Get critical!
I need feedback by noon-ish tomorrow. I should mention this is for the Wednesday edition of The Daily Utah Chronicle, the University of Utah's student rag. They'll be doing a special issue devoted entirely to gay rights.
Editor:
All too often the heterosexual majority of this country insidiously projects the fears of its own shortcomings on to the homosexual minority; a scapegoating of societal ills to maintain heterosexist dominance. It’s time to set the record “straight.”
It’s time that we stop looking to homosexuals as the carriers of disease. HIV is most often spread through heterosexual contact. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’ Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic, more than 80 percent of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual contact worldwide.
It’s time that we stop viewing homosexuals as sexual predators. The American Psychological Association has sponsored a work that asserts: "Recognized researchers in the field on child abuse, [...] almost unanimously concur that homosexual people are actually less likely to approach children sexually." Dr. William C. Holmes, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine, authored a study in the December 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that reports that 98% of all male perpetrators who had sexually abused boys were identified in their families and communities as heterosexual.
Most importantly in our modern political discourse, it’s time to understand that gay and lesbian families pose no threat to the purported “sanctity” of marriage. Marriage, as a sacred institution, was destroyed long ago by rampant infidelity, spousal abuse, and astoundingly high divorce rates. We will not shoulder the burden of responsibility for yet another cultural fear.
However, the greatest fears of the homophobic individuals perpetuating this misinformation are being realized. Everyday, more of us proudly step out of the closet and into our lives. Repeated attempts to define marriage through a constitutional amendment only demonstrate the desperation of the religious right in this country and strengthen our fortitude. We’ve got them running scared. Ultimately, they will be defeated because simply through loving one another we win.
One day, when society at large comes to accept the full spectrum of human sexuality-and it will-those currently standing in opposition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights will be viewed as nothing more than bigots through the lens of history. I challenge you to ask yourself, “Where will I stand?” After all, “the world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come.”
Evan Done
Sophomore, Gender Studies
Editor:
All too often the heterosexual majority of this country insidiously projects the fears of its own shortcomings on to the homosexual minority; a scapegoating of societal ills to maintain heterosexist dominance. It’s time to set the record “straight.”
It’s time that we stop looking to homosexuals as the carriers of disease. HIV is most often spread through heterosexual contact. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’ Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic, more than 80 percent of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual contact worldwide.
It’s time that we stop viewing homosexuals as sexual predators. The American Psychological Association has sponsored a work that asserts: "Recognized researchers in the field on child abuse, [...] almost unanimously concur that homosexual people are actually less likely to approach children sexually." Dr. William C. Holmes, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine, authored a study in the December 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that reports that 98% of all male perpetrators who had sexually abused boys were identified in their families and communities as heterosexual.
Most importantly in our modern political discourse, it’s time to understand that gay and lesbian families pose no threat to the purported “sanctity” of marriage. Marriage, as a sacred institution, was destroyed long ago by rampant infidelity, spousal abuse, and astoundingly high divorce rates. We will not shoulder the burden of responsibility for yet another cultural fear.
However, the greatest fears of the homophobic individuals perpetuating this misinformation are being realized. Everyday, more of us proudly step out of the closet and into our lives. Repeated attempts to define marriage through a constitutional amendment only demonstrate the desperation of the religious right in this country and strengthen our fortitude. We’ve got them running scared. Ultimately, they will be defeated because simply through loving one another we win.
One day, when society at large comes to accept the full spectrum of human sexuality-and it will-those currently standing in opposition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights will be viewed as nothing more than bigots through the lens of history. I challenge you to ask yourself, “Where will I stand?” After all, “the world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come.”
Evan Done
Sophomore, Gender Studies