research on sex and drug education

A very good friend of mine is doing this paper about sex and drug education. She found this info. check it out. you dont have to read it all just check out the basics...I was astonished

Lesson Three focuses on homosexuality and those who engage in homosexuality.

A. Homosexual activities are often medically and physically harmful. Both men and women who engage in homosexuality get more Sexually Transmitted Diseases [STDs] (e.g., syphilis, gonorrhea), including AIDS than those who only have sex with the opposite sex. Men who engage in homosexuality much more frequently get STDs, particularly AIDS and the various forms of hepatitis (viral diseases of the liver). Gays get AIDS about 500 times more frequently than straights. High levels of various forms of violence, including sadomasochism, beatings, overdosing, murder, and suicide are associated with homosexuality in both men and women. Men who engage in homosexuality experience disproportionate organ failures (e.g., the anal sphincter and liver) and heart conditions. High levels of various forms of cancer, especially those associated with the reproductive system (e.g., breast, uterine) are associated with homosexuality among women. These and other harms contribute to a decided shortening of the life spans of those who engage in homosexual practices. It appears that those who engage in homosexuality reduce their life spans by between 20 to 30 years – almost as much as those who shoot drugs intravenously.

Socially, those who engage in homosexuality tend to associate with others who engage in homosexuality. If they become part of the "gay movement" their associations tend toward almost exclusive social contact with other homosexuals. Homosexual practitioners, particularly those who consider themselves "gay," tend to be very evangelical. They will tend to advertise their involvement in homosexuality to just about everybody in their social space. Sometimes they will wear clothing or adopt an interpersonal style that advertises their homosexuality. They will frequently attempt to get others to "try" homosexuality.

Sometimes subtly and at other times more directly, they will invite those in their social space to participate with them or with other homosexuals in their sexual activities or at the very least, to "endorse" what they do. Although those who engage in homosexuality probably occur in every profession, certain professions (e.g., hairdressing, florists, interior design, acting, women’s sports and women’s military) have higher concentrations. There is a substantial "divide" between the social worlds of those who do and those who do not participate in homosexuality. It is unclear whether the "divide" between homosexuals and heterosexuals is as wide as or wider than the social "divide" between Blacks and whites, or between smokers and nonsmokers.

Outside of employment, Blacks tend to disproportionately voluntarily associate with Blacks and whites with whites. Likewise, smokers tend to associate with other smokers and nonsmokers with nonsmokers. But both Blacks and whites generally condemn or deprecate homosexual activity by those within their own race and generally do not associate with members of their race who engage in homosexuality. The same phenomenon of people liking to "be around their own kind" is evident in dividing smokers from nonsmokers, and divides regular drug-users from nonusers. Around 2%-3% of adults engage in homosexuality.

Homosexual involvements tend toward being addictive but do not appear to be ingrained or genetically inherited. Very few adults who claim to "be homosexual" have not had successful sexual relations with the opposite sex. In a number of studies it has been found that only about 5% of gays and lesbians are heterosexual virgins. Further, most men and most women who report having engaged in homosexuality in the past year also report having engaged in heterosexuality in the past 5 years. That is, there are very few exclusive "homosexuals." This is one of the reasons that most scientists for most of this century have regarded homosexuality as a "preference" (obviously, if people can "go either way," and prefer homosexuality at this particular time, it makes little sense to consider them to have been "born that way" – what way were they "born" when they switch again?).

While heterosexual sexuality requires that people get to know each other, date, socialize, and have at least some interests in common, homosexual relations tend to be very "sexually" oriented, and complete strangers can and do "have homosexual sex" with each other. Boys wonder about "what makes girls tick" and girls wonder what "makes boys tick," and both sexes have to accommodate each other before any sort of dating or marriage might occur. Homosexuality short circuits this requirement. Boys know about boys and girls know about girls. It is therefore "easy" to get on and "get to the sexual point of the relationship" if the relationship is homosexual.

Many people "get a thrill" out of doing the verboten and being in the "out crowd." Some of the charm of homosexuality (as with drug use) undoubtedly stems from the "out" status that comes from being "in" with a fairly secret society. A great deal of the charm of homosexuality comes from knowing "where to go" and "how to act" to meet other homosexuals and engage in sexual relations. These are "secrets" not shared by most non-homosexuals. Engaging in homosexuality puts you into an "elite in crowd" that offers a great deal of sexuality for little interpersonal investment. In contrast, heterosexuality offers a modest degree of sexuality for a great deal of interpersonal involvement. Although the studies upon which the findings are based are not rock-solid, teenagers who engage in homosexuality report higher levels of drug-abuse, criminality, and exposure to violence than teenagers who do not. Homosexual relations were illegal in every state until 1962 and are illegal in almost half the states today.

Courtesy toward, but avoidance of, those who engage in homosexuality is the best rule. Socially, those who associate with "openly homosexual" teens will find themselves suspected of dabbling in it themselves. "Scripts" for how to courteously avoid the company of those who engage in homosexuality should be "dreamed up" by the class as a whole (they will build on their ideas of the previous lesson concerning drug users). Non-confrontational ways to react to invitations to participate in homosexuality include "ignoring the question" or "I’ve got to think about it," or "not now" and then avoiding the questioner so that the question cannot be put again. Confrontational ways include "no, I think its dumb (stupid, foolish, wrong)" or "no, I don’t want to get involved," or "no, I promised my parents (girlfriend/boyfriend/God) I wouldn’t," and then avoiding the questioner so that the question cannot be put again. People almost always "relent" and try something if they allow themselves to be badgered about it. Since everybody knows this, so if you continue to "hang around" someone who is "into" homosexuality, it kind of becomes a matter of "when," not "if."