Ben Carson: Prison turns "a lot" of straight people to gays - CBS News

do people turn gay in prison

<p><strong>Sadhbh Walshe:</strong> The myth is that prison is a gay man's paradise. The realy is a choice of eher rape and abe or enslavement as a 'prison ho'</p>

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THE GRIM TTH OF BEG GAY PRISON

* do people turn gay in prison *

Homosexualy is a choice, jt look at the prisons, Republin nrosurgeon Ben Carson said on CNN. He also argued that homosexualy is a choice, rather than blogil. "Bee a lot of people who go to prison go to prison straight -- and when they e out, they're gay.

We’ll jump to the pot here: There is no nclive evince to support Carson’s claim that "a lot of people" make a swch om heterosexual to homosexual while prison. Further, the medil muny tends to nclu that homosexualy is not a matter of choice -- notably the Amerin Psychologil Associatn.

10 THGS I LEARNED AS A GAY PRISONER BEHD BARS

I thought as a gay man beg sent to prison my life was over. I learned that 's not like they show movi. 10 thgs I learned as a gay prisoner. * do people turn gay in prison *

Of those 24, 18 changed om straight to bisexual, three changed om bisexual to straight, and one each changed om bisexual to gay, gay to bisexual, and gay to straight. It’s possible that people go to prison unaware of their sexualy, and then once they are exposed to homosexual behavr as an mate, they realize that they are gay or bisexual, Helen Eigenberg, who also studi prison sexualy as a profsor at the Universy of Tennsee at Chattanooga, said an terview wh PoliFact. They might thk that jt bee they played a role a homosexual act, they are now gay, which is not necsarily te.

DO PRISONS MAKE PEOPLE GAY?

As 2016 printial ndidate Ben Carson ntu to receive sharp cricism for assertg on Wednday that beg gay is "absolutely" a choice and relyg on the notn that prison time n turn some straight people to homosexuals, did the retired nrosurgeon actually prent a valid argument on elective sexual orientatn prison? * do people turn gay in prison *

Greg Herek, a psychology profsor at the Universy of California Davis who studi sexual orientatn, poted to a natnally reprentative study that shows the vast majory of gay men and women do not perceive their sexual orientatn as a rult of choice. People n change their behavr -- such as engagg homosexual behavr prison -- but that do not equate to a change orientatn, Bailey, the Northwtern rearcher, told PoliFact. Carson said, "A lot of people who go to prison straight, and when they e out they’re gay.

Rpected scientists nsir settled that homosexualy is not a matter of choice. CNN, "Ben Carson: Prisons prove beg gay is a choice, " March 4, 2015. PoliFact, "Tim Pawlenty says scientists are " dispute" over whether beg gay is a choice, " July 13, 2011.

‘BEG GAY PRISON IS TEN TIM HARR’: INMAT TELL OF ABE, USE OF SOLARY

Informatn about the rights of lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals who are prison, and the available reurse for vlatns of the rights. * do people turn gay in prison *

PoliFact, "Tim Pawlenty says there's no scientific ncln that beg gay is geic, " July 13, 2011. Washgton Post, "What experts say about Ben Carson’s turng-gay--prison claim, " March 4, 2015. Sexual Rearch and Social Policy, "Demographic, Psychologil, and Social Characteristics of Self-Intified Lbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults a US Probabily Sample, " September 2010.

I THOUGHT BEG GAY WAS A S UNTIL I SAW MY FRIEND SUFFER  PRISON

In 1984, when Calv Burde was awag sentencg for allegedly stabbg his gay lover to ath, the prosecutg attorney enuraged the jury his closg remarks to award Burde the ath penalty, rather than life prison, on the grounds that sendg a gay man to prison was ak to sendg a kid to a ndy store.

His ath sentence was later overturned (mostly bee Burde's public fenr had slept through much of his trial), but the homophobic thkg – that prison is some kd of paradise for gay men – lgers realy of life prison for homosexuals and transgenr dividuals do not appear to reflect this myth. He scribed a lany of btal rap, asslts, beatgs and, eventually, the total abandonment of his male inty as his only means of survival the hyper-mascule and often homophobic prison environment.

His acunt suggts that far om beg a paradise, prison for gay men n be a livg days of his first enterg prison, the 23-year-old Rodney claimed he was the victim of three separate sexual asslts, volvg five different mat.

BEN CARSON: PRISON TURNS "A LOT" OF STRAIGHT PEOPLE TO GAYS

The prison he was first sent to did actually have a separate tier for gay mat, but acrdg to Rodney, bee he did not "appear overly effemate" durg his classifitn, he was placed wh the general populatn; and bee was supposedly rare to have a gay person slip through the cracks of the system, his fellow mat took full advantage.

"Agast popular opn, jail is not heaven for a homosexual. Gay men who do not attempt to hi their sexualy are forced to passive and submissive rol.

It's difficult to asss how typil Rodney's prison experience is, but numero studi nducted by the Bure of Jtice Statistics, based on anonymo mate surveys, have shown that gay and transgenr mat are among the most targeted groups for sexual victimizatn. Jt Detentn Internatnal (JDI), an anizatn whose aim is to eradite prison rape (pdf), is tryg to change has been workg wh the California Department of Correctns and Rehabilatn (CDCR) to tablish "sensive needs yards" (pdf), where gay, transgenr and other vulnerable mat n serve out their time safety.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* DO PEOPLE TURN GAY IN PRISON

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