Sexuality+-+Its+Not+a+Choice

Dhriti Khatri n7107315 Tutor: Judith Meiklejohn

SEXUALITY - ITS NOT A CHOICE

media type="custom" key="24287394"

//**The Artefact **// The YouTube video above is a short clip taken from a well known TV show The Simpsons. The video is from season 16 episode 10 titled "There's Something About Marrying". In this episode Homer Simpson becomes the minister to get gay people married after Springfield legalises gay marriage. Upon knowing about the new gay marriage rights, Homer's sister, Patty, finds hope of being able to come out with some confidence of being accepted by the community of her sexuality. Therefore she approaches Homer and Marge regarding her desire to get married to her girlfriend. Upon knowing Patty's sexuality, we see that Marge is left surprised and cannot understand how it happened .

//**Public Health Issue **// Sexuality has always been a major part of human existence in societies from the very age of hunting and gathering through to modern times. The public health issue central to my analysis is homosexuality in particular. Homosexuality refers to the sexual, affectionate or romantic attraction primarily to people of the same sex (What is sexual orientation, 2013). Homosexual relationships have been admired and condemned throughout history depending on the culture and society in which they occurred. The way they are treated with the attitudes and behaviours of people around them affects their health outcomes and thus their morbidity and mortality.

//**Literature Review **// Since the 1970's many people have been starting to become more accepting of same-sex-relationships with legal rights now being given for people to be in same-sex-relationships. Although homosexuality had started to be legalised in Australia since 1976 and in Queensland in 1994, the discrimination still shared by gay and lesbian people creates common health risk problems. According to a study conducted in 2011 by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, students who had reported being gay, lesbians or having sexual contact with people of the same sex are more likely than heterosexuals to be involved in health risk behaviours such as (Centres for Disease Control and Management, 2011):

- Tobacco use - Alcohol and other drug use - Sexual risk behaviours - Suicidal behaviours - And violence

H omosexual individuals have been described as at high risk for these health risk behaviours due to their increased stress levels or cultural importance or bar setting (McKirnan & Peterson, 1989). In 2008 a study of 380 gay, lesbian and bisexual Victorians found that 1 in 7 has reported of living in fear of homophobic violence. The results were further justified when 85% of the respondents reported being subjected to homophobic violence or harassment in their lifetime.

Although things have been improving for the last 50 or so years in Australia for Gay and lesbian people, there is still uncertainty whether they will receive acceptance from their families, friends and colleagues and in some cases health professionals (Michael, & LaSala, 2011). Dealing with this uncertainty leads to negative health impacts. Some of the reasons why certain conditions such as higher risk on mental health disorders, obesity and alcohol and drug use occur include (Gay and lesbian issues - discrimination, 2011):


 * 'coming out' only to be rejected by family and friends
 * Being bullied by friends on a daily basis
 * Homophobic jokes or harassment at school or workplace
 * Feeling guilt and shame about your sexuality as being of another sexuality other than heterosexuality is considered abnormal

As discussed earlier, these social and physiological discrimination also needs to reduced in the health and medical area. Research suggests that gay men and lesbians have reduced access to medical care compared to heterosexuals (Gay and lesbian issues - discrimination, 2011).
 * The majority of gay men and lesbians have had experience of homophobic health professionals. This discourages them from seeking medical help or wait longer before they seek for help.
 * They may also have difficulties communicating with medical professionals due to the fear that they may need to ‘come out’ during the consultation and thus be at risk of receiving less favourable treatments
 * Reduced access to medical services and levels of screening puts them at risk of developing major diseases or adverse health outcomes

Although health services claim that everyone is treated the same, consciously or unconsciously gay and lesbian people get discriminated in some shape or form.

According to an article published in June 2013, Australia is one of the most tolerant places in the world in terms of homosexuality (Pew Research, 2013). As shown by this map the research included polls from 39 countries to assess their tolerance of gay and lesbian people. Of all the Australians surveyed, 79% said yes. Canada, Czech Republic and Germany are marginally ahead while Spain with 88% highest number of affirmative responses (Pew Research, 2013) .



Figure 1: World percentage who say homosexuality should be accepted

From the study it was concluded that the level of acceptance was closely related to the pervasiveness of religion. It quotes "Acceptance of homosexuality is particularly widespread in countries where religion is less central in people's lives. These are also among the richest countries in the world," the study found. "In contrast, in poorer countries with high levels of religiosity, few believe homosexuality should be accepted by society". In addition to region, age also plays a role in sexual discrimination. It also shows how acceptance of gay and lesbians is more tolerable in people aged between 18-29 and it decreases as age increases.

As shown in the Simpsons video, as soon as Patty announced she wanted to get married, Marge assumed it was a guy. It would be easier for gay and lesbian people if others didn't judge them by their sexuality or assume their sexual attractions towards others. In the video we see that Patty only comes out once she sees a chance of being able to openly be in a relationship with her girlfriend and get married. People should be more accepting of homosexual relationships which would also enable them to 'come out' without hesitation and fear of rejection. It is important to remember that a persons sexuality has an impact on their health. The problem does not lie with gay and lesbian people, but with the attitudes and behaviours of people around them. Health services, workplace, family and friends need to take an initiative to make gay and lesbians feel safer thus decreasing any gaps leading to better health outcomes. As a result of this unit and assessment piece I have been able to understand some of the deeper meanings about various other topic which I hadn't thought about before. Although I knew about different sexualities, I didn't know how much discrimination there is against homosexuals and what health outcomes that arise due to these behaviours.
 * //Analysis of the Artefact and Learning Reflections //**


 * //Learning Engagement //**

//**References **// Centres for Disease Control and Management. (2011). CDC Report Finds Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students At Greater Risk for Unhealthy, Unsafe Behaviors. Retrieved from []

Gay and lesbian issues - discrimination. (2011). Better health Channel. Retrieved from []

McKirnan, D. J., Peterson, P. L. (1989). Alcohol and drug use among homosexual men and women: epidemiology and population characteristics. Addictive Behaviors, 14(5), 545-553

Michael, C., LaSala. (2011). Should You Come Out to Your Parents?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from []

Pew Research. (2013). Survey of LGBT Americans. Retrieved from [|http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/06/13/a-survey-of-lgbt-americans/3/#chapter-2-social-acceptance]

What is sexual orientation. (2013). Stonewall. Retrieved from []