Happy and Gay

Televiewers got a shock on March 1, 2006 as they watch the famous Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition. Rustom Padilla, a former matinee idol, revealed his being a “gay”. And so, it was the talk of the town; it was expected that in the coming days many more would come out in the open whether celebrities or ordinary citizens in our communities.

Homosexuality is a complicated thing. It’s something we don’t normally talk about in our conversation with our friends.

Men usually describe themselves as ‘gays’, when they find that they are physically, emotionally and sexually attracted to other men. Maybe it is common for men to have gay experiences and feelings as part of exploring their sexuality. However, for men who go on to identify as gays, there is a strong physical and emotional attraction to men that they don’t usually feel for women. This may cause feelings of isolation for young men because they feel a lot of pressure to be heterosexual, or ‘straight’. Some people in society do not approve o homosexuality, and this may make people scared to show their sexuality.

There is no real explanation why some men are gays and some are not. It may be a result of genetic influences or because of social experiences or an interaction of the two. Some people recognize their attractions at an early age while others don’t develop attractions until well into adulthood. For most young people however they begin to develop gay feelings and attractions during teenage years. The main thing to remember is that being gay is not a disease to be ‘cured’ or ‘fixed’. It is part of the broad spectrum of human sexuality.

Being in a society like ours, gays are mocked, rejected, and misunderstood most of the time. Some people reserve the loudest, foulest, vilest condemnation for homosexuals. They grow up in a society that condemns and devalues their identity. Experiences of isolation and the emotional pain of alienation, hopelessness, and despair contribute to lowered self-esteem, identity conflicts, and adverse coping behaviors.

We have no right to judge gays. As Christians let us acknowledge that they also are children of God. Jesus died for them and the Bible doesn’t say, “love one another except gays”. Like them, we also commit sins. Christians who struggle with their homosexual desires can serve God. Many have done it­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­—serving the Lord in various ways. After all, holiness is a journey and we all struggle towards holiness. Dealing with homosexual orientation may be a difficult for some but let us always remember that God has the power to heal and transform lives. Disagree with their choice if you will, but keep in mind that people are human beings regardless of their sexual orientation. How we treat each other goes a long way in demonstrating our own humanity, or lack of it.

“The human personality is therefore endowed sexually and psychologically with a freedom from strict sexual orientation. This has contributed to the survival of the species by not separating any of it’s mental or psychological abilities into two opposite camps.”