If Homosexuality is a Dysfunction, Why the Condemnation?

An astute commenter has encouraged me to take my thinking in this article to the next level. In the original article, I make the case for homosexuality being a psychological dysfunction — the product of negative environmental factors in childhood. I am then asked why we should blame or condemn the victim if it is no different from other things that could be the result of a medical condition or upbringing. Why not condemn the physically disabled too? Here are my further thoughts:

There are certainly many other parallels to homosexuality (as a consequence of environmental factors). Some are directly analogous, like alcoholism and abusiveness, and some are not so directly parallel, like asthma and HIV. The distinction between the two is a matter of direct, unmediated, involuntary causality. For example, if a parent hit his child in the head with a baseball bat the child may well receive brain damage. There is a direct causal connection which the child had no hand in processing, reacting to, affirming, or reinforcing.

With alcoholism (assuming an environmental influence), the connection is not determinative, like the bat against the head. It is a matter of conditioning, which requires the child to respond to his upbringing in a way which is not guaranteed to result in alcoholism. He could manage to rise above it, commit suicide, become a criminal, become homosexual, or become an alcoholic. And if he does become an alcoholic, it does not mean that beer gets into the car, goes to his house, and jumps into his mouth. There is volition (will and action) involved, unlike with brain damage. The mentally defective child does not have a desire to be brain damaged, which he acts upon, rationalizes, and surrenders to.

So, in this sense at least, we should be able to see a distinction between those problems for which we could find personal guilt and those for which the person is a wholly passive "victim." But the other problem is that nobody's on a crusade to normalize and celebrate things like brain damage and alcoholism (other than nutburgers like this). If it turns out that homosexuality is indeed a dysfunction, as it once was understood to be (having been declassified as a result of political pressure), then this would pull the rug out from under the gay advocates. And therein lies my main theme.

I (and I am not alone here as a Christian) am not suggesting that persons with this dysfunction are hell-bound simply because they have homosexual compulsions. We all have sinful compulsions for gosh sakes. I am suggesting that it is wrong to celebrate this dysfunction, to normalize it as just another valid (even "God-given") lifestyle, to belittle those who want out of it, and to encourage youth to explore this path if they feel so inclined. Indeed, this path is being paved and lighted for all those children who are sufferers of those environmental factors that may potentially develop into some sort of dysfunction. If we can first admit that it is a dysfunction, it seems that a number of conclusions and responses naturally follow from there. And that is exactly why such a conclusion is being fought so ferociously by the gay community, who seem to enjoy their dysfunction, just as many alcoholics do.

My commenter then goes on to ask why is it important that homosexuality be defined as a dysfunction, and why it should matter to us personally.

If it is a dysfunction, let us call it a dysfunction, and without all the politics and propaganda. It might even foster more sympathy than hostility by those who have moral concerns with this condition. In fact, I have issues on the other end of the spectrum with Christians who still think of this as nothing more than an arbitrary "choice." It may be helpful for all parties to understand the deep complexities involved in this and why someone might end up going down this particular road as opposed to some other which may yield more sympathies.

As far as why I would care about this, well, first of all, I'd point out that if this really were a problem in one's relationship with God, then I would care by extension of my concern for others. If I really think life has eternal consequences, and I really care about others, then overlooking this issue is a form of spiritual apathy and neglect.

But even if there were no moral/spiritual ramifications, we could still consider the immediate physical concerns. This lifestyle is not without its side effects and consequences — things that not only affect the homosexual but society itself. One might also ask why we should care about cigarette smokers, but society seems to care very much. Since cigarette smoking (and homosexuality) is harmful, then we care about the participants, our youth who might be influenced to take this path, and the impact that it has on the culture-at-large, insurance rates, and healthcare costs. Basically, we care about this if we subscribe to the philosophy of "the public good," which is regularly applied in many other areas of society.

Here is a sampling of the kinds of things that are found in higher levels among the homosexual community:

• Numerous physical health problems (AIDS is just the latest on the scene)
  
• Mental health issues
  
• Risky sexual behavior
  
• Substantial promiscuity
  
• Promiscuity in "monogamous" same-sex relationships (even by consent)
  
• High alcohol and drug use
  
• Domestic abuse
  
• Shorter life-spans
  

Here are some articles that flesh out these talking points. Perhaps a skeptic will not like the sources, but they are at least heavily footnoted from secular journals: Here and here
Here is a list of other articles regarding homosexual health issues: NARTH

It is more difficult to find the same kinds of comprehensive articles on gay health issues from pro-homosexual sources (it's bad press that they'd prefer to avoid), but you can find them candidly discussing their woes here and there: Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3, Sample 4, Sample 5, Sample 6

If it were any other condition bearing such risks and consequences, like cigarette smoking, we would have clamped down the constraints long ago. We would certainly not be working to give it normative status in our culture, crafting laws to prohibit opposition to it, and writing it into our school curriculum as a good and healthy avenue of sexual exploration.