years from the first feelings of homosexual attraction to outright self-admission of “being homosexual” – and some may avoid it for a lifetime, suffering instead a lingering dissatisfaction with heterosexuality.

♥ 2nd – Self admission is often followed by acute depression and shame. However militant some “gays” may now be, the typical features of “psychological coming out” in the past have been suicidal attempts, and psychiatric treatment. I have a living example, here in Umuahia, at Isi-gate, a bread seller, who came to my hospital,  during the Abia State Free Medical Scheme.  He said he saw me over the television, he confessed that he was only attracted to males, he had one or two liaisons who felt like him while they were in secondary school. Saying they had parted ways after graduation, and he was afraid to explore new liaisons. He is now married with two children but still frustrated.

♥ 3rd – Self-admission often leads to fear, of opinion of others, if they find out. In particular, fear of personal knowledge may produce acute guilt feelings.

♥ 4th – The homosexual will often need to suppress ordinary expression of his sexuality (eg. in most jobs heterosexual flirting is acceptable, but homosexual is not).

♥ 5th – The homosexual may find it hard to meet others like himself,  because every other person like him is in hiding because of societal opprobrium. Homosexual organisation is more common now, in big cities, but many individuals remain isolated.

♥ 6th – Homosexual alliances tend to be fragile and transient, because;

1. a) The inability to reproduce removes the binding purpose of raising another generation, and leaves an empty sexuality ( remember my initial question to white gay man in USA in part 1)
2. b) The partners are often guilty and insecure, because the liaison is not recognised and approved by the society especially in Africa; and perhaps
3. c) Most homosexual alliances suffer the less clearly defined roles of the partners, especially who should be a male and who should be a female in the relationship.
4. d) Finally, alliance instability, lack of reproduction, and a resulting inevitable emphasis on sexuality and youth, leave many older homosexuals to face years of appalling loneliness – which may lead to the desperation of sexual offence.

What are the theories behind homosexuality?

1)  Homosexuals themselves may articulate their preferences; but society in general tends to see homosexuality as an abnormal state, needing explanation in terms of some physical and psychological defect. Physical theories put forward include;

2) Neurophysiological – In which homosexual behaviour is due to mal-function or stimulation of certain parts of the brain.

3) Hormonal – In which it is due to hormone imbalance ( eg. in a male homosexual, a lack of male hormones or excess of female hormone ones.) And

4) Genetic – In which some inherited defect is blamed. Bits of evidence for each of these include;

1. a) A recent very experimental technique of transforming homosexuals into heterosexuals by using tiny electric shock to knock out certain cells in the brain.
2. b) Evidence of hormone imbalance in a few homosexuals; and
3. c) Evidence that homosexuals tend to have been born to elderly mothers. A situation that is known to be one in which chromosome abnormality often occurs.

■ But research findings for all these theories are mainly ambiguous or contradicted by other studies. And there is no scientific agreement about any of them, which has giving vent to religionists to acclaim that homosexuality is a spiritual affliction.

Next week we shall discuss psychological factors, psychoanalysis plus “cures” for  homosexuality.  Meanwhile keep your emotions in check and remain properly guided.

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