The Gay Rights Movement has recently garnered a huge number of supporters from nations across the globe, with most of Europe and North America having legalized gay marriages while most of the rest of the world has at least decriminalized consensual adult sexual activity in all its forms. The nation of South Africa leads its continent in the area of progressive inclusiveness by becoming the first African nation to legalize same sex marriages, with one of its most prominent clerics proclaiming proudly that he would rather not visit a Heaven where gay people are barred for no fault of their own.
Perhaps not surprisingly, like any other civil-rights movement which calls for rights being extended to a traditionally oppressed minority, this one too has raised quite a few hackles. What is surprising, though, is that much of the opposition originates not from an older generation of politically incorrect social conservatives, but rather from our own. Many young people, on the internet and otherwise, oppose the Gay Equality Movement for rather flimsy reasons which could not possibly stand up to any serious scrutiny. Here are a few of the ridiculous reasons cited by such individuals to garb their bigotry in the facade of reason.
- Gay People Cause AIDS
No more than straight people cause it or any other form of venereal disease. What causes the spread of such diseases is not any particular kind of sexual orientation, but rather the absolute lack of sex-education in our homes and educational institutions. Indian parents would rather swallow their own tongues than teach their children the basics of sex; and any efforts to include such education in schools have been blocked by the sanctimonious moral police who would rather see droves of people die of an incurable disease than corrupt the minds of the young with the basics of condom-use. The idea that not talking about sex is going to stop young people from having it is as ridiculous as it gets. It does not matter which form one prefers, if they are not properly educated in the methods of protecting themselves and others, the AIDS epidemic will continue unabated.
- Allowing Gay Marriage Will Cause the Breakdown of Traditional Marriage
Of course it will! Just as allowing inter-caste marriage has destroyed all intra-caste marriages. This argument is even more ridiculous than the last, and the stupidity of it is best portrayed by a YouTube personality who seriously proclaims to his wife in a video:
“Darling, we have had a wonderful life together. Have loved and cherished each other over the years and have lovingly raised beautiful children. But I must leave you now. God damn that gay couple who’ve moved in to the house across the street. If they can have a happy life together, obviously our marriage has been meaningless all along!”
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Well, that’s ’cause it is! The only thing that can destroy a marriage is a lack of mutual love and respect amongst the partners themselves. No strong and loving relationship can be ended by coming into contact with another equally strong and loving bond. That argument holds as much water as a teaspoon with a hole in it!
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Mumbai Pride Parade[/caption]
- Gay People are Paedophiles
No more or less than are straight people. Paedophilia is a mental disorder that causes sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. It has no relation whatsoever to the sexual orientation of the perpetrator. Child rape and trafficking victims include children of both genders. People who abuse children, sexually or otherwise, are nothing more than disgusting criminals, the worst scum of society. Giving them any other label is disrespectful to not only the gay community, but to the victims themselves.
- Homosexuality is Unnatural
If I had a penny for every time I have heard this utterly ridiculous argument, I’d be a rich woman by now! To those who still hold this mistaken assumption, I have two things to say:
- It is not. Yes, you heard that right. It’s not unnatural at all, and a basic Google search would have told you that a long time ago. Homosexual behaviour is observed in species as disparate as cats, dogs, chimpanzees and turtles! So the next time you feel like throwing around unfounded arguments, do yourself a favour and make sure you are being scientifically accurate at the very least.
- Even if we were to close our eyes to all evidence to the contrary and momentarily accept the fact that homosexuality is in fact unnatural; well, I’ve got news for you my friend. So is everything else in our lives! If nature meant for us to fly, it would have given us wings. Clearly, it did not, yet I don’t find many people complaining about the unnaturalness of aeroplanes. Even straight people do not marry in naturally occurring registrar’s offices decked out in naturally occurring jewels and sundry regalia. The entire concept of marriage is artificial and entirely unnatural. No other species of animal has ever been observed getting married. Hell, if we tried to be exactly what nature originally made us, we would still be cave-dwelling hunter gatherers hunting with our claws. Subversion and manipulation of natural laws has been the entire point of human civilization since time immemorial.
- It Will Cause The Human Race to Die Out
Even by the most generous estimates, gay people constitute no more than about 4% of the total human population. Even if none of these people reproduced in their lives, the human population would be very far from dying out. But with modern technology offering solutions such as artificial insemination, surrogacy and test-tube babies, anyone who wants to have a child can do so, with or without sexual intercourse. Even if they choose not to make use of any of these options, in countries like India population growth is in desperate need of control. Any fall in fertility rates would not only benefit the country but everyone in it, leaving more resources and opportunities for those who are already here. A country where children die of starvation everyday really shouldn’t be hankering for more people! Besides, if this were a genuine concern, we would have banned nuns, monks and all forms of celibate sadhus a long time ago. This argument only serves to demonstrate our own hypocrisy when it comes to the question of minority rights.
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A lesbian couple with their child[/caption]
- A Child Needs a Heterosexual Family to Survive
I often wonder about the people who say such things. Have they never stepped out into the streets of an Indian city? Littered with homeless children begging on roadsides for scraps of food; infested with dirt and diseases, without access to even the very basic necessities of life. Do they really think that such a child would care about the sexual orientation of people who took it out of this mire of hunger and poverty and into a warm home with loving caregivers? Have they never met a child from an abusive home? Most such children have perfectly heterosexual parents who have left no stone unturned to scar them for life, both in mind and body. It is not the sexuality but the love and care of the guardians that really determines the health and happiness of any child. And heterosexuality is certainly no guarantee of a loving personality.
In conclusion, to all my dear readers out there, live and let live. There are enough problems in the world already, such as war, poverty, hunger, disease and natural disasters — we really do not need to dream up non-existent issues and spend precious time and energy that could be better utilised in helping the aforementioned children dying on the streets every day. If we really love this great nation that has given us life and everything else that we have, it is our duty to share our good fortune with all the less fortunate citizens of India. Ostracizing a section of our compatriots for the way they were born speaks not of love but of a hateful and bigoted mind.
Source: https://www.icytales.com/some-popular-but-untrue-myths-about-homosexuality/
