Garth Rattray THE DISCUSSION of homosexuality often lends itself to spirited conversations and heated debates about religion, morality, genetics, environment and hygiene. Before World War II mental health professionals, human sexuality researchers, theologians and other intellectuals believed that homosexuality was a mental disorder in which the affected individual chose to manifest deviant and unnatural behaviour. Same-sex behaviour had been criminalised since the Victorian era, so homosexuals stayed "in the closet" because they feared being ostracised and persecuted.
The first documented use of the word "gay" (meaning homosexual) was in the 1929 romantic operetta written and directed by Noel Coward (himself a homosexual) titled "Bittersweet". The plot involved an ill-fated love affair in Vienna. It was set in the so-called gay 1890's (referring to a merry, bright and lively period). In the play four overdressed dandies sang about being pretty boys, witty boys, haughty boys, naughty boys swooning with affectation who all wore a green carnation. Coward used the word "gay" as a double entendre.
Some claim that the word developed out of the theatre at a time when only men were allowed on-stage. Some performed female roles by dressing and acting effeminately. They were called the gaiety (merriment) of the play. Others believe that the word "gay" was used to describe homosexuals because of a slang term for a neophyte tramp or hobo, also referred to as a "gaycat or geycat". Young newcomers spent a great deal of time in the company of older, more experienced tramps; this implied a homosexual relationship.
Psychiatrists once held that homosexuality was a mental illness, but researcher Evelyn Hooker challenged that belief and in 1974 "homosexuality" was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The World Health Organisation followed suit in 1981. Gay rights movements and organisations emerged in the mid-twentieth century. Anti-sodomy laws were repealed in some places but the major turning point for gay rights came on June 27, 1969 at a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. Police raided the place but patrons and even onlookers fought back in what became known as the Stonewall riots. The United Church of Christ was the first U.S. mainline/liberal church to ordain an openly gay man, William Johnson in 1972 and an openly gay woman, Anne Holmes in 1977.
In 1975 the Vatican announced that homosexual orientation was not wrong, because it is not a matter of choice. However, they stated that acting upon that feeling was a sin. In July 1994, the American Psychological Association affirmed that homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor moral depravity. "It is a normal way by which a minority expresses love and sexuality". They asserted that sexual orientation is not chosen but is determined either very early in life or even before birth.
With this in mind one can hardly judge those who happen to be homosexual. As one patient of mine explained, he has the hardware for heterosexual relationships but the software for homosexuality. It was not of his choosing. Nobody yearns to be homosexual, the social stigmatisation and raging internal conflicts makes one's "unusual sexuality" a troubled affair from which there is no reprieve. After all, one cannot run from oneself. Eventually most succumb to their "natural" status.
Rev. Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church in the USA certainly pushed the envelope. My big problem with Bishop Robinson is that he chose to pit his lifestyle against the established church thus endangering the stability of that religious body. He must be awarded points for honesty but he fails miserably when it comes to the selfless sacrifices that a religious life demands. There was nothing sheepish about the way he proclaimed his homosexuality or his ongoing same-sex love affair. This shepherd must now wait and see if the Episcopalian (Anglican) flock will stay together as one herd or if the predicted schism will materialise.
The Episcopal Church was timid, confused and politicised. A church must stand steadfastly by its religious convictions no matter what. Appointing a homosexual bishop contravenes established church teachings and opens the door for a myriad of supplications for changes that could ultimately mangle that hallowed organisation.
Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
