Aineo wrote:First of all Dr. Spitzer has changed his position and has called for further studies in homosexuality and "ego dystonic homosexuality". As to what you quoted from the APA site that is nothing more than a smoke screen to obscure what actually happened. You should read Dr. Satinover's "Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth". You might also like to check out the Journal of Homosexuality and this site www.drthrockmorton.com

Political activism has nothing to do with the fact that there is no evidence to suggest that homosexuality is a pathological disorder and thus, should not be include in the APA's list of disorders.

"Ego dystonic homosexuality" is when a gay person has problems coming to grip with the fact that hey are gay. As somebody who's actually gone through that phase prior to coming out, I can tell you that social pressures was the direct and major factor in causing such emotional and mental distress. When I finally removed most of the major stigma ingrained in me about homosexuality, I found no real reason to distress over it.

Also, Dr. Spitzer today recognizes that the number of homosexuals who could successfully become heterosexual was likely to be "pretty low." He also conceded that participants in his study were "unusually religious" and were not necessarily representative of most gay men and lesbians in the United States.

As to blaming a portion of society for personal ills that is nothing more than finger pointing. I grew up in the 40's and 50's and suicide was never an option for me. I came out in the 60's in a very conservative part of the United States so I know the pressures that gay youth go through.

What is my source for stating gay activists are as much to blame for gay teen suicides? Suicide notes left by gay youth, which were published on the Internet by their families. These sites have been taken down. I do not deny (like some right wing conservatives) that social and religious pressure contribute to gay youth suicide but the same can be said for straight teens, the obese, and others who are mocked or treated as less than worthy by any society.

Obese people aren't physically abused for being fat. Obese people aren't denied the right to marriage. Obese people in relationships are recognized by their families. Obese people don't get kicked out of their houses for being fat. As someone who grew up as a gay youth, it puzzles me why you underestimate such pressures.

Furthermore, you're ignoring the possibility that many gay teens who are suicidal associate their feelings with the fact they can't change their sexual orientation because they don't want society to look at them that way rather than the actual sexual orientation that's bothering them. In fact, I'd bet that is the case in the vast majority of suicidal gay teens.

Before you even think of denying that anal intercourse has nothing to do with the transmission of HIV/AIDS I suggest you educate yourself.

We are tested, clean and void of STDs. We cannot get AIDs from our monogamous relationship. How hard is that to comprehend?

As to anal intercourse damaging the rectum ask a qualified colon/rectal surgeon, such activity can stretch the rectal muscles and can cause on-going bowel problems. You might also like to check the stats on anal cancer.

Gay and bisexual men, especially those with HIV, are at significantly higher risk for anal cancer than the general population.
Statistics show that the rate for anal cancer in gay and bisexual men (without HIV) is about the same as the rates of cervical cancer in women before pap smears became routine. Routine pap smears have decreased the incidence of cervical cancer from 30-40 per 100,000 women to approximately 8 per 100,000.
The incidence of anal cancer among gay and bisexual men who are long-term HIV survivors has increased greatly. This is probably due in part to the fact that men are now surviving longer with recent effective HIV treatments, and are thus experiencing rising rates of other, previously uncommon cancers.
http://www.metrokc.gov/health/glbt/analcancer.htm

Did you know that we are HIV-? Also, did you know we lack STDs that create such high risks of cancer like HPV? Did you know that since we have been tested to be clean of them, that we cannot get them from thin air?

You should also investigate gay bowel syndrome.

The gay bowel syndrome: clinico-pathologic correlation in 260 cases
HL Kazal, N Sohn, JI Carrasco, JG Robilotti, and WE Delaney
The clinical and pathological findings in a group of 260 homosexual men comprising 10% of a private proctologic practice are reviewed. A clinical pattern of anorectal and colon diseases encountered with unusual frequency in these homosexual patients is termed the gay bowel syndrome. The clinical diagnoses in decreasing order of frequency include condyloma acuminata, hemorrhoids, nonspecific proctitis, anal fistula, perirectal abscess, anal fissure, amebiasis, benign polyps, viral hepatitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, anorectal trauma and foreign bodies, shigellosis, rectal ulcers and lymphogranuloma venereum. 60 anorectal and sigmoid biopsies from 51 patients failed to disclose evidence of specific infection other than condyloma acuminata. Of 21 patients with biopsy diagnosis of nonspecific proctitis, 8 had a specific infection which was detected by other means,--5 cases of shigellosis and one case each of gonorrheal proctitis, amebiasis and lymphogranuloma venereum. In evaluating proctologic problems in the gay male, all of the known sexually transmitted diseases should be considered. Shigellosis, amebiasis and viral hepatitis should be included. Microbiological evaluation is essential. Concurrent infections with 2 or more pathogens should be anticipated. Chlamydia trachomatis, an important cause of nonspecific urethritis in the general population, is high on the list of possible causes of the nonspecific proctitis present in 31 of the 260 patients.

http://www.annclinlabsci.org/cgi/conten ... ct/6/2/184

If you have any concern for the gay community I suggest you check out facts before you deny their profound medical problems.

The gay bowel syndrome refers to diseases caused by STDs such as gonorrhea and syphillis. I repeat for the third time - we are STD free.

http://www.answers.com/topic/homosexuality-and-medical-science

Various attempts have been made to define gay-only or gay-specific diseases, particularly during the 1970s. "Gay bowel syndrome" was a term first used in 1976, prior to the discovery of AIDS, to describe a series of parasitic disorders caused by oral/anal sexual contact. The term was abandoned by the medical community in the 1980s. The medical problems attributed to "gay bowel syndrome" were

* not specific to people of a specific sexual orientation
* not confined to the bowel
* not the medical definition of a syndrome

Similarly, a 2003 cluster of cases of MRSA-related skin infection found in gay men, schools, and prisons was initially labeled in press reports as a gay disease. In fact, there is no correlation between sexual orientation and MRSA infection or colonization.

The term "gay disease" in reference to AIDS is mostly used by religious objectors to same-sex relationships, who feel that lesbians and gay men are violating their religious doctrines and deserve punishment or divine retribution.

Referring to AIDS as a "gay disease" is also misleading. On a global scale, as of 2005 heterosexuals are more likely to acquire HIV, illustrating that a disease can strike anyone, regardless of sexual orientation.