Homophobia : A Serious Disease

Guest editorial by Dr. Jason Leong

On 23rd May 2015, citizens in Ireland voted heavily in favour of legalizing same sex marriage. On 27th of June the same year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that gay couples can marry. They now make up 20 countries in which such unions are legal.
When Facebook was flooded with rainbow-filtered profile pics, I was unpleasantly surprised to see some of my friends declaring their dismay that ‘God’s laws are no longer being followed’ or that ‘The unnatural has become the norm’ and so on and forth. More interesting, however, was their defensive tone.
One began his post as such, ‘I am so sorry to be seen as traditional, or backward thinking but…’ and one of the comments was ‘I agree! I am so sick of people making fun of me for not being progressive, or liberal…”.
Now, the homophobes were the ones who felt like the minority, being outcasts simply because of who they are and what they believe in. Now, the bigots anxiously crawl out of hiding, full of trepidation at how their friends and family might react to the news they don’t support gay rights.
To me, it was absolutely hilarious to see the tables being turned, albeit briefly.
Oh sure, the arguments then and now haven’t changed. Let’s see if we can quickly debunk two of the major ones, shall we?
‘Homosexuality is unnatural!’ ‘Homosexuality is a choice!’
Firstly, homosexuality abounds in nature. There are more than 130 species of birds which are gay (I bet you the flamingos are knee deep in that). There is an entire book written about homosexuality in animals, aptly titled ‘Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity’.
Secondly, science has found no link to sexuality being a choice. In fact, a 2014 study in the Psychology Journal found that a gene on the X chromosome called Xq28 and a gene on chromosome 8 are more likely to be found in gay men, thus suggesting that sexuality is something we are born with.
And c’mon, if being gay is a choice, then being straight must be a choice too. If you are straight, go on and try your best to be gay, just for a minute. Try and imagine kissing a person of the same sex. Can’t? My point exactly.
‘Same sex marriage denies the child a mother and a father!’
Hey, guess who had heterosexual parents and the benefits of having both father and mother? Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, the politicians stealing our country’s resources and the guy who cut you off in the middle of the road during rush hour and Michael Bay, proof that monsters can be bred from ‘traditional’ upbringings.

Oh and guess what? Children raised by same-sex couples are reportedly happier and healthier, according to a 2014 study by the University of Melbourne which looked at 315 same-sex parents and 500 children.
In fact, I will submit that if and when gay couples get to have children, via adoption or surrogacy or other methods of insemination, the children will be more cherished and valued if only because of the extra hurdles in having them.
A child blessed with same sex parents will always be wanted. After all, 100% of the unwanted teenage pregnancies and 100% cases of baby dumping are through *traditional and heterosexual* relationships.
It is important for those of us who believe in gay rights to speak up loudly for our gay brothers and sisters. Right now, there are kids and teenagers who are either silent in their anguish or being bombarded by friends and family on their ‘affliction’, with insensitive urges to ‘pray the gay away’ or ‘convert back to normal’. It is important for them to know that being homosexual is like vanilla or chocolate, just another flavour.
And to thos who still believe homosexuality is wrong,I leave you with a quote by Victor Hugo who said, “No army can stop an idea whose time has come”.
The idea of treating homosexuals as equals is come now.
There were scholars who thought the Sun circled the Earth, businessmen who used slavery as an economic tool and politicians who deemed women unworthy of voting.
We look back at those misguided people now with derision and disbelief.
That is exactly how our future generation will look upon you. Unprogressive and irrational, clinging to a paradigm past its time.

Dr. Jason Leong is a standup comedian.
Check out his Youtube channel, The Jason Leong Show or Like his Facebook page