The Peers Outsmarting Homophobia (POSH) booklet

For same sex attracted young people, workers, families and friends.

 
 
Peers Out Smarting Homophobia (POSH) booklet. Belief 1: Homosexuality is a sin.
The POSH booklet can be downloaded here

girl with doll

Check out some useful websites.

Being same sex attracted does NOT make you abnormal or unnatural.This belief may have come out of religious and psychological beliefs or it may also have arisen because same sex attraction is in the minority. However, being in the minority (for example having a rare blood type) doesn’t make a person unnatural.  Foucault, a great thinker about sexuality, argued that calling something unnatural is a very powerful way to control it and we can see from young people’s stories that this belief is still being used to try to control their behaviour and thinking.

There is no evidence at all that same sex sexual attractions are unnatural. This belief has been denounced by the Australian Psychological Society (2006) which wrote that ‘homosexuality is a normal, natural, and fixed sexual orientation’.

Homosexuality has been around for a long time. It has existed and been talked and written about throughout history. It occurs naturally in all human societies no matter what their ethnicity and culture. In some cultures it has been treated as a problem and in others it has not, but it is always there. It is simply a recurring part of the normal range of human possibilities.

In 1994 the American Psychological Association in its Statement on Homosexuality wrote: ‘Homosexuality is not a matter of individual choice. Research suggests that the homosexual orientation is in place very early in the life cycle, possibly even before birth. It is found in about 10% of the population, a figure which is surprisingly constant across cultures, irrespective of the different moral values and standards of a particular culture. Contrary to what some imply, the incidence of homosexuality in a population does not appear to change with new moral codes or social mores. Research findings suggest that efforts to repair homosexuals are nothing more than social prejudice.’
How young people outsmarted this belief.
young people having coffee

I love being attracted to males! I used to be in denial but then faced the truth and now it seems so natural and normal! It’s great! Never been happier.
Wilson 15 years
girls smiling

Normality is a continuum, there are varying degrees of it. Sarah, 17 years
boys smiling

At first I was uncomfortable, but now it is as ‘normal’ to me as air is.Elliot 18 years

Same sex attraction isn't unnatural, just u6 December, 2007d>

five young people

I hope that in the future, same sex attraction will be more common-place, not taboo and accepted More to the point, wearing clothes and driving cars isn’t natural either, but no-one has any problems with that! Greg 16 years
girls smiling

I first knew when I was little - put it to the back of my mind ignored it tried to be ‘normal’. I know I not straight now I love who I am and who I love and would never change it. I would die before lying about my sexuality. Jade 18 years

  

Owen’s Story 18 years

I've been attracted to guys for a long time. It would have to be about 4 years but I never told anyone until just this year. At first, I didn't want to know it was true. I mean, I wanted to fit in with the rest of society so much. I didn't want to be marked different. And I didn't want to believe that I was either. But since the beginning of this year.…'ve opened up to a lot of people. And they all accept me for me, and the thing I find strange is that they seem to be coming up to me, telling me that they think they are bisexuals, or gay or even lesbians. It's good that they can be more comfortable about it too. It would get a lot of pressure off them, as it did for me. And now I'm the happiest in the world. Nothing can bring me down. And I like to feel that way. Maybe others can feel the same way I do.

Shaun's story 16 years

Well... ever since i can remember i've always had more female friends than male friends, and that didn't bother me one bit, after all i was born after feminism had changed the world and i was just a kid. At the age of around about 12 or 13, puberty started to kick in, and i found myself getting weird feelings towards men. At that time i thought that was completely normal, however as i grew older those feelings grew stronger, but i never did act on them. Now i am 16, soon to be 17 and can't imagine myself any other way. I have come out to my friends and my mum and things are going fine. The reaction of most of my friends was great and the reception was better than i expected from my mother. I am lucky to have such great friends and family to support me and who i am.


 

 

Content Approved by: Head of School
Page maintained by: Lynne Hillier
Last Updated: 28 May, 2007