The Morality of Homosexuality

In Bremer, Germany the Bremerhaven Zoo is making an attempt to turn their gay Humboldt penguins away from their homosexual lifestyle. The zoo is planning to import four female penguins from Sweden to hopefully mate and produce offspring that will delay the extinction of these South American birds, which are currently endangered. Difficulties became apparent once zoo director Heike Kück announced publicly the zoo’s plans to introduce the Swedish females and caused bold criticism from the gay community. The zoo received heated letters and e-mails from gay groups around the world protesting the destruction of the penguins’ chosen life style. The gay community has taken the knowledge of gay animals to mean that since some animals are gay, homosexuality is therefore a natural phenomenon.

Animals should not be used to shape human moral issues, however the fact that there are gay animals proves that homosexuality is not a choice. The arguments against the issue include: homosexuality is not natural, being gay is a choice, it is a psychopathology, and a sin. However through research, it has been discovered that homosexuality may have a biological basis. Being gay doesn’t harm the fabric of society and there is no choice when it comes to your sexuality; a minority of the population is born gay and therefore they should be respected for their nature.

Historically homosexuality or “Sodomy” has been described as un-natural. Animals were the poster child for correct sexual coupling, since it was believed that they only mated for the continuation of their species. Even today some claim that being gay is “against nature”, proclaiming that relationships should be defined as a man and a women. But with more thorough research being done on the subject, biologists are finding shocking results from the animal kingdom.

As to the outrage from the gay community in relation to the penguins, Kück responded to NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk), Germany’s public broadcast channel, with: “Nobody here is trying to break-up same-sex pairs by force”, and “We don't know if the three male pairs are really gay or just got together because of a lack of females.”

The continuous onslaught of complaints against the “conversion” of their gay penguins to become straight and reproduce has been continuous, and the penguins failed to mate with the imported Swedish females. So, the Bremerhaven Zoo in Germany has abandoned its plan. As stated by Heike Kück “The zoo just wanted to encourage the Humboldt penguins to breed.” However they found that “The relationships of the male couples were apparently too strong."

Gay penguins are not unique to the Bremerhaven Zoo. New York's Central Park Zoo is home to Roy and Silo, the male Chinstrap penguins who were dedicated to each other and inseparable for over six years until Roy had a brief affair with a female penguin which strained the relationship. There is also Wendell and Cass, the two gay penguins at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, and a number of same-sex pairs of penguins found at aquariums in Japan.

Homosexuality is not exclusively found in penguins either. In Bruce Bagemihl’s book, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, he states that there are hundreds of animal species with homosexual tendencies. Before these studies, people generally believed that animals had sex only for procreation and the continuation of the species, but with more research being done on the topic biologists are finding that animals have sex for other reasons.

Animals are creatures of instinct and do what their biology tells them without having to deal with ideals and ethics. Animals do not have the ability to “choose” what they are since they have no notion of right and wrong.

One of the largest arguments against homosexuality is the discussion of whether or not it is a choice. Some believe that you are born gay while others proclaim that you choose who you are attracted to. Conservatives like John Beardsley blame organizations such as the National Education Association “who has taken up the ‘pro-homosexual agenda’ by encouraging schools to introduce pro-homosexual materials and concepts to students.” He is one of many who believe that homosexuality is an immoral decision that decays society as a whole. Richard Pillard on the other hand believes there is no choice in sexuality and has claimed that “human sexual orientation has a 'built-in' quality. There seems,” he argues, “to be a fundamental bias toward either a heterosexual or a homosexual developmental path, prefigured early in life, neither taught nor learned, and profoundly resistant to modification. It exists recognizably in a variety of animal species and human cultures from diverse times and places.”

Anne Perkins, an animal behaviorist who completed her thesis on the “Reproductive Behavior in Rams” believes that gay rams are “a very interesting model” and feels we could “learn a great deal about homosexuality from it.” She also has the opinion that “They are not morally or culturally or ethically behaving like humans. These sheep are just doing what their bodies are telling them to do.” With the comparison between humans and animals, Perkins concluded her study by stating that “human sexuality is far more complicated than sex in nonhuman species. Yet, we hold much in common with other mammals.” She also noted that “we must not dismiss the notion that genes initiating physiological processes may greatly influence our choice of mates as well.”

People should not worry about their children being converted through the education system or seduced by the gay lifestyle. A person’s sexual orientation can not be forced or chosen and a person cannot simply “become” gay in the same way that homosexuals cannot be cured of being gay through treatment and therapy.

The history of psychology in relation to homosexuality originated with the beginning of psychology itself. The diagnosis of homosexuality as a psychological disorder or even perversion, ironically contributed to its final classification as an independent sexual orientation. After this diagnosis the psychology of homosexuality was often used to criminalize the homosexual act itself, and homosexuals were forcibly ‘cured’ under the law as punishment for their misbehavior.

With the upsurge of psychoanalysis, the idea of homosexuality being a disease became popular. This caused the increase of homosexuals being placed in mental hospitals and prisons. Researchers attempted to use an assortment of therapies to cure homosexuality. Some were listed by the Wikipedia encyclopedia which included “aversion therapy, nausea producing drugs, castration, electric shock, brain surgery, and breast amputations.”

It took years of heated discussion for the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), but it finally happened in 1973. They stated that homosexuality "does not necessarily constitute a psychiatric disorder." This helped with its official acceptance as a possible sexual orientation which helped to intensify the gay movement.

Just because homosexuality has been accepted by the majority in the fields relating to science and psychology does not mean that it has been accepted by everyone. With the increase of gay liberation there also was an increase in theological debates on whether homosexuality was ethically desirable or if it was a deathly sin.

There is a debate between Biblical scholars on whether the Bible condemns homosexuality or not. Some believe that Christianity and homosexuality are mutually exclusive and cannot morally coexist. That one cannot adhere to one without entirely renouncing the other. John Beardsley believes “If you are Christian, you either believe what the Bible says condemning homosexuality, or you do not believe it and you are not Christian by definition.” Numerous religious denominations use the Bible as a foundation for their beliefs. However the interpretations of these churches can be extremely diverse. Throughout history, there have been churches that have used the Bible to justify things such as racial discrimination, slavery, child abuse, sexism, and marital brutality. Reverend Bob Ellis has been quoted for saying that “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used Scripture to inspire those struggling to overcome racism at the same time others used the Bible to promote racial segregation and violence.” Clearly, the Bible can be read in various ways depending on what beliefs the reader holds. Kenneth Cauthen, a published writer and Professor Emeritus of theology at Colgate Rochester Divinity School, has stated that “Scripture is like a mirror in which interpreters, conservatives and liberals alike can usually find support for whatever views they hold.”

As quoted from Reverend Ellis’s book, Dispelling the Myth: “Out of the 31,173 verses contained in the Bible, there are less than a dozen that allegedly deal with the topic of homosexuality. The meaning of these verses remains fairly obscure to many Biblical scholars, especially in the context of loving committed relationships.” In the Bible the writings that are related to Jesus have no mention of the issue of homosexuality. This causes the belief that the subject was not a concern in his teachings of love and compassion. Even more importantly, it was not until 1946 that the word “homosexual” appeared in any translation of the Bible. In addition to this, there are words in the Greek language for same-sex sexual activities, yet they never appear in the original text of the New Testament.

Those who condemn homosexuality using the Bible do not have a legitimate basis for their claim. Jesus' main teachings were of love and compassion, not of ignorance and hate. To criticize homosexuals for something they have no control over is like hating someone for being born black, for being a woman, or being brought up in a different culture. Therefore, homosexuality is not a moral question and should be valued as a biological trait rather than an ethical decision. What religion teaches should be focused on acceptance and love not on discrimination against those who are different.

Same-sex attraction does have a biological basis, which means that you cannot choose your sexuality. Carl S. Keener and Douglas E. Swartzendruber from the Mennonite church came to the conclusion that “Explaining human sexuality is far too complicated for it to be reduced to easy formulations and patterns. Whatever the "cause" of a person's sexuality, what one does in response to one's sexuality and sexual attraction is a matter of human choice. But as for the attraction itself, it appears that, for most persons, this is beyond their immediate control.” Studies have shown there is no choice when it comes to your sexuality, since it has been discovered that homosexuality is biological. The Bremerhaven Zoo in Germany has said that it may try again earlier in the season next spring to breed its penguins. They believe that the late timing may have also been the cause of indifference from the male penguins, and the zoo still wants to encourage them to breed since they are an endangered species. It appears the director is unable to accept the reality that the penguins have sexual preferences. The penguins should be left alone to live with their chosen partners.

Psychologists have taken homosexuality off the books as a mental illness, and even the Bible can be interpreted in various conflicting ways. An individual’s sexual orientation does not decay society as a whole; a minority of the populace is born gay and they should be respected for their nature.