Is Homosexuality a Mental Disorder?

[Deviant Kitten]

I can't believe I didn't know about FireFox till now! I kinda knew IE sucked but I just assumed I was stuck with it. Thanks again, I'm loving FF more and more

And yeah, the Black Japan skin rocks too!

[Pathogen.]

I used to believe, for the longest time, that homosexuality was a mental illness. That was until I was in my 20s. That former false belief of mine came from being raised in a large, strict
Black Protestant family who believed that it was both a mental illness & "a sin against the will of God". Man & woman were made for one another, according to them. They also believed if a person's sexual priorities wasn't focused on the opposite sex, then something was deeply wrong with that person psychologically. Even long after the A.M.A. had officially omitted homosexuality off of its list of mental illnesses [1973], my folks, unfortunately, still believe being gay is equated with being a nutbag. I shutter to think what my folks's thoughts are on San Francisco, because there's hella gay/lesbian/bisexual/transsexual people here. Meanwhile, medical officials in Turkey consider homosexuality a mental illness & treat it accordingly [a little data I've gotten from a Oakland Squatter friend of mine; next time I see him, I want to ask him where he acquired his info].

[ExistentialDisorder]

drugs and shock therapy, Xnguela. seriously. they strap you down and make you look at pictures of naked men (or women if you're female) and for every image you see you get a massive jolt, so that your brain will eventually associate naked men with pain. that's the theory behind it at least. and perhaps there's some kind of drug some 'doctors' use too, but i've never heard of one.

there are also therapy/support groups - usually church based - that try to brainwash you into believing you're straight and that it's just bad choices and/or life events that led you down this 'path to satan.'

[ExistentialDisorder]

that movie was funny and completely stupid at the same time. heh. but ask anyone that's actually been through shock therapy and they'll tell you it's anything but humorous. the voltage is increased over time, and there have been people die from it. i don't know if it's still practiced legally in the states or not. i'm sure it is by various crackpots, regardless of its legalities.

there was a supposed doctor in the 60's and 70's that published books on human sexual behavior fairly regularly. i can't remember the fucker's name right now... but my parents had a copy of one of them. he had several chapters devoted to homosexuality, claiming it was a mental disorder. there's a lot of fucked up shit he claimed about homosexuality that wasn't true, but he was so respected by other therapists, doctors, etc, his word might as well have been god's. anyway, he was an advocate for shock therapy for treating homosexuality. he came up with various methods himself. he claimed gay men weren't even capable of being in a loving, lasting relationship because they were too obsessed with sex and more importantly, preferred it to be completely anonymous. he gave every reason from not having a father growing up to being too close to your mother, or having an abusive mother or older female relative. molestation of course was another favorite of his. he made sure he covered the gammut so that everybody would fit into at least one of his preconceived scenarios - anything except being born gay of course because that just wasn't possible according to him. because of all the shit he talked about homosexuality, a lot of what he said was believed by just about everybody that read his books, which has a lot to do with why it's still considered by most a mental disorder, and the notion of poor family life or sexual abuse at an early age. And if he even bothered to interview anybody that was admittedly gay at the time - which is highly doubtful, or at the very least would not have been very many at all, considering the time period - all his 'reasons' were based on circumstance. this was all before Stonewall or HIV, back when you very easily could be arrested and put in prison just for being gay or bisexual.

[ExistentialDisorder]

note: funny tho, because that book is also where i learned about this little thing that most men have called the cowper's gland. i say most because some men don't have it. it helps with the production of semen, and it's located approximately between the prostate and the colon. it's also extremely sensitive - several times moreso than the penile glans, but the only way to reach it is by anal penetration which presses it against the prostate causing it to swell a few times its normal size. pressure stimulates the gland and can cause orgasm completely on its own. and yet anal penetration isn't natural. yeah, right...

[WolfMoon]

Originally Posted by ExistentialDisorder

note: funny tho, because that book is also where i learned about this little thing that most men have called the cowper's gland. i say most because some men don't have it. it helps with the production of semen, and it's located approximately between the prostate and the colon. it's also extremely sensitive - several times moreso than the penile glans, but the only way to reach it is by anal penetration which presses it against the prostate causing it to swell a few times its normal size. pressure stimulates the gland and can cause orgasm completely on its own. and yet anal penetration isn't natural. yeah, right...

I wonder if women have this gland as well. Because I orgasm during anal sex.

[Metatron]

I wouldn't doubt that women have a similar gland...I just don't think it does the same thing.

[mydnyght]

well, i'll put my two cents in. "is homosexuality a mental disorder?"
ok...i'm straight with bi friends, and who could even think this? it is only disorderly to christians. everyone else is cool with it.