My son was gay from the moment he was born. My wife and I knew, and my only regret is that I did not acknowledge it sooner. Had I done so, he would have been spared the emotional pain of figuring out if we, his parents, would accept him. Some who don’t know any better make it appear that gay people choose to be gay. But if it was a choice, who would choose to be gay and face a prejudiced, homophobic world. How could one choose a life that would come with the enormous burden of being bullied, ridiculed and discriminated against? Others even end up being physically attacked, or worse, killed.
If there was a choice, it would be one where many of them would rather suffer in the closet, trying so hard to appear as alpha males oozing with testosterone, projecting pretentious masculinity, yet secretly glancing at the men around them and fantasizing having sex with them. It is not being gay that is the choice. Being gay is what is inherently natural, and into which people like my son are born. What is a forced choice is pretending to be straight because of society’s prejudices.
Scientific studies point to the fact that homosexuality and lesbianism are not optional lifestyles that one can choose. And as a parent with a gay son, I do not need these studies to prove this point. All I have to believe is the fact that my son did not choose to be gay. Nothing in his environment made him gay. When he was a little child, he already showed signs. And our genes may even have made him one, considering that both my wife and I have gay relatives.
It is precisely because of this that it is inconceivable to argue that being gay is a kind of disease that can be cured. Science has already debunked this argument, and the American Psychological Association has already stated that homosexuality is not a psychological malady.
Most of the demonization of homosexuality come from the religious conservatives who even consider it to be sinful. They strongly oppose any suggestion that one is born gay, and that it is not a choice, for the simple reason that these views would negate the claim that being gay is a sin. To treat being gay as sinful when in fact one is born gay would amount to an unjust attribution of sinfulness to what would be a natural trait.
Some would argue that it is not gay people that they find abhorrent, but the things they do, like engaging in homosexual acts, from cross-dressing to entering into same-sex relationships. These people fail to understand that what gays do are essential to their being gay. Besides, the argument that one can suspend what is natural and innate in one’s sexuality by avoiding the acts associated with it tacitly admits that one is already gay at birth.
It must be pointed out that not all cross-dressers are gay considering that there are straight men whose fetish is to wear women’s clothes. Furthermore, having sex with another man may not necessarily make one actually gay. Many male prostitutes are called gay-for-pay since they engage in homosexual acts only as a paid transaction with gay patrons but are in fact straight and are in heterosexual relationships. There are also men who as young boys engaged in homosexual acts as a transactional experience in exchange for material benefits, from a simple phone load to financial support for school matriculation. Those boys who are by nature straight end up outgrowing this phase, while those who are by nature gay, or have some gay tendencies, may eventually end up either adopting the gay lifestyle or remaining trapped in their closets. There are also those who are bisexual, who can have relationships with both sexes.
What is apparent in this complex domain of manifestations of being gay is that those who are born gay deserve the same kind of rights as those who are born straight. One of these rights is the right to happiness, and the right to have a legally recognized status with a partner or a spouse. To believe otherwise is patently discriminatory. And to anchor the opposition to same-sex unions or marriages on religious grounds is anathema to the very nature of the Philippines as a secular republic, and not a theocratic state.
Being gay is not a contagious disease. It is manifested in individuals who are entitled equal protection under the law. The gayness of one doesn’t impair the straightness of another. There are no rights denied from straight people just because we would allow same-sex unions and marriages. The moral soundness of any religion will not be assailed in the eyes of its believers, even as no religion should have a right to impose on the state what should and shouldn’t be considered legal. Passing a law legalizing same-sex unions will not violate one’s right to exercise his or her faith. It will not deplete society of any resource. It will not reduce the income of straight people. And it doesn’t undermine society’s biological reproduction of its workforce considering that gay unions and marriages will not stop straight people from having sex and bearing children.
Gay has become one of the many normal colors of life. Gays have been around since time immemorial. They have survived persecution from tyrants and discrimination from bigots. They will outlive homophobic ignorance and intolerance. They are here to stay, whether we like it or not.
https://www.manilatimes.net/gay-as-normal-color-of-life/568840/
https://www.manilatimes.net/gay-as-normal-color-of-life/568840/
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