Brain similarities between homosexuals and opposite sex – June 2008
In a study recently published in PNAS, scientists at Karolinska Institutet show that the brains of gay men and women in some aspects are similar to the brains of those of the opposite sex.
Using MRI and PET technology Associate Professor Ivanka Savic-Berglund and Senior Physician Per Lindström studied the brains of 90 persons, both heterosexual and homosexual, and found that heterosexual men and homosexual women showed a rightward cerebral asymmetry, whereas volumes of the cerebral hemispheres were symmetrical in homosexual men and heterosexual women. The scientists also found that homosexual men and women showed sex-atypical connections in the part of the brain called amygdala. Photo
Publication:
Ivanka Savic-Berglund and Per Lindström
PET and MRI show differences in cerebral asymmetry and functional connectivity between homo- and heterosexual subjects PNAS, Online Early Edition 16-20 June 2008,
doi:10.1073/pnas.0801566105
doi:10.1073/pnas.0801566105
Read more: Photo
2 Related links to:
Ivanka Savic-Berglund and Per Lindström at Karolinska Institutet
Gay brains structured like those of the opposite sex – 6/16/08
Brain scans have provided the most compelling evidence yet that being gay or straight is a biologically fixed trait.
The scans reveal that in gay people, key structures of the brain governing emotion, mood, anxiety and aggressiveness resemble those in straight people of the opposite sex.
The differences are likely to have been forged in the womb or in early infancy, says Ivanka Savic, who conducted the study at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
"This is the most robust measure so far of cerebral differences between homosexual and heterosexual subjects," she says.
Previous studies have also shown differences in brain architecture and activity between gay and straight people, but most relied on people's responses to sexuality driven cues that could have been learned, such as rating the attractiveness of male or female faces.
Brain symmetry
To get round this, Savic and her colleague, Per Lindström, chose to measure brain parameters likely to have been fixed at birth.
"That was the whole point of the study, to show parameters that differ, but which couldn't be altered by learning or cognitive processes," says Savic…
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Gay Men, Straight Women Have Similar Brains – 6/16/08
Gay peoples' brains share similar characteristics to those of the opposite sex, a new study says.
Researchers found resemblances in the brain's physical structure and size as well as the strength of neural connections among gay people and straight people of the opposite sex.
In some ways the brains of straight men and lesbians are on similar wavelengths, the research suggests. Likewise, gay men and straight women appear to have similar brains, in some respects. The findings are new evidence that homosexuals may be born with a predisposition to be gay…
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Born Gay?
Sandra Witelson, a neuroscientist at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, wasn't involved in the new study.
"This was a study that was waiting to be done, because it leads so clearly from the current literature," she said.
Recent work by Witelson and colleagues indicated that the corpus callosum, a long fiber tract that connects the two brain hemispheres, was larger in gay men than in heterosexual men. Photo
Brain features such as the corpus callosum and amygdalae develop very early, suggesting they are primarily genetically determined, she said.
The latest findings "make it very hard to argue that these differences are a product of learning or environmental influences." …
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For gay and straight men, gauging facial attraction appears to operate similarly – Harvard University - 10/29/09
A new study from a researcher at Harvard University finds that gay men are most attracted to the most masculine-faced men, while straight men prefer the most feminine-faced women.
The findings suggest that regardless of sexual orientation, men’s brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces — those with facial features that are most synonymous with gender…
“Our work showed that gay men found highly masculine male faces to be significantly more attractive than feminine male faces. Also, the types of male faces that gay men found attractive generally did not mirror the types of faces that straight women found attractive, on average,” says Glassenberg. “Men, gay or straight, prefer high sexual dimorphism in the faces of the sex that they are attracted to. Gay men and straight men did not agree on the types of male faces they considered attractive.”
Read more & access related links:
Gay Men Prefer Masculine-Faced Men, Study Suggests
New Theory: Sexual Orientation Determined by Brain Hemisphere Dominance – 8/6/12
… Olson’s theory portends that both heterosexual men and lesbians are generally dominated by the left hemisphere of the brain, which is committed to sequential, thought-oriented processes. And heterosexual women and gay men are much more likely to be dominated by the right hemisphere of the brain, which regulates feeling and cultural awareness. Photo
Olson believes that current research looking for a “gay gene” is searching in the wrong place. Rather, Olson contends, sexual orientation is determined by brain hemisphere dominance. Most men are left-brain dominant, whereas most women are right-brain dominant. Seizing on the implication that “most” necessarily excludes some people, Olson wondered what happened when brain dominance was reversed from the standard.
After reviewing a large collection of scientific literature, Olson hypothesized that when a man is right-brain dominant or a woman is left-brain dominant, that person will be gay or lesbian…
…If sexual orientation is determined by brain dominance as Olson contends, it’s important to note that the pathways connecting the two hemispheres of the brain and determining which side is dominant are mostly finalized before birth. As such, Olson reiterates conventional scientific wisdom that sexual orientation is predetermined and unchangeable. The author, a straight, single man originally from Oklahoma, also believes that his observation could help demystify the source of sexual orientation and thereby foster peace and understanding.
“We fear what we don’t understand,” said Olson, who holds a business degree from the University of Oklahoma. “I’m looking for peace and an end to this war against gay people. The answer is education — if people understand what’s going on, then the fear disappears.”…
Read more & access related links:
The Role of Brain Dominance in Sexual Orientation - by James Olson
Homophobic? Maybe You’re Gay - By Richard M. Ryan and William S. Ryan – 4/27/12
WHY are political and religious figures who campaign against gay rights so often implicated in sexual encounters with same-sex partners?
In recent years, Ted Haggard, an evangelical leader who preached that homosexuality was a sin, resigned after a scandal involving a former male prostitute; Larry Craig, a United States senator who opposed including sexual orientation in hate-crime legislation, was arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct in a men’s bathroom; and Glenn Murphy Jr., a leader of the Young Republican National Convention and an opponent of same-sex marriage, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge after being accused of sexually assaulting another man. Photo
One theory is that homosexual urges, when repressed out of shame or fear, can be expressed as homophobia. Freud famously called this process a “reaction formation” — the angry battle against the outward symbol of feelings that are inwardly being stifled. Even Mr. Haggard seemed to endorse this idea when, apologizing after his scandal for his anti-gay rhetoric, he said, “I think I was partially so vehement because of my own war.”
It’s a compelling theory — and now there is scientific reason to believe it. In this month’s issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, we and our fellow researchers provide empirical evidence that homophobia can result, at least in part, from the suppression of same-sex desire…
…Notably, these “discrepant” individuals were also significantly more likely than other participants to favor anti-gay policies; to be willing to assign significantly harsher punishments to perpetrators of petty crimes if they were presumed to be homosexual; and to express greater implicit hostility toward gay subjects (also measured with the help of subliminal priming). Thus our research suggests that some who oppose homosexuality do tacitly harbor same-sex attraction.
What leads to this repression? We found that participants who reported having supportive and accepting parents were more in touch with their implicit sexual orientation and less susceptible to homophobia. Individuals whose sexual identity was at odds with their implicit sexual attraction were much more frequently raised by parents perceived to be controlling, less accepting and more prejudiced against homosexuals…
Read more:
SALLY FIELD “…so many Gay (LGBT) Children Struggle to Understand and Embrace their Sexuality in families who do not welcome them… that I find unacceptable." Receives HRC Ally for Equality Award - Gay Son Sam – 10/07/12
Gay Marriage & Benedict XVI’s Obsession “…HITLER YOUTH brainwashed young Germans into support of their prejudices and policies against homosexuality.” “Hidden holocaust?: gay and lesbian persecution in Germany, 1933-45” By Günter Grau, 1995
Benedict XVI Anti-Gay Obsession | DISSOCIATIVE - HOMOEROTIC Feelings - NOT Catholic Church DOCTRINE | Crackdown U.S. Nuns Gay Marriage & Permanent Removing Gay Priest Protecting Children – 8/21/12
MITT ROMNEY – Repeatedly Physically Attacks Teenager Ignoring Screams for Help, because this boy was different --- BARACK OBAMA – Reaches Out to "help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they LOVE, how they pray." Which USA Candidate do you think will help protect you or your child? – 11/5/12
GAY MARRIAGE – UNIDENTIFIED - Internalized Homophobia - Benedict XVI, Hierarchy & Blind Followers - GAY-BASHERS UK & US | UK Blair & Cameron Legalization of Gay Marriage | Kids Are Being Hurt!!! | PART 8
Excerpt:
Severe Dissociated State Of Mind From Homosexual Feelings
What would be the severity of the psychological effects on a boy who grew up to be gay in Germany during the time of Hitler’s NAZI PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS 1933 -1945? During the Nazi regime, homosexuals were publicly defamed and falsely accused for the major social problems of that time, which was done to incite massive public hatred and hostility directed against homosexuals. Homosexuals were used for medical experiments, physically mutilated, brutally tortured and exterminated.
Would this child, as an adult, in a severe dissociated state of mind from his own homosexual feelings (Harry Stack Sullivan MD, Dissociative Processes, Clinical Studies on Psychiatry (1956)), unconsciously perpetuate the terrifying horror of the insensitivity he had experienced growing up? If he found himself in a position of authority would he recreate the same social and political environment of violence and terror for homosexuals that he experienced, as a child who grew up to be gay, during the NAZI PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS? Photo
Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal?
Dissociated State Of Mind From Homosexual Feelings
Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places Photo
Anti-Gay Marriage - Rev. TED HAGGARD - "Evangelical Leader Denies Accusation of Paying Former Gay Prostitute for Sex" – Nov. 3, 2006
…Haggard may not be a household name, but he is a major figure in evangelicalism in the country, with a direct line to the White House.
His prominence is now threatened by Jones, who says he is a former gay prostitute and alleges that Haggard paid him for sex at regular intervals over a three-year period….
…He said he came forward when he learned Haggard and his church were backing an anti-gay marriage initiative on the ballot Tuesday in Colorado.
"I had to expose the hypocrisy. He is in the position of influence of millions of followers, and he's preaching against gay marriage," Jones said. "But behind everybody's back doing what he's preached against."
HAGGARD Pronounced ‘Completely Heterosexual – Feb. 7, 2007
Forced by a gay sex scandal to resign as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Rev. Ted Haggard now feels that after three weeks of intensive counseling, he is “completely heterosexual,” says an overseer of the megachurch Mr. Haggard once led…
…Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist who is an expert on issues of gender and sexuality, said that while it was people’s prerogative to identify their sexual orientation as they wanted, the notion of being able to change that orientation was “not consistent with clinical presentations, but totally consistent with theological belief.”
GEORGE REKERS, Anti-Gay Activist, Caught With Male Escort 'Rentboy' – May 25, 2011
Social Conservative Minister GEORGE REKERS Denies he is Gay After Newspaper Prints Story on his Travel With Young Man he Allegedly met on ‘Rentboy’ - May 5, 2011
GEORGE REKERS, Antigay - ‘Rentboy’ and the Law – May 19, 2010
Christian right leader GEORGE REKERS takes vacation with "rent boy" – May 6, 2010
George Rekers and "Lucien" at Miami International Airport. Photo
The pictures on the Rentboy.com profile show a shirtless young man with delicate features, guileless eyes, and sun-kissed, hairless skin. The profile touts his "smooth, sweet, tight ass" and "perfectly built 8 inch cock (uncut)" and explains he is "sensual," "wild," and "up for anything" — as long you ask first. And as long as you pay.
George Alan Rekers, of North Miami — the callboy's client and, as it happens, one of America's most prominent anti-gay activists…
For decades, George Alan Rekers has been a general in the culture wars, though his work has often been behind the scenes. In 1983, he and James Dobson, America's best-known homophobe, formed the Family Research Council, a D.C.-based, rabidly Christian, and vehemently anti-gay lobbying group that has become a standard-bearer of the nation's extreme right wing. Its annual Values Summit is considered a litmus test for Republican presidential hopefuls, and Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter have spoken there. (The Family Research Council would not comment about Rekers's Euro-trip.)
He has also influenced American government, serving in advisory roles with Congress, the White House, and the Department of Health and Human Services and testifying as a state's witness in favor of Florida's gay adoption ban. A former research fellow at Harvard University and a distinguished professor of neuropsychiatry at the University of South Carolina, Rekers has published papers and books by the hundreds, with titles like Who Am I? Lord and Growing Up Straight: What Families Should Know About Homosexuality…
GEORGE REKERS - Scandal Stirs Legal Questions in Anti-Gay Cases – May 18, 2010
…For years, George A. Rekers has held himself out as an expert witness in court on homosexuality, arguing in cases concerning same-sex marriage and gay adoption that gay men and lesbians lead parlous lives and raise troubled children…
MARK FOLEY’s Secret Life – October 15, 2006
Mark Foley's explicit e-mails could bring down the GOP
In uptight, colorless Washington, Congressman Mark Foley, 52, Republican of Florida, was a bon vivant…He also hid, or tried to hide, his interest in younger men--much younger men, including the teenagers who can be seen scurrying around Capitol Hill toting the mail and taking in, at least in theory, a firsthand civics lesson…
MARK FOLEY congressional page incident
Newsweek's June 7, 2010 issue's BACK STORY listed Foley, among others, as prominent conservative politician who had a record of anti-gay legislation and was later caught in a gay sex scandal.
1998 - Republican Rep. MARK FOLEY’s remarks on Clinton-Lewinsky scandal -
"It's vile. It's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction."
2006 - Mark Foley was brought down by an addiction to sexually explicit text messages to male congressional pages.
LARRY CRAIG - Idaho Republican Senator - Arrested For Lewd Conduct In The Men's Restroom - June 11, 2007
In 1999 Craig became sharply critical of U.S. President Bill Clinton for the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Speaking on NBC's Meet The Press, Craig told Tim Russert: "The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy - a naughty boy. I'm going to speak out for the citizens of my state, who in the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad, naughty boy." Photo
LARRY CRAIG's anti-gay hypocrisy – Aug. 30, 2007
If Larry Craig were held to the standard of sexual conduct he imposes on the U.S. armed forces, he'd be out of his job.
Fourteen years ago, in his first term as a Republican senator from Idaho, Craig helped to enact the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It stipulates:
A member of the armed forces shall be separated from the armed forces under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense if one or more of the following findings is made and approved in accordance with procedures set forth in such regulations: (1) That the member has engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited another to engage in a homosexual act or acts unless there are further findings … that the member has demonstrated that—(A) such conduct is a departure from the member's usual and customary behavior; (B) such conduct, under all the circumstances, is unlikely to recur; … [and] the member does not have a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts.
…According to the report filed by the officer who arrested Craig at the Minneapolis airport in June, Craig stood outside the officer's bathroom stall for two minutes, repeatedly looked at the officer "through the crack in the door," sat in the stall next to the officer, tapped his foot, and gradually "moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot … within my stall area." Craig proceeded to "swipe his hand under the stall divider for a few seconds" three times, palm up, using the hand farthest from that side of Craig's stall. Most of these gestures, the officer explained, were known pickup signals in a room known (and hence under surveillance for) public sex. When the officer took Craig outside and told him so, Craig claimed he had been reaching down with his hand to retrieve a piece of paper from the floor. The officer wrote that no such paper had been on the floor…
…I feel sorry for Craig. I hate the idea of cops going into bathrooms and busting people for coded gestures of interest. I'd rather live, let live, and tell the guy waving his hand under the stall to buzz off. But that's not the standard Craig applies to others. Any gay soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine who admitted to doing what Craig has admitted would, at a minimum, lose his job for violating DADT. In fact, many have been kicked out for less.
Most people think "don't ask, don't tell" means that if you don't announce that you're gay, you can keep your job. It should mean that. But in practice, if you don't tell, the military can—and often does—investigate and interrogate you until you're forced to tell.
Why men like LARRY CRAIG continue to court danger in public places. Sept. 3, 2007
…safe to assume that many tearoom traders have a need, which they only imperfectly understand, to get caught. And this may be truest of all of those who are armored with "the breastplate of righteousness." Next time you hear some particularly moralizing speech, set your watch. You won't have to wait long before the man who made it is found…
TEAROOM TRADE
Rev. GRANT STORMS Arrested: Anti-Gay Christian Pastor Charged Over Public Masturbation – March 1, 2011
TROY KING Alabama Republican Attorney General - made homophobic statements, including calling gays the “downfall of society,” is the subject of rumors that his wife recently discovered him having sex with another man. – John McCain campaign scrubbed its website - July 11, 2008
JAMES E. WEST, Former Mayor Spokane, Wash & former Republican state Senate majority leader - opposed gay-rights bills but was recalled from office over an Internet gay sex scandal… July 6, 2006
RICHARD CURTIS - Republican state legislator Wash - had sex with a man he met at an erotic video store while in Spokane on a GOP retreat – October 31, 2007
RICHARD CURTIS - Republican state legislator - voted in 2005 and 2006 against a bill that granted civil rights protections to gays and lesbians, and in 2007 voted against a bill that created domestic partnerships for same-sex couples…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21568392/ns/us_news-life/t/wash-legislator-resigns-amid-gay-sex-scandal/
BRUCE BARCLAY - Republican commissioner of Cumberland County, PA - Sept. 16, 2010 - secretly taping men having sex at his home… and promoting prostitution, male escorts
Pope Benedict XVI: Gay Marriage Is 'Insidious And Dangerous' – May 13, 2010
Pope: Gay marriage threatens humanity’s future - January 9, 2012
Pope denounces gay marriage lobby to US bishops, 3/9/12
Vatican Calling For Male Prostitutes
“Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret.”
(Though you drive Nature out with a pitchfork, she will still find her way back.)
Vatican hit by gay sex scandal - March 4, 2010
The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting...
Benedict's ceremonial ushers, as well as a member of the Vatican choir, were involved in a gay prostitution ring – March 6, 2010
Pope: Condoms OK -- for male prostitutes – November 20, 2010
Internalized Homophobia
American Psychoanalytic Foundation Public Forum
Ralph Roughton, M.D. 1999
…When we speak of internalized homophobia, we refer to the shame, denigration and anger turned inward onto the self of the homosexual individual either as a re-internalization or from the absorption of homophobic attitudes in the environment and then identifying with the hated and feared object. The primary emotion is shame, but a whole gamut of inhibitions, loss of self esteem, depression and self-destructive behavior often follow…
Above excerpts from:
GAY MARRIAGE – UNIDENTIFIED - Internalized Homophobia - Benedict XVI, Hierarchy & Blind Followers - GAY-BASHERS UK & US | UK Blair & Cameron Legalization of Gay Marriage | Kids Are Being Hurt!!! | PART 8
REPARATIVE THERAPY - Changing Homosexual Orientation - Serious Threat to Health &Life (e.g. suicide) - World Health Organization 2012 – May 17, 2012
Catholic Archbishop of Seattle Hunthausen issues a letter against homosexual discrimination - July 1, 1977 …publicly defends the rights of gays and lesbians.
1985 - Archbishop Hunthausen of Seattle – His emphasis is on renewal, Vatican II and the “guidance of the Holy Spirit” – He is Attacked by Ratzinger/Benedict XVI – who ARBITRARILY DISAGREES with Vatican II
Ratzinger’s letter to Hunthausen – 9/30/1985
…Ratzinger’s letter is a vision of the Church which he expresses explicitly and repeatedly…a demonstration of Ratzinger’s personal possession of expert power. According to this vision, there is a clear, consistent and true teaching of the Church which can be known and passed on (the authentic tradition is singular). The duty of the hierarchy in relationship to this teaching is to defend it and pass it on untainted with error.
(Contrast this with Hunthausen’s emphasis on renewal, Vatican II and the “guidance of the Holy Spirit.”) This is where Hunthausen has fallen short. As Ratzinger sees it, confusion and a lack of clarity about where the Church stands have been allowed to settle into many aspects of archdiocesan pastoral practice…This, Ratzinger proposes, is the business at hand, the set of issues which Hunthausen is to address in his leadership of the archdiocese and in his exchanges with the Holy See (Rome controls the agenda). Photo
Notably, an issue that Ratzinger does not mention is Hunthausen’s controversial stand on nuclear weapons…
Despite Ratzinger’s invocation of the Second Vatican Council, he acknowledges here no earthly forms of authority arising outside of the Church. On the contrary, extraecclesial sources of knowledge are depicted here as posing a threat to the proper catechesis and pastoral service of the faithful: “The Church should be understood as more than a merely social entity, governed chiefly by psychological, sociological and political processes,” Ratzinger writes. “An anthropology which is dominated by the tentative conclusions of the human sciences could well undermine many pastoral initiatives, however well intentioned.” Juxtaposed with the remarks about the limits of the “human sciences” is a catalogue of references to teachings of the magisterium, which offer the kind of sure teaching absent in the extraecclesial disciplines. Thus, if Hunthausen is unclear himself about the way forward, he is invited to have reference to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 1976 Declaration on Sexual Ethics, the documents of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference, the revised Code of Canon Law, the Congregation’s 1975 Instruction, Inter Insigniores, etc. (These documents signal the Holy See’s possession of superior legal and expert power.) The technical nature of this presentation highlights the fact that this is a communication between one bishop and another. It also underscores Ratzinger’s view that this is an intraecclesial matter that Hunthausen is expected to address with intraecclesial resources...
Read more:
Chapter 6 - Narrative and Analysis Of The Rome-Hunthausen Case: The Early Stage (1978-September 1986)
Conflict in the Catholic Hierarchy: a study of coping strategies in the Hunthausen affair, with preferential attention to discursive strategies 2003 - by Timothy Peter Schilling
Full PDF
Reference to Second Vatican Council - In 1962, Pope John XXIII, named Man of the Year in 1963 by Time magazine, opened the Second Vatican Council with the intention of internally renewing the global Roman Catholic church. When asked about his motivation for convening the council, Pope John XXIII moved to the window and threw open the sash — his rationale being, "I want to throw open the windows of the Church so that we can see out and the people can see in." The Council published 16 documents and produced many visible changes in Catholic life and doctrine. Most basically, it began to open up Catholic thought and doctrine, leading to a less hierarchical governance, increased roles for the laity, Masses spoken in native languages rather than intoned in Latin, and an openness to the practice of beliefs and practices of other Christians and Jews — as in the declaration on religious liberty, Dignitatis Humanae… Photo
Read more & access related links:
Vatican Crackdown – Archbishop HUNTHAUSEN of Seattle, Washington for Supporting GAYS & LESBIANS – by Ratzinger’s (Benedict XVI) … CRUEL & DEMEANING treatment of Hunthausen – to effectively - INTIMIDATE - fellow prelates - 1983
Gay Marriage – Benedict XVI & Hitler’s Rejection of Modern Science - Public Propaganda to Systematically Dehumanize Whole Groups of People – including Children
Benedict XVI Rejection of Human Sciences (e.g. psychology) – Repeating - Hitler’s Rejection of Modern Science
As SCIENCE moves forward on Research & Understanding Homosexuality -- RATZINGER/BENEDICT XVI Ignoring Science - Sanctions Ignorance & Silence Promoting discrimination of Homosexuality – A Timeline
Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) … efforts to PREVENT the EVOLUTION in Church Teaching toward ACCEPTANCE of HOMOSEXUALS - Milestones in campaign to hold the doctrinal - beginning 1984 - July 30, 1999
Archbishop Weakland’s - 1986 - Warnings to Vatican inquisitor – valuing RIGIDITY OF DOCTRINE over PEOPLE – Mistreatment of Archbishop HUNTHAUSEN – 9/28/1986 ---
…He contended that previous efforts to monitor and safeguard Catholic doctrine have been undertaken in an atmosphere where ``amateurs-turned-theologians easily became headhunters and leaders were picked (on the basis of) the rigidity of their doctrine, so that often second-rate and repressive minds, riding on the waves of fear, took over.
``Religion under such circumstances then can become an ideology that tolerates no obstacle and that values ideas more than people,`` he wrote...
GAY RIGHTS – US President Obama Appreciates Fr. Marty Kurylowicz’s Perspective on Gay (LGBT) Rights | US Catholic Clergy Supportive of GAY RIGHTS – Are Attacked, Silenced and Removed for the past 30 years by Ratzinger / Benedict XVI - 1983 Archbishop Hunthausen of Seattle
SEXUAL ORIENTATION is less about sex and more about LOVE, being one with another human being. Attachment Theory - - LOVE & RELIGION – Nothing in life is more precious than the intimate relationships we have with love ones. Healthy love relationships delight us give us confidence to take on challenges and support us in difficult times.
Kurylowicz Comes Out - By Charles Honey - June 28, 1997 - …A spokeswoman for the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference said Kurylowicz's coming out to his congregation, first in a newsletter then from the pulpit on Holy Thursday, is "UNPRECEDENTED." "No one knows of anyone who has spoken of this from the pulpit," said Sister Mary Ann Walsh…"It was one part [being gay] of myself that was just closed off," says the youthful-looking 47-year old. But the feelings persisted. "Just like any heterosexual, those feelings are always there," explains Kurylowicz, who speaks with a nervous but friendly intensity. "You're shamed by it every time they come up. Then you (start) running away. You stop being who you are. You become something that you think others will find more acceptable." Kurylowicz became a workaholic…Kurylowicz says his decision was triggered by a report that homosexually oriented CHILDREN as young as 4 realize they're DIFFERENT. He was moved by the pain those CHILDREN feel… "Then I realized they don't have a voice, and I'm the one [a CATHOLIC PRIEST] that's supposed to say something," Kurylowicz says. "That's why I couldn't walk away from it."…
Impending Rules on Gay Priests Create Catholic Divide - October 8, 2005 - …Rev. Martin Kurylowicz came out to his Sparta parish eight years ago, he said he had struggled for years with his homosexuality… the struggle would be made harder for many others if the Vatican issues new rules that reportedly would ban gays from becoming priests… “Kids as young as 4 or 5 know they're DIFFERENT," said Kurylowicz, a psychotherapist… "They grow up with this pervasive guilt, which sabotages their growth and motivation." The result is thousands of dollars in therapy to accept their natural orientation, he said, adding, "DOES THE VATICAN WANT TO TAKE THAT ON, LIKE THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY HAD TO TAKE ON FOR THE DAMAGE IT CAUSED CONSUMERS?”… - 10/8/05
Parishioners Supportive Of Gay Priest - By Charley Honey - March 29, 1997 - The Rev. Martin Kurylowicz got lots of hugs after Good Friday services at Sparta's Holy Family Catholic Church…He spoke up after attending a national conference on gay issues and the Catholic Church in early March. He was disturbed by accounts of homosexual CHILDREN feeling isolated and parents feeling they did something wrong. "I just couldn't walk away from it," he said. "I couldn't deny the pain." He hopes his admission will raise awareness of violence against homosexuals…Fr. Hans Küng - Benedict XVI “AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM" parallels Germany's Nazi dictatorship | UNCONDITIONAL OBEDIENCE - Oath of Allegiance to Hitler| CRUSHING any form of Clerical Dissent | Catholic theologian - Hans Küng … Urges confronting - Catholic hierarchy CORRUPTION - 10/5/12
AUSCHWITZ – Benedict XVI’s CHRISTMAS 2008 -- A flashback far more severe than in --- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN – December 26, 2008 – Fr. Marty Kurylowicz Photo
Seattle WA - Catholics defy bishops to pray for Gay Marriage – "AUTHORITY NEVER SUPPLANTS CONSCIENCE" - 10/29/12
…"Catholics believe Christ's primary message is one of love, and Catholic social teaching teaches us that God loves everybody. We are standing up for centuries of Catholic social teaching."…
Gay Marriage – Maine’s bishop Malone follows Benedict XVI & drops SCIENCE as part of a WELL-INFORMED CONSCIENCE – Against Pope John Paul II – To Never Separate - SCIENCE and RELIGION ---
“SCIENCE can purify religion from error and superstition; RELIGION can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish.”
RC hierarchy child sexual abuse “cover-ups” ordered by Benedict XVI to avoid public outrage & criminal charges falsely accused gay priests, WATERGATE? – 12/17/09
Benedict XVI 30 years of Child Sexual Abuse Cover-ups
3 PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTS ABOUT GROWING UP GAY
A partial list:
1. Sexual orientation is set either just before birth or very soon afterwards
References:
Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality - American Psychological Association
The Science of Sexual Orientation - Researchers Focus on Twins (Video)
Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation
Sexual Conversion Therapies - by Jack Drescher, M.D.
Sexual Conversion Therapy - Ethical, Clinical and Research Perspectives (2002) -
edited by Ariel Shidlo, PhD, Michael Schroeder, PsyD, and Jack Drescher, MD
Sexual Orientation & ‘Reparative Therapy’
by Jack Drescher, MD – video
Bibliography for Facts about Sexual Orientation
Major - Medical and Mental Heath Associations
Policies & Position Statements - Regarding Sexual Orientation
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association, AGLP
APSAA, American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychological Association
American Counseling Association
American Medical Association
American Academy of Pediatrics
Gay & Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA)
Gender Identity Research and Education Society - UK
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
2. Early psychological development – in a social environment that is anti-gay – causes significant harm to the child’s ability to be in relationships, with others, a job, etc.
References:
Sexual orientation is less about sex and more about love, being one with another human being. Attachment Theory - - LOVE & RELIGION
Attachment Theory
Mary Ainsworth: Attachment and the Growth of Love – video
ATTACHMENT THEORY - our first relationship with our carers acts as a LIFELONG TEMPLATE, moulding and shaping our capacity to enter into, and maintain, successful subsequent relationships with family, friends and partners...
Psychoanalytic Therapy and the Gay Man
Jack Drescher, M.D. in his book Psychoanalytic Therapy & The Gay Man
describes the complexities related to growing up gay; from his research of developmental narratives of gay adults retrospectively recalling their feelings being gay began in early childhood. These gay feelings had remained constant, and were resistant to being altered. Dr. Drescher explains the contrast of how social norms impact the psychology of the early childhood developmental years of a heterosexual boy and a homosexual boy.
Being Homosexual: Gay Men and Their Development – by Richard A. Isay M.D.
Argues that homosexuality is biologically innate, suggests a natural developmental path for homosexuals, and discusses the problems faced in long-term gay relationships
The overstimulation of everyday life: I. New aspects of male homosexuality
Sidney H. Phillips
Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis, USA
J Am Psychoanal Assoc 49:1235-67. 2001
Western heterosexual culture surrounds the homosexually inclined boy in a climate of erotic overstimulation that powerfully affects his development and adult sexual adaptation. This assertion is illustrated through a case presentation of a homosexual man who shared a bed with his brother from childhood into adolescence. Analysis of the patient's transference enactment—repeatedly falling asleep on the couch—gradually revealed the psychic impact of this everyday overstimulation: the creation of a tantalized inner world of longing. The regular occurrence and developmental understanding of adolescent homosexual boys' unrequited love affairs with adolescent heterosexual boys are described and explored. Finally, the overstimulation of everyday life is proposed as a new model for understanding certain behavioral aspects of male homosexuality, such as the avoidance of rough-and-tumble play in childhood and homosexual cruising.
Homosexuality: coming out of the confusion
Sidney H Phillips
Int J Psychoanal 84:1431-50. 2003
In this paper, Dr. Phillips describes the complications of how the historical context of social norms can significantly influence the classification of the components of homosexuality by clinicians causing them to be blind to their own biases. Mindful of our susceptibility to this kind of phenomenon, Dr. Phillips calls to task these biases that pathologize homosexuality simply because it is not consistent with heterosexuality and therefore to be classified as a mental disorder. He offers an alternative description of homosexuality from his clinical research that is consistent with other researchers of early childhood psychological development of children who grow up to be gay.
The Psychology of the Closeted Individual and Coming Out – Jack Drescher, MD
Many LGB individuals report developmental histories with difficulty acknowledging their homosexuality, either to themselves or to others. This is because, starting in childhood, LGB individuals are often subjected to antihomosexual attitudes, not only from strangers, but also from their own families and communities (Drescher, Stein and Byne, 2005). The childhood need to hide may persist into adulthood, leading many LGB individuals to conceal important aspects of themselves…Read more
Gay Conversion | Religious Conversion - Transforms the Damned into the Saved | COVERING - Kenji Yoshino – 2002 - The Yale Law Journal
Resource Links -- Conversion Therapy
Policy Statements of Professional Organizations
Rockway Institute - Alliant International University
3. Gay teen suicide – Family Acceptance Project - shows relationship between a lack of family acceptance of a gay child and the rate of substance abuse, suicide and others problems
References:
Groundbreaking Study Finds Family Acceptance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Adolescents Protects Against Depression, Substance Abuse and Suicidal Behavior in Early Adulthood – by Caitlin Ryan, PhD, December 6, 2010 - FAMILY ACCEPTANCE PROJECT.
Dr. Caitlin Ryan: Reducing Risk and Promoting Well-Being for LGBT Youth: The Critical Role of Family Support – 2009 – podcast
Dr. Caitlin Ryan: Commitment, Intentionality, and Hard Work: What It Takes To Do Culturally Competent, Ground-Breaking Research 2010 – podcast
Family Acceptance Project™ website:
Dr. Caitlin Ryan – Mental Health Matters: How does the “Family Acceptance Project” work? – 2011
Family Acceptance Project™ - Helping diverse families understand how to support their LGBT children – videos
Family Acceptance of LGBT Youth Protects Against Suicide, Depression & Substance Abuse and Predicts Better Health & Self-Esteem
School Victimization of Gender-Nonconforming LGBT Youth Linked with Depression and Quality Of Life In Adulthood
Best Practice Guidelines for Serving LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care
Family Acceptance Project™ Resource Links:
San Francisco State University Related Programs
LGBT Family-Related Organizations
LGBT Youth Organizations
School-Related Resources
Gender-Related Resources
LGBT Legal Advocacy Organizations
Online Resources for LGBT Youth
Hotlines
Adolescent Health
National LGBT Organizations
LGBT Health-Related Organizations
Lesbian and Gay Youth: Care and Counseling - By Caitlin Ryan and Donna Futterman
UA professor Stephen T. Russell to Explore LGBT Suicide Risk – 2008
Homophobic families harm gay teenagers, study claims - 2008
Internalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals - David M. Frost and Ilan H. Meyer - 2009
Journal of Counseling Psychology 2009, Vol. 56, No. 1, 97–109
New Report Shows Inequalities for Children with LGBT Parents
Talking About Suicide & LGBT Populations - Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
Preventing Suicide among LGBT Youth by Effie Malley - Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
Homophobia Is Killing Our Youth – 2009
Gay Bullying Deaths and Religion: Are Believers the Problem or the Solution? 2010
For Many Gay Youth, Bullying Exacts a Deadly Toll – 2010
Gay bullying and Catholic responsibilities – 2010
Homophobia in the Church: What Catholics Are Doing About It, and What Still Needs to Be Done – 2010
“Most religious denominations continue to condemn homosexuality as sinful and
provide a rationale for marginalizing LGB people.” - Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC)
Social Environment - Although the social environment itself has not been defined as a risk factor for suicide, widespread discrimination against LGBT people, heterosexist attitudes, and gender bias can lead to risk factors such as isolation, family rejection, and lack of access to care providers. Risk factors may interact in unhealthy ways—for example, internalized homophobia or victimization may lead to stress, which is associated with depression and substance abuse, which can contribute to suicide risk. This risk may be compounded by a lack of protective factors that normally provide resilience, such as strong family connections, peer support, and access to effective health and mental health providers…
Herek and colleagues (2007) describe a framework to understand the social environment for sexual minorities. The framework integrates the sociological idea of stigma with the psychological idea of prejudice. Through stigma, society discredits and invalidates homosexuality relative to heterosexuality. Institutions embodying stigma results in heterosexism, and heterosexual individuals internalizing stigma results in prejudice. The United States legal system has faced challenges by sexual minorities and sympathetic heterosexuals that have led to significant changes. However, the legal system continues to reinforce stigma through discriminatory laws and the absence of laws protecting sexual minorities from discrimination in employment, housing, and services. A minority of states had antidiscrimination laws as of 2005, and most of these only referred to employment and not to housing or services. Most religious denominations continue to condemn homosexuality as sinful and provide a rationale for marginalizing LGB people…
See no Race, See no Gay: What Proponents of a Gay-Blind Approach to Bullying in the Schools can Learn from Race Relations - by Kira Hudson Banks, Ph.D. and Nestor L. Lopez-Duran PhD,
2010 - Psychology Today
Bullying, gay teen suicides, and a need for a solution – 2010 - Nestor L. Lopez-Duran, PhD. - clinical child psychologist and researcher, University of Michigan
Bullies and Victims: Boys will be boys or a symptom of distress? 2009 -Child Psychology Research
http://www.child-psych.org/2009/10/bullies-and-victims-a-risk-for-psychopathology.html#comment-47375
The cruelties of STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE on CHILDREN are often subtle, unspoken, unrecognized, and even normalized, regarded by many people as natural or “just the way things are.” Daniel J. Christie - Peace, Conflict, and Violence:
Peace Psychology for the 21st Century.
Pope’s child porn 'normal' claim sparks outrage among victims -122110
Related links:
John Jay Report: On Not Blaming Homosexual Priests – 51711
"No public figure talks more about child safety but does little to actually make children safer than Pope Benedict" 112611
The New John Jay Report on Clergy Abuse in the Catholic Church – “The researchers conclude that there is no causative relationship between either celibacy or homosexuality and the sexual victimization of children in the Church.” 51811
Facts about Homosexuality and Child Molestation - Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D.
Roman Catholic Hierarchy child sexual abuse “cover-ups” ordered by Benedict XVI to avoid public outrage & criminal charges falsely accused gay priests, WATERGATE? – January 2, 2010
GAY MARRIAGE - Benedict XVI Dismisses Science Reason – Natural Law | Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely | PART 1
You can fool all the people some of the time, and
GAY MARRIAGE – Understanding – NATURAL LAW & How it can be used? – With or Without - Reason & Rational |To Support - Benedict XVI & amp; Hierarchy’s Vague & Negative Statements Against Homosexuality | PART 2
You can fool all the people some of the time, and
some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Abraham Lincoln
GAY MARRIAGE – “Doublespeak” Benedict XVI - IRRATIONAL Shift Blame Gays – Evading UN Accusations Global COVER-UPS Child Sexual Abuse “…a COMPLETE FAILURE to take responsibility” | PART 3
GAY MARRIAGE – Non-Violence is Key - Use of Violent Confrontation Strategies - The Moral Arguments of People Who Are Being Unjustly Treated Become Irrelevant – The Use of Violence Only Creates More Violence | PART 4
GAY MARRIAGE – Propaganda Tactics|B16’s Naturalistic fallacy & Homosexuality - Dehumanizing, Depriving Civil Rights, Silencing Gays - Covering Up B16 Crimes Against Children 30+yrs? |PART 5
What Can Catholics do Today to – Help Protect all Children?
GAY MARRIAGE – Catholic Truth ≠ Benedict XVI & hierarchy’s SPIN - Unsubstantiated Antigay Teachings & Disregard for Children – Silent Catholics COLLUDING w/B16 – Continually Hurting Kids!!! | One – Letter & Many – Copies | Anne Rice | PART 6
GAY MARRIAGE – Homosexuality for Catholics or anyone? "WHY IT IS A 'GIFT' FROM GOD!!!" And when we accept and value this gift from God – we are able to experience love like never before, and we are able to love. | PART 7GAY MARRIAGE – UNIDENTIFIED - Internalized Homophobia - Benedict XVI, Hierarchy & Blind Followers - GAY-BASHERS UK & US | UK Blair & Cameron Legalization of Gay Marriage | Kids Are Being Hurt!!! | PART 8
Ecclesiastes 1:5 (New International Version)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:5 (New American Standard Bible)
5 Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again.
1 Chronicles 16:30 (New International Version)
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
1 Chronicles 16:30 (New American Standard Bible)
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Psalm 93:1 (New International Version)
1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed in majesty
and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Psalm 93:1 (New American Standard Bible)
1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Psalm 96:10 (New International Version)
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
Psalm 96:10 (New American Standard Bible)
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity."
Psalm 104:5 (New International Version)
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
Psalm 104:5 (New American Standard Bible)
5 He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.
Injustice anywhere is a
threat to
Justice everywhere
Martin Luther King
The Nobel Peace Prize 1964
Martin Luther King Jr.
What you cannot do is accept injustice.
From Hitler – or anyone.
You must make the injustice visible
– be prepared to die like a
soldier to do so.
Mahatma Gandhi
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.”
…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6
Important note: No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy, the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children.
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
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