Gay men and trma | Penn Today

Contents:

• WHAT IS GAY ATTACHMENT TRMA AND WHY DO WE ALL HAVE IT?
• GAY MEN AND MOVG ON IN LIFE AFTER TRMA
• GAY MEN AND TRMA REVERY: RECLAIMG YOUR LIFE
• GAY MEN AND TRMA
• THE SUPPRSED TRMA OF BEG TOLD I WAS GOG TO HELL FOR BEG GAY

WHAT IS GAY ATTACHMENT TRMA AND WHY DO WE ALL HAVE IT?

Introduc the viewer to the needs of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and qutng (LGBTQ) youth who have experienced trma. DUNEDIN, New Zealand, July 26, 2010 ()—A recent Otago Universy study has found that homosexual or bisexual dividuals are more likely to have unrgone a variety of of trmas childhood, cludg sexual asslt, rape, vlence, and wnsg vlence the home.

“People who eher intify themselv as homosexual or bisexual, or have had a same-sex enunter or relatnship, tend to e om more disturbed backgrounds, ” said Rearch Associate Profsor Elisabeth Wells.

GAY MEN AND MOVG ON IN LIFE AFTER TRMA

8% intified as homosexual; 0. Of people who reported certa trmatic childhood events, 15% were not heterosexual; of those whout such experienc, only 5% were not heterosexual, suggtg that such experienc tripled the chance of later profsg homosexual or bisexual clatns.

Some homosexualist lears took issue wh the study’s fdgs: Tony Simpson, chairman of the natnal homosexualist group Rabow Wellgton, said that the rearch should not be taken to mean that homosexuals are not born that way. “I have no doubt that the relig right will leap to the ncln that this go to show nclively that homosexuals are ma rather than born, ” he said. “I spect there might be some gay and lbian people who will be dignant, but is not my tentn to anger them, ” she said.

GAY MEN AND TRMA REVERY: RECLAIMG YOUR LIFE

“You uld say that if someone was sexually abed as a child, choos to live as a homosexual and liv life well, then that is not a bad thg.

But if they are livg a homosexual life and regrettg , that is another matter. Although sexual or physil abe childhood was associated wh adult homosexualy, other trmatic experienc, such as the sudn ath of a loved one or ser childhood illns or accint, were only slightly associated wh non-heterosexual inty or behavur. Of femal who self-intified as homosexual, more than 40% had been married and had children, whereas 13% of male homosexuals had done so.

GAY MEN AND TRMA

The associatn between child abe and later homosexual intifitn is not young. One 1992 study found that 37% of homosexual and bisexual men attendg sexually transmted disease clics had been enuraged or forced to have sexual ntact before age 19 wh an olr or more powerful partner.

Recently my iend sent me a very helpful vio by relatnship ach and psychotherapist Alan Robarge, “Growg Up Gay and Attachment Wounds: Impact on Relatnships, ” and ’s the first time I’ve ever enjoyed listeng to a man expla somethg to the voice of a wise rtoon owl who’s jt had six iced ffe, Robarge breaks down how growg up gay n create or worsen “attachment wounds, ” which then permeate our nervo system and psyche, and affect how we velop relatnships. Gay attachment trma is the rult of beg the “target of aggrsn, ” whether overt or vert, when growg up, sentially disptg your personal velopment. Can Childhood Trma lead to Homosexualy?

I intify as pletely gay but havg to al wh long standg issu and problems om my trmatic childhood wh my mother I was told that me beg a homosexual uld be part of how I alt wh the problems and issu I received om growg up. Basilly they were sayg that my mother turned me gay and turned me off om women.

THE SUPPRSED TRMA OF BEG TOLD I WAS GOG TO HELL FOR BEG GAY

Sce I was 13 I knew I was gay and really put myself through hell and back over hurtg myself bee I was gay.