From: sienna@yabbs
To: all@yabbs
Subject: Winds of Change III
Date: Sat Jul 30 18:06:53 1994
Talking about the rejecting-punitive idea of homosexuality and how it 
relates to religion...

Nelson himself offered some interesting speculations regarding the 
selective fixation on homosexuality and the highly charged anxiety and 
rage that lie behind it. 

for example, from a Freudian perspective (come on guys, I am a PSYCH 
major, you know I had to bring this up sometime), he points out that even 
people whose sex life has been exclusively heterosexual, there may be 
homosexual feelings present even if relegated to an unconscious level. 
Freud's own idea of reaction formation ( a defense mecahnism that enable 
an individual to express an unacceptable impulse by transforming it into 
its opposite) shows that one way we cope with our own unwanted impulses is 
by attacking them in others.

The male-dominated tradition contains exaggerated images of masculinity 
that trigger strong anxiety about homosexuality among men. Homosexuality 
is viewed as unmanly. It threatens clear masculine gender identity, and 
the ground rules that establish what safe and normal male feelings are 
supposed to be.

Any crossing of the forbidden line unleashes feelings of high danger. The 
gay male seems a threat to the importance of super-masculinity. 

Many gay men refuse to give up the softer, more gentle "feminie" qualities 
which macho traditions have taught are "only for women." Thus, 
anthropologists have noted the strong tendency of patriarchal cultures to 
define homosexuality as the "unspeakable sin," while matriarchal cultures 
have an entirely different viewpoint.

In the Old Testament, there is sever condemnation of male homosexuality, 
while lesbianism isn't even MENTIONED. It is only gay men who suffer the 
condemnation of the Old Testament. And yet, we can hear the 
rejecting-punitive message being preached from so many pulpits today.




Next thought-provoking issue I will raise will be the 
rejecting-nonpunitive attitude, although it may be a while before I post 
again. Comments are needed, because there is so much we still need to 
learn, and I want other people to give me feedback...

Dee