Difference between revisions of "Homosexuality"

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==Overview==
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<hide>
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[[Homosexuality]] is predominantly an issue where it relates to the right of an individual to have intimate or sexual relationships with another person of the same physical gender.
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[[page type::article]]
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==Reference==
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[[thing type::phenomenon]]
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* {{wikipedia|Homosexuality}}
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[[category:gender]]
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[[category:sexuality]]
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</hide>
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==About==
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Homosexuality, to oversimplify greatly, is when a member of a presumptively binary [[gender]] is sexually attracted more or less exclusively to other members of the same gender, rather than to members of the opposite gender.
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* [[/debate]]
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===evolution===
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The role of homosexuality &ndash; or, more properly, sexual orientation &ndash; in evolution is not known, as the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. It is known that it is more or less fixed at a very young age, but there do not seem to be specific genetic characteristics associated with it. In layman's terms, there is no "gay gene".
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===human reproduction===
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The role of homosexuality in human reproduction is largely a positive one. While gay couples can conceive -- either by having sex with members of the opposite gender specifically for the purposes of reproduction, or else by artificial insemination (for women) or purchasing the services of a host-mother (for men) -- they must do so deliberately, since they are far less likely to be involved in sexual activities that might result in conception.
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Further, gay couples are far more likely to adopt than hetero couples. (This is certainly understandable, given their lack of fertility with each other. Regardless of what method they choose for reproduction, none of their children will be the biological offspring of both members of a gay couple.)
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In other words: homosexuality is pretty much an unalloyed benefit to humanity. Gay people have next to zero unwanted pregnancies, are a major source of good homes for unwanted children, and overall help to slow population growth.
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===religion===
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Fundamentalist branches of various religions hold that homosexuality is a bad thing, and prescribe various sanctions against it. These include:
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* [[Christianity]]
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* [[Islam]]
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* [[Judaism]]
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==Related Articles==
 
==Related Articles==
 
* [[Homosexuality]] is a [[sexuality issue]].
 
* [[Homosexuality]] is a [[sexuality issue]].
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* [[homosexuality and religion]]: Many [[religious]] groups (especially [[Christian]] and [[Islam]]ic [[fundamentalist]]s) are vehemently [[anti-gay|opposed to homosexuality]], while other religious groups show varying degrees of tolerance and support for it.
 
* [[homosexuality and religion]]: Many [[religious]] groups (especially [[Christian]] and [[Islam]]ic [[fundamentalist]]s) are vehemently [[anti-gay|opposed to homosexuality]], while other religious groups show varying degrees of tolerance and support for it.
 
* [[Social conservative]]s may also be anti-gay, believing that homosexuality threatens the established social order.
 
* [[Social conservative]]s may also be anti-gay, believing that homosexuality threatens the established social order.
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==Arguments==
 
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===Con===
 
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''I haven't seen any of these arguments actually spelled out succinctly, but this is a list of what most of them seem to be getting at.''
 
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* Homosexuality upsets the social order, disrupting the traditional lines of authority and leading towards chaos (moral and otherwise)
 
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* Homosexuality spreads AIDS, harming heterosexuals as well as homosexuals
 
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* <s>[[Homosexuality is condemned by God]]</s> (see also [[homosexuality and religion]])
 
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* Gay (or lesbian) couples deprive children of a mother (or father), when it has been shown that children do best when raised by a married mother and father. [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/16657778.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_leonard_pitts]
 
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** '''Inquiry''': Do any of those studies contrast married-mother-father families with ''anything other than'' single-parent families, much less gay couples?
 
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===Pro===
 
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* Homosexuals must make a conscious decision and expend considerable additional effort in order to reproduce, thus minimizing the number of unwanted children for which they are responsible (and hence reducing homosexuals' overall burden to society)
 
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* Many cultural/religious sentiments against homosexuality probably arose in pre-industrial society where maximization of reproduction was vital to survival; we now have the opposite problem, or (at best) no need to maximize reproduction
 
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* Actively suppressing homosexuality causes a great deal of personal suffering and hardship, and puts at least one significant roadblock in the way of homosexuals' "pursuit of happiness", a right guaranteed by the [[US Constitution]]
 
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* Failure to legally support the rights of homosexuals as equal citizens allows them to be harmed and persecuted without cause, and gives apparent sanction to religiously-based hatred and violence towards homosexuals
 
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* Failure to grant homosexual couples similar protections and freedoms to those granted to heterosexual couples causes hardship on homosexual-parented families, and harms the well-being of any children they may be raising
 
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===Nature vs. Nurture===
 
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Much argument about homosexuality centers around the theory (for which there is apparently strong evidence) that homosexuality is an innate biological property, fixed either prenatally or during the first few years of life. This argument is largely irrelevant, for the following reasons:
 
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* Any argument based on the presumption that homosexuality is ''or'' is not natural is utilizing the [[appeal to nature]] fallacy.
 
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* Defending homosexuality on the basis that it ''is'' natural contradicts the stand that [[homosexuality is not a disease]] to be cured, the latter appearing to be majority opinion among advocates of homosexual rights.
 
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The argument that homosexuality is "unnatural", ''as untrue as it may be and as easy as it is to counter'', [[shifting the topic|distracts attention]] away from the true issue of how support for homosexuality would actually [[net good|affect society]].
 
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==Links==
 
==Links==
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===Reference===
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* {{wikipedia}}
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* {{conservapedia}}
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* {{rationalwiki}}
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* {{ironchariots}}
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===Projects===
 
* [http://www.borndifferent.org/ BornDifferent.org]: advocacy site based on the theory that homosexuality is biologically-based
 
* [http://www.borndifferent.org/ BornDifferent.org]: advocacy site based on the theory that homosexuality is biologically-based
 
** [http://www.family.org/cforum/sherman/ No Moo Lies]: counterargument site by [[Wikipedia:Focus on the Family|Focus on the Family]]
 
** [http://www.family.org/cforum/sherman/ No Moo Lies]: counterargument site by [[Wikipedia:Focus on the Family|Focus on the Family]]
 
* [http://www.lambdalegal.org/ Lambda Legal]: organization fighting sexuality-based discrimination
 
* [http://www.lambdalegal.org/ Lambda Legal]: organization fighting sexuality-based discrimination
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===News===
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==Links==
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===Filed Links===
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{{links/news}}
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===to file===
 
* '''2007-02-03''' [[wikinews:Turkish government proposes to outlaw LGBT websites|Turkish government proposes to outlaw LGBT websites]]
 
* '''2007-02-03''' [[wikinews:Turkish government proposes to outlaw LGBT websites|Turkish government proposes to outlaw LGBT websites]]
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==Memetics==
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==Bumperstickers etc.==
 
 
"If homosexuality is a disease, let's call in queer to work." (seen [http://www.livejournal.com/userpic/45371591/1707199 here])
 
"If homosexuality is a disease, let's call in queer to work." (seen [http://www.livejournal.com/userpic/45371591/1707199 here])
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==Discussion==
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Parts of this article were originally posted [https://plus.google.com/u/0/106218084115935199304/posts/1g1jzmQGXbr on Google+] in response to Christian anti-gay claims.

Latest revision as of 14:46, 21 December 2019

About

Homosexuality, to oversimplify greatly, is when a member of a presumptively binary gender is sexually attracted more or less exclusively to other members of the same gender, rather than to members of the opposite gender.

evolution

The role of homosexuality – or, more properly, sexual orientation – in evolution is not known, as the mechanisms behind it are not well understood. It is known that it is more or less fixed at a very young age, but there do not seem to be specific genetic characteristics associated with it. In layman's terms, there is no "gay gene".

human reproduction

The role of homosexuality in human reproduction is largely a positive one. While gay couples can conceive -- either by having sex with members of the opposite gender specifically for the purposes of reproduction, or else by artificial insemination (for women) or purchasing the services of a host-mother (for men) -- they must do so deliberately, since they are far less likely to be involved in sexual activities that might result in conception.

Further, gay couples are far more likely to adopt than hetero couples. (This is certainly understandable, given their lack of fertility with each other. Regardless of what method they choose for reproduction, none of their children will be the biological offspring of both members of a gay couple.)

In other words: homosexuality is pretty much an unalloyed benefit to humanity. Gay people have next to zero unwanted pregnancies, are a major source of good homes for unwanted children, and overall help to slow population growth.

religion

Fundamentalist branches of various religions hold that homosexuality is a bad thing, and prescribe various sanctions against it. These include:

Related Articles

Links

Reference

Projects

Links

Filed Links

Related


to file

Memetics

"If homosexuality is a disease, let's call in queer to work." (seen here)

Discussion

Parts of this article were originally posted on Google+ in response to Christian anti-gay claims.

Retrieved from "https://issuepedia.org/mw/index.php?title=Homosexuality&oldid=65342"