I know there are a lot of misconceptions out there about homosexuals, and I want to clear that up. A lot of this will be directed to anyone who reads this, but some will be directed towards Mormons.
The Readers Digest Version of what I want to say can be summed up in this clip:
- I did not choose to be gay. You didn’t choose to be straight. You didn’t choose to have blonde or brown or red hair. You didn’t choose to be left or right handed. There are a lot of different theories about the causes of homosexuality and some may be closer to the truth than others. It also depends on the person. For me, I think it is biological factors. As long as I can remember, I’ve been attracted to guys. I remember having a crush on Prince Charles from the Faerie Tale Theater version (which was Matthew Broderick….really though, who didn’t have a crush on him?). There are other things that may have contributed throughout my life, but overall I believe I was born this way. I know saying I was born this way will rub a lot of people the wrong way. Why would God create me like this? Why would he make me into something that has such tendencies to go against his plan? I have a handicapped brother. Why did God create him the way he is? He was born with so many problems and won’t be able to procreate either. This seemingly goes against his plan too, doesn’t it? And don’t we all have tendencies to go against His plan? We all want to sin. Having the desire to sin doesn’t make you bad or a sinner. It makes you human. I am just as normal as anyone else.
- I’m not going to change. When I first started coming out, I prayed and prayed about the possibility of change, and even started looking into reparitive therapy. I finally received an answer by the spirit that told me that God didn’t want me to change. He made me this way and I needed to learn from it. He has no plans of changing me. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe he can. I believe he can, but doesn’t want me to change. Does God have the power to take away my brothers disability? Absolutely! Does that mean he will? Probably not in this life. Am I okay with this? Yes. Furthermore, reparitive therapy tends to cause more damage than good. One so strongly believes that if they do this and that, they will change. After spending years and years of working the steps they were told to work, they may have become a better person with more self control, but the attractions are still they, even if they are hiding it. Realizing they have spent years trying to fix themselves only to see little or no change brings a feeling of failure.
- I don’t have sex in bathrooms. I would be lying if I were to say that doesn’t happen. It does. And in parks. And in other public places. I think it’s gross and inappropriate. But I recognize that it does happen, and maybe with more frequency in the “gay community” than anywhere else. My personal thoughts on this are that this has come about as a result of our culture. Let me give an example of a thought process that might occur in a mans mind that would drive him to do this: I really want to have sex with a man but I don’t want to admit that I’m gay > what will people think if they find me having sex with another guy > if I can find a discreet place to have sex (like a bathroom, car, or park), I won’t have to worry about getting caught or about what others will think. I also think people seeking to have sexual encounters with strangers are sex addicts more than anything.
- I’m not a pedophile. In fact, most gays aren’t. That was used as a scare tactic in the 50’s and has since carried over to today. Most pedophiles actually identify as straight. Some with most male on male rape. It has less to do with sexual attraction than it does with an inner struggle of feeling power over another person.
- If you are a guy, that doesn’t mean I’m attracted to you. You are attracted to certain people, as am I. You might like blonde girls with long legs and large breasts. I happen to be attracted to clean cut gay guys with dark hair that are around my same build. I’m not usually attracted to straight guys, so you don’t need to worry anyway.
- I’m human. I’m a person. I like to eat food, ride my bike, hike, learn new things, and meet new people. I also happen to prefer the company of men. I’m still a human, and I still have feelings. I am just like anyone else. You’d probably be surprised how many of us there are out there, even in your own ward. Happy Guessing! 🙂
Filed under: gay lds, gay mormon, homosexuality, homosexuality lds, Rambling, same gender attraction, same sex attraction, Things That I Believe | 5 Comments »