Misconceptions

 

1. Homosexuality goes against the "laws of nature." FALSE! This has been iterated and reiterated by politicians across the continent, especially in Tanzania. However, hundreds of species, from birds to giraffes, engage in homosexual activity.

2. Homosexuality goes against religion. FALSE! Sacred texts of every religion have been edited, printed, and published thousands of times over many millenia to conform to trends in morality. Homosexuality was not mentioned in the Christian Bible, for example, until 1948.

3. Homosexuality is a choice and can be "cured." FALSE! In the same way that straight people just know they are attracted to the opposite sex, gay and bisexual people know they are exclusively or also attracted to the same sex and transgender people know they are more comfortable in a different gender role. The conversion therapy and corrective rape tactics used have been medically disproven and lead to suicide rates increasing by 500 to 1000 percent.

4. Homosexuality is sexual deviancy on par with pedophilia. FALSE! Not to mention the fact that most pedophiles victimize people of the opposite sex, what two consenting adults do is nobody else's business. They are not asking that people "join them;" they are merely asking for tolerance and respect afforded to others.

5. Homosexuality leads to disease. FALSE! All acts that same-sex partners perform are also performed by straight couples, and straight people can and do get AIDS. The reason the rates are so high in lower-income countries is because of lack of medical technology and access in many rural areas, not because of any "rampant homosexuality."

6. Homosexuality is a "Western vice." FALSE! Most laws criminalizing homosexuality stem from colonial rule between 1870 and 1920, and there is evidence of same-sex partners thousands of years ago in places like Kenya, Tanzania, Fiji, etc.