"Homophobia": Labels and the Need for Open Debate

In a telling episode of the sitcom Seinfeld, two lead characters are portrayed wrongfully as gay partners. One running gag was the phrase, "Not that there's anything wrong with that," uttered with embarrassed urgency each time the subject arises. A better metaphor could not be had regarding the so-called public debate over homosexual rights. It seems that a tiny minority (the real percentage of American homosexuals is under two percent rather than the discredited Kinseyian figure of ten percent) has effectively taken their cause from toleration to affirmation to fervent inculcation of homosexuality into law, public education and even religion -- all in the space of a decade or so and using as their main tool the language of rights and oppression, protection and education.

Enter the highest court to re-open Pandora's Box further. Having upheld a nearly identical Georgia sodomy law in 1986, many observers registered surprise when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Texas case. The stakes are sky-high. Traditionalists worry that this signals the Court's willingness to reconsider past rulings.  Matthew Brody on the Web site Family News in Focus writes that homosexual activists have a lot to lose if they wind up on the losing end of this case. He quotes Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, '[Homosexual activists are] really ... betting the farm on this decision and if they lose this decision it's going to be disastrous for them". Brody continues, "If the justices uphold sodomy laws again, it would be a clear sign from the highest court in the land that homosexual behavior is out of step with mainstream society. Yet, if homosexuals win the case, pro-family experts believe they will use the victory to argue for the legalization of homosexual marriage and gay adoption. When the Supreme Court takes a case, they overturn the lower court decision two-thirds of the time," Brody adds. But the issue goes far beyond a court case. J. Budziszewski, in an article entitled Politics of Virtues, Government of Knaves writes, "Consider, for example, the present struggle over whether sodomy is to be legitimized as a way of life. As both armies engaged in the struggle understand, this [culture] war concerns the distribution not only of privileges but of esteem: rules concerning adoption, employment, housing, and health are just as 'educational' as rules concerning what is to be taught in the public schools."

We have collected resources that examine the presuppositions at work on this explosive topic. Does homosexuality meet the logical criteria for special protections, like race or gender? Is homosexuality innate or learned? Does the removal of homosexuality as a disorder by the gatekeepers of psychology and psychiatry serve the very people who fall under its categorization? Does the right to marry assume any arrangement of gender? What about plain medical facts and their overwhelming indication that the medical establishment is harming those it purports to protect?

How the sides discuss civilly when labeling (homophobic) passes as a case against opponents and when claims to equality become demands to transform the basic building blocks of the family and, thus, society? Can a common language even be recovered? Our argument is with the segment of the gay population and their straight supporters who are comprehensively changing our society to reflect their worldview. We hope this Special Focus may add to a free and open public discourse on a hugely important set of issues.

Feature Articles on Worldview

When Insults No Longer Insult
James Nuechterlein
Those on the liberal side of the American political landscape have a very effective rhetorical technique for ending discussions: labeling their opponents. If you oppose affirmative action then you are a racist. If you question the legitimacy of same-sex unions, you're a homophobe. The effect, according to Nuechterlein: "When words lose coherent meaning, they also lose their power to shame" and to insult.

In Defense of the Need for Honest Dialogue
Benjamin Kaufman, M.D.
Mental-health and medical professionals need a full and complete understanding of homosexuality. Yet it remains very politically incorrect to even make the suggestion of a dialogue that opens up the question of the normality of same-sex attraction.

Is Marriage a Universal Right?
NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality)
Is there something about the nature of marriage that should confine it to the age-old definition of one man and one woman? How has the majority, who are definitely opposed to same-sex marriage, been silenced?

Seven Things I Wish Pro-Gay People Would Admit
Bob Davies
Bob Davies, past President of ex-gay ministry Exodus International, pines for honesty and openness from those who denigrate his views as an ex-gay and heterosexually married person in the name of tolerance. "Pro-gay people rarely acknowledge the reality that change from homosexuality can be significant and genuine, even if it is not complete. A person's motive for change is not necessarily internalized homophobia."

On the Dilemma of Civil Rights
Thomas Schmidt, Ph.D as condensed by NARTH
Is homosexuality something that you are, like being black or elderly or handicapped or female, or is it something you do, like adultery or polygamy or incest? Implications for special civil-rights protection through changes in the law.

Democracy and Psychology
Joseph and Linda Nicolosi
Is there something inherent in a democratic political system which leads to the erasure of the hierarchies and distinctions that have characterized our civilization? What does this have to do with homosexuality?

Book Review: Homosexuality and American Public Life
Reviewed by William L. Dreikorn, D. Min; Ph.D.
This "modern classic" discusses medical and scientific issues relating to homosexuality, including causation, treatment, the role of self-deception in creating a gay identity, AIDS exceptionalism, and natural-law arguments against homosexuality -- all in an informational, as opposed to argumentative, style.

Related Articles

A Captive Audience
Dick M. Carpenter II, Ph.D.
An education professor describes how homosexual advocacy groups have promoted gay advocacy in the public schools under the mandate for 'safe schools.' He then reveals what these programs are in fact teaching.

Why Isn't Homosexuality Considered A Disorder On The Basis Of Its Medical Consequences?
Kathleen Melonakos, M.A., R.N.
The writer of this article, health professional and medical reporter Kathleen Melonakos, describes the impact of male-with-male sex upon physical health. She calls into question the sincerity of the American Psychiatric and American Psychological Associations' denial of homosexuality as a disorder, laying the task of insisting on the obvious at the feet of the medical community -- for the sake of homosexuals at risk.

Militant Homosexuality and Feminism: The Politicizing of Research and Feelings
Gerald Schoenewolf, Ph.D.
A small but vocal minority of radical gays and feminists is politicizing their anger against straight males in power. Misrepresenting research, they distort our perception of gender difference, gender development, and gender bias.

The Homosexual Movement: A Response
The Ramsey Colloquium (First Things)
Published nine years ago in First Things, which sponsors the Ramsey Colloquium, this statement provides a "careful moral response" to the societal upheaval still ongoing -- caused in no small measure by homosexual activism of the type "that aggressively proposes radical changes in social behavior, religion, morality, and law." The colloquium comprises "a group of Jewish and Christian theologians, ethicists, philosophers, and scholars that meets periodically to consider questions of morality, religion, and public life." From the text: "We share the uneasiness of most Americans with the proposals advanced by the gay and lesbian movement, and we seek to articulate reasons for the largely intuitive and pre-articulate anxiety of most Americans regarding homosexuality and its increasing impact on our public life."

Gender Language Now Archaic?
NARTH
Have the feminist and gay movements made gender language archaic? Some psychologists think so, at least this letter-writer and psychologist published recently in the American Psychological Association's Monitor in Psychology.

Related Web Sites

Stonewall Revisited
Our goal is to offer social, ethical and spiritual alternatives to people. We believe that offering choices is one way of treating people with the dignity they deserve as human beings. We offer the personal stories of people who have found a more fulfilling life outside of homosexuality. Homosexuality is not inescapable. A homosexual identity, no matter how acquired, is not the only choice for anyone. If a person so chooses, he or she can set aside a homosexual identity with God's help, strength and love. Since some people want to set aside their homosexual identities, our goal is to assist them.

Another Way Out
Another Way Out is sponsored by Christians who seek to help people desiring to change their sexual orientation. We pass no judgment on people in the world (1 Cor. 5:12). However, we offer hope to those who want change but have been told that change is impossible. We also seek to challenge born-again Christians who claim that God condones homosexuality for those within the true Church (those who have been born of the Spirit). While the Bible gives no instructions concerning sexuality to the unsaved, those within the redeemed community are clearly commanded against homosexual practice (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality)
NARTH is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to affirming a complementary, male-female model of gender and sexuality. NARTH, founded in 1992, is composed of psychiatrists, psychoanalytically informed psychologists, certified social workers, and other behavioral scientists, as well as laymen in fields such as law, religion, and education.