Homosexuality the Majority of Americans

Homosexuality

The majority of Americans when hearing the word "homosexual" or "gay" will either immediately be homophobic or imagine stereotypes in their mind. Unfortunately, many people get their information from the media that often portray stereotypes or misinformation about homosexuality. or, they hear it word of mouth from another person who also does not have the correct or subjective information. In order not to make generalizations or have stereotype thoughts, it is important to find factual information about the subject.

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), homosexuality is not an illness, as many people believe, but rather "simply the way a minority of our population expresses love and sexuality." In fact, it is not homosexuality but the stigma placed on this sexual orientation by others in the society that causes much of the emotional distress.

Another misunderstanding, according to the APA, is that homosexuality has a negative effect on the psychology of children. Yet according to several recent studies, children of gay and lesbian parents exhibit levels of personal development such as self-concept, moral judgment and intelligence that are no different than that of children of heterosexual parents. Being raised in a loving and caring environment appears to be truly important for healthy child psychological development.

The APA also stresses that it is correct to believe that most people who molest children are homosexual. A significant amount of research shows that the most likely person to molest a child is actually a heterosexual male who is either a family member or friend of the family.

Homosexuality was an acceptable practice until the High Middle Ages. Then, individuals in the church such as Thomas Aquinas condemned this orientation as "unnatural." His writings completely altered the way that people perceived homosexuals. In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries in America, laws were passed against sodomy. As the 20th century began, psychologists began to emphasize that this was an illness. Others such as Ellis said it was inborn and thus not immoral. Freud disagreed, saying that all human beings were innately bisexual and become heterosexual or homosexual as a result of their experiences in childhood. However, he did believe, as Ellis, that homosexual orientation was not pathological. After this, disagreement continued with the two approaches.

In the 1950s, studies began to negate the previous conceptions. In a 1957 study, Hooker researched whether homosexuals and heterosexuals differed in their psychological adjustment. Rather than studying psychiatric patients as previously done, she recruited a sample of homosexual men who were functioning normally in society. She also employed a procedure that asked experts to rate the adjustment of men without knowing sexual orientation. The data showed that homosexuality as a clinical entity does not exist and that it is not inherently associated with psychopathology. Finally, during the 1970s, most psychologist and psychiatrists began working to eliminate the stigma against homosexuals.