Three Myths About the LGBT Community — And Why They’re Wrong
It is the year 2020. We have just exited the 2010’s, which could be described as the decade that Social Justice became mainstream. As illustrated in a Twitter thread by Zach Goldberg, the 2010’s were the decade that concepts like White Privilege, Diversity, and Implicit Bias really started picking up steam in the real world. And as we go into the 2020’s, it’s likely that Identity Politics will increasingly continue to worm themselves into various facets of modern life.
One form of identity politics that I think we will be seeing more of is that related to the LGBT Community. This is for a couple of reasons. First, discussions around homosexuality haven’t been as prominent in Identity Politics circle as have other issues such as race or gender. But I have noticed something of an increased focus over the last couple of years, especially with the rise of Pete Buttigieg, a gay politician who is running to be president of America. But the main reason I think that the LGBT Community will enjoy some prominence is due to the fact that the late 2010’s were the decade that Trans activism grew legs and took off, not only leaving controversy after controversy in its wake, but dragging the LGB’s along with them. So, as a gay man, before the LGBT gets too comfortable having its share of Identity Politics, and before the inevitable backlash, I figured that it was worth addressing some misconceptions about the LGBT Community, and exactly why these ideas are wrong.
Myth #1 — Children of Same-Sex Couples Are Worse Off
It’s often stated by many Conservatives that same-sex parents are bad for children. It is claimed that the children of same-sex couples experience negative life outcomes at a rate higher than that of opposite-sex couples. This has been put forward by right-wing outlets such as The Daily Wire and The Heritage Foundation. To their credit, they do provide studies. But these studies go against the scientific consensus, which paints a very different picture. The most recent piece of scientific literature on the topic is a review of a decade’s worth of research, which ultimately concludes that “children in same-sex households experience similar health, behavioural, and educational outcomes when compared with children in different-sex households.” This is consistent with previous research into general life outcomes.
Let’s take one example of life outcomes and break it down in detail. The issue of school progress is one that has a strong body of evidence behind it. Watkins (2018) found that comparisons children raised in same-sex households versus opposite-sex households “fail to show significant differences in normal school progress between households across a variety of sample compositions.” Similarly, Boertien & Bernardi (2019) found that although “children living with same-sex couples were historically more likely to be behind in school”, contemporary society displays “no effect of parental union sex composition on school progress.” The evidence is clear: being raised in same-sex households does not have significant negative outcomes of children.
Myth #2 — Being Gay is a Lifestyle Choice
The debate around Nature-Nurture in regards to sexual orientation has been around for a long time, and with no signs of stopping. You will sometimes hear the argument that being gay is a “lifestyle choice” — in other words, it’s purely environmental, with little to no genetic influence. This view has been espoused by politicians such as Ben Carson and outlets such as American Thinker or LifeSiteNews. But does this opinion hold up to scrutiny? The answer is no.
Recent scientific research shows that even though there is no “gay gene”, sexual orientation does have a basis in genes. Up to 25% of variation in sexual orientation can be explained by an individual’s genetic makeup. Additionally, prenatal exposure to progesterone significantly increases an individual’s chance of having a non-heterosexual orientation. These facts show that although sexual orientation is formed by both genes and environment, there is a biological basis to sexuality.
Myth #3 — The LGBT Community is a Homogenous Group
The LGBT acronym often gives the impression that the LBGT Community is a happy group where all the members get along. The truth is much different. In fact, speaking as a gay man, the most accurate description of our community comes from Dave Chappelle’s “Alphabet People” monologue from his Netflix special Sticks and Stones. The identity groups that comprise the LGBT Community are constantly at war with each other. As gay author Douglas Murray points out in his book The Madness of Crowds: “…gay men and lesbians do not always form the warmest of relationships. Gay men often characterise lesbians as dowdy and boring. Lesbians often characterise gay men as silly and displaying a failure to grow up… Gay men and gay women, meanwhile, have a famous amount of suspicion towards people who claim to be ‘bisexual.’”
And that’s not even getting into how the LGB feels about the T. Recently, with the controversy surrounding the LGB Alliance, a mini-civil war has erupted within the community. Some see the creation of the LGB Alliance as a betrayal of the Trans Community. Others, such as myself and gay conservative Brad Polumbo, see this as the necessary recognition that the Trans Community should be seen as an entirely separate entity from the rest of the LGB Community, due to having fundamentally different goals. The most ironic part was that Chappelle seemingly predicted this only a few months earlier in his stand-up, where he noted that the LGB’s did not get along well with the T’s. A storm was brewing then, and it erupted before the year had finished.
I’m sure there are a few other myths that I could address, but I feel considering the contemporary political climate, where heritability of human nature is a hot topic and where we’re still trying to figure out what to do with Transgender kids, these issues are important and do deserve to be addressed. I hope that this essay has provided some useful insight and information, because if there’s one thing we can safely say going forward into 2020, it’s that useful insight and information are gonna be very important for guiding us through the rocky roads ahead.
