It’s "Okay" to Be Gay, and You Need to Know Why

Contents:

• CAN SOMEONE BE HOMOSEXUAL AND NOT GAY?
• WHY GAY IS NOT OK
• IT’S “OKAY” TO BE GAY, AND YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY
• WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
• HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY
• GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT
• REPORT: RUDY GAY WAIVED BY OKC THUNR
• WHY DO SOME CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ’S OK TO BE GAY, WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS ISN’T?
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

CAN SOMEONE BE HOMOSEXUAL AND NOT GAY?

So when we therapists are nonted wh male clients, often married on, who e to wh ep nflicts about their sexual attractn to other men, we often fd that they are willg to e the word “homosexual, ” but chew the “gay” label.

Unfortunately, much of our natn’s polics have long exacerbated the problem as well, shamg and vilifyg homosexualy, leadg legns of men stgglg wh sexual inty to ternalize their homophobia. I warned them of the pfalls of keepg their sexual orientatn secret: a life of creased prsn, pursug a secret life the gay unrground wh the danger of beg ught, how attemptg to supprs urg n often e them to bee even more obssed wh them. They may need, om time to time, to seek further therapy, but wh the right therapist, one who has thoroughly unrstood the dangers of such practic of “reparative therapy” which the therapist seeks to change the client’s sexual inty om gay to straight.

WHY GAY IS NOT OK

Bee the labels “homosexual” or “gay” rry such a stigma, some of the men seek help for their “sex addictn” and see their homosexualy as an actg out of same-sex urg. After speakg to a group of high school senrs about the damage of viewg homosexualy as a normal, alternative liftyle, I opened up for qutns.

IT’S “OKAY” TO BE GAY, AND YOU NEED TO KNOW WHY

While I wasn't ready for my Q&A ssn wh the high schoolers, I vowed that I'd learn to prent a biblil view of homosexualy to nonbelievers. They vised a seven-pot sle that placed exclive heterosexualy and exclive homosexualy at oppose pol, wh bisexualy at the midpot.

Usg this sle, the rearchers averaged figur supportg their claims that 10 percent of mal between the ag of 16 and 55 were more or ls exclively homosexual for at least three years.

Gordon Muir reported that he had found "substantial evince ditg that ls than 5 percent of men and women have had any homosexual ntact their lifetime, and no more than 3 percent of men and nsirably fewer women claim to be bisexual or exclively homosexual.

WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?

The latt rearch on this area, published this April Science, uld not reproduce the fdgs of a prev study which had tied homosexual behavr to certa geic patterns. Even if rearchers were to suggt a heredary tie wh homosexualy, as they have wh alholism, the right tack wh this argument is not to ntend that 's false, but that promot life-threateng behavr.

HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

" While AIDS is no longer nsired jt a gay disease, s universaly often overshadows the fact that, acrdg to the Centers for Disease Control, "homosexuals ntue to make up the majory of s.

" Consequently, the 1993 fdgs of three rearchers wh the Eastern Psychologil Associatn, quoted by Jefey Satover "Homosexualy and the Polics of Tth" (Baker), should e as no surprise.

Satover wr that "they found that the gay male lifpan, even apart om AIDS and wh a long-term partner, is signifintly shorter than that of married men general by more than three s.

GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT

Though rearchers have yet to prove or disprove a geic lk for homosexualy, they have proven one unniable fact: Homosexualy n be adly. Mattison found that even homosexual men "permanent" relatnships tend to stray more often than heterosexual men: "Y, that wayward impulse is as evable man-to-man affairs as man-to-woman, only, for gays, starts chg faster.

In "Straight Answers About Homosexualy for Straight Rears" (Prentice-Hall), David Loovis adms that fily is a problem for male and female homosexuals. I did thk, however, “You don’t know what the ‘f-bomb’ means, and you’re unfaiar wh the ‘s-word, ’ but you know what the words gay and homosexual mean?

In other words, 5-10% of people experience same-sex sexual attractn or behavr; of urse, this don't speak to what mak people gay. It very much appears that same-sex sexual attractn is not a choice but actg on is; so if you fe gay as the mere prence of same-sex attractn, then om everythg we unrstand, beg gay is not a choice. If, on the other hand, you nsir someone to be gay only if they act on their same-sex attractn then beg gay n be nsired a choice pendg on an dividual's behavr.

REPORT: RUDY GAY WAIVED BY OKC THUNR

Whether science n ultimately prove the blogy of beg gay or not, 's important to support all adults their choic no matter how they intify. Many health re and mental health anizatns foced on the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny also offer substance e treatment or may be able to provi rmatn about lol rourc.

And rearch has shown that gay men and other men who have sex wh men experience timate partner vlence at a higher rate than do other men.

WHY DO SOME CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ’S OK TO BE GAY, WHEN THE BIBLE SAYS ISN’T?

A lack of shelters and other facili equipped to offer gay men a safe, supportive place to get help also may make dntg to seek re. Most people the LGBTQ+ muny know om experience that acceptg your sexualy will lead to your beg a happier, more open this gui, the term gay has been ed to clu all forms of non-heterosexual attractn, whether that be people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or otherwise not straight. Beg gay do not necsarily make you any ls mascule or feme, and there is no need or prsure to nform to stereotyp that don't feel right to you - bee you are who you are.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

The laws the Bible were maly for health purpos - shunng homosexualy is right next to not gettg tattoos, not eatg pork, and not wearg mixed lens, but you n bet your bottom dollar all your neighbors do those thgs. It is important to note that the Amerin Psychologil Associatn has clared that groups claimg to cure homosexualy are dangero and unhealthy. If you are still beg supported by parents whom you are que sure would disown you for beg gay, may be pnt to wa to tell them until you are pennt.

You may regret the acceptance of your orientatn the future, pecially if you're a part of the world where the gay muny is beg prosecuted by a specific culture. Article SummaryXIf you stggle wh acceptg your attractn to the same sex, know that beg gay is pletely normal and you n be proud of who you are by fdg support and embracg your dividualy.

WASHINGTON – A feral appeals urt has led that a Catholic high school Indianapolis was ee to fire a gay guidance unselor bee she performed at least some relig duti, the latt legal setback for LGBTQ+ rights when they nflict wh Fzgerald had worked for 14 years as a guidance unselor at Ronlli High School when school officials disvered she was married to another woman. On a recent trip to Las Vegas wh my boyiend (I’m gay) and both our mothers (aga, we are extremely gay) to see Ale (you get the ia), we both packed so much that you’d be fiven for thkg we were movg there.