Why Are People Gay? Gay By Choice or Is Beg Gay Geic? | HealthyPlace

Contents:

• THERE IS NO ‘GAY GENE.’ THERE IS NO ‘STRAIGHT GENE.’ SEXUALY IS JT PLEX, STUDY NFIRMS
• WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
• THERE’S (STILL) NO GAY GENE
• WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE GAY? DEFN AND MEANG OF GAY

THERE IS NO ‘GAY GENE.’ THERE IS NO ‘STRAIGHT GENE.’ SEXUALY IS JT PLEX, STUDY NFIRMS

Sce 1975, APA has lled on psychologists to take the lead removg the stigma of mental illns that has long been associated wh lbian, gay, and bisexual orientatns. The prejudice and discrimatn that people who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual regularly experience have been shown to have negative psychologil effects. This page provis accurate rmatn for those who want to better unrstand sexual orientatn and the impact of prejudice and discrimatn on those who intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual.

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

gay/lbian (havg emotnal, romantic, or sexual attractns to members of one’s own sex).

In the Uned Stat the most equent labels are lbians (women attracted to women), gay men (men attracted to men), and bisexual people (men or women attracted to both sex). How do people know if they are lbian, gay, or bisexual? People n be celibate and still know their sexual orientatn—be lbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual.

THERE’S (STILL) NO GAY GENE

Different lbian, gay, and bisexual people have very different experienc regardg their sexual orientatn. Some people know that they are lbian, gay, or bisexual for a long time before they actually pursue relatnships wh other people. Prejudice and discrimatn make difficult for many people to e to terms wh their sexual orientatn inti, so claimg a lbian, gay, or bisexual inty may be a slow procs.

There is no nsens among scientists about the exact reasons that an dividual velops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lbian orientatn. What role do prejudice and discrimatn play the liv of lbian, gay, and bisexual people? Lbian, gay, and bisexual people the Uned Stat enunter extensive prejudice, discrimatn, and vlence bee of their sexual orientatn.

Intense prejudice agast lbians, gay men, and bisexual people was wispread throughout much of the 20th century. Public opn studi over the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s routely showed that, among large segments of the public, lbian, gay, and bisexual people were the target of strongly held negative attus. More recently, public opn has creasgly opposed sexual orientatn discrimatn, but exprsns of hostily toward lbians and gay men rema mon ntemporary Amerin society.

WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE GAY? DEFN AND MEANG OF GAY

In fact, bisexual dividuals may face discrimatn om some lbian and gay people as well as om heterosexual people. Severe antigay prejudice is reflected the high rate of harassment and vlence directed toward lbian, gay, and bisexual dividuals Amerin society. Numero surveys dite that verbal harassment and abe are nearly universal experienc among lbian, gay, and bisexual people.

Also, discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people employment and hog appears to rema wispread. The HIV/AIDS panmic is another area which prejudice and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people have had negative effects. Early the panmic, the assumptn that HIV/AIDS was a “gay disease” ntributed to the lay addrsg the massive social upheaval that AIDS would generate.

Gay and bisexual men have been disproportnately affected by this disease. The associatn of HIV/AIDS wh gay and bisexual men and the accurate belief that some people held that all gay and bisexual men were fected served to further stigmatize lbian, gay, and bisexual people. On the social level, prejudice and discrimatn agast lbian, gay, and bisexual people are reflected the everyday stereotyp of members of the groups.