Anti-LGBT slogans
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/* Homosexuality as a sin */
[[Image:BenPhelps.JPG|thumb|Grandson of [[Fred Phelps]] holding anti-gay posters]]'''Anti-LGBT slogans''' or '''anti-gay slogans''' are themes, [[catchphrase]]s, and [[slogan]]s traditionally used to condemn or disparage homosexuality. They often work together to create an [[anti-gay]] [[ideology]].
These slogans, along with [[Bible|Biblical]] prohibitions, have a long history, with some dating back at least as far as [[Classical Greece]] 2500 years ago. They range from the demeaning and pejorative to those expressing negativity on [[religion and homosexuality|religious]], medical, or moral grounds. The slogans listed here are not just terms of [[invective]] (for example, [[faggot (epithet)|faggot]]) but they represent [[argument]]s that are commonly used to convey opposition to homosexuality. They reflect the [[spectrum]] of opinion among those who oppose homosexuality and [[LGBT social movements|full LGBT acceptance in society]].
== Themes ==
Some concepts and arguments against same-sex desire and practices have been evident over the centuries, though the importance of specific arguments has varied from culture to culture. For example, preoccupation with child abuse is a largely modern concern, and the importance of Biblical arguments rises and falls along with the influence of Judeo-Christian beliefs.
=== Declaration that same-sex desire is unnatural ===
{{seealso|Homosexuality and psychology#Declassification}}
This particular charge dates back to [[Plato]], who argued in the ''Laws'' I 636c and VIII 841d that homosexual sex was "out of nature" ''(para phusin).'' This argument was echoed in the writings of [[Paul of Tarsus]], in a claim to the same effect in the [[Epistle to the Romans]].{{Fact|date=February 2008}} In recent times the discussion has been framed in psychiatric rather than philosophical terms, with the claim that it is a [[sexual perversion]].
Though the psychiatric establishment once medicalized same-sex desire, homosexuality was later removed as a [[mental disorder]] from the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]] (DSM) because the diagnosis of homosexuality as mental illness [[social stigma|stigmatized]] homosexuals. There has been significant controversy over this DSM argument.<ref>[http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html American Psychological Association: Sexuality]</ref> However, according to another rebuttal of this argument, held by, among others, The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, there are some behaviors exhibited by many animals that most would consider unnatural in humans, such as [[cannibalism]].<ref>The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property. "Defending a Higher Law". [http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/online_library/Defending_A_Higher_Law.pdf], page 89</ref> The counter argument to this claim is that it confuses "unnatural" with "wrong," and that this is therefore simply a restatement of the claim that homosexuality is ''morally'' wrong (like cannibalism), not unnatural.<ref>[http://www.lpva.com/Archives/Editorial/Hugman/20060415.shtml The Liberarian Party of Virginia, Opponents of same-sex marriage use flawed arguments, by Michael Hugman]</ref> These issues are complicated by the [[polysemous]] character of the terms "natural" and "unnatural" which can be used in many equivocal ways.<ref>[http://skepdic.com/natural.html Skeptic's dictionary, "Natural"]</ref>
=== Conflation with child abuse ===
{{See also|Gay rights counter-movement}}
This is an accusation which predates the current era, as it was leveled against [[pederasty|pederasts]] even during [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]].<ref>[[Lucian]]. ''Erotes''</ref> More recently, this charge has been phrased as "[[homosexual recruitment]]", implying that homosexuals are somehow predatory toward children, or are "recruiting" in secret. A common slogan is "Homosexuals cannot reproduce — so they must recruit" or its variants.
In ''[[The Advocate]]'''s website, advocate.com, interview on his 2000 work, ''Outlaw Representation: Censorship and Homosexuality in 20th-Century American Art,'' [[Richard Meyer]] discusses this line of attack:
{{quotation|...those who attacked [[Robert Mapplethorpe|Mapplethorpe]]'s work in the late 1980s used this photograph to reinforce long-standing stereotypes of gay men as [[pedophile]]s. Although no sexual activity is shown (or even suggested) in the portrait, and although the picture was commissioned by the child's mother who was in the room at the time of its taking, the very fact that Mapplethorpe had photographed a naked boy was enough, at least in the minds of [[Pat Robertson]] and [[Jesse Helms]], for the photographer to be accused of [[child molestation]].|[[Tim Miller (performance artist)|Tim Miller]]|The Advocate| 2001<ref>Miller, Tim. Taking on the Antigay Censors. advocate.com, 2001. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050309010753/http://www.advocate.com/html/stories/857/857_outlaw.asp]</ref>}}
Anti-gay groups have often argued that homosexual men are more likely to be sexual abusers than heterosexuals, on the grounds that ⅓ of abusers target boys rather than girls. This is far in excess of the proportion of gay men in the population. It is thus argued that gay men are disproportionately likely to offend.<ref>[http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS02E3&f=WA06J01 Timothy J. Dailey, ''Homosexuality and Child Sexual Abuse'']</ref> However, this argument depends on the equation of male-male paedophilia with homosexual orientation. According to child abuse specialist Nicholas Groth this is not the case,
{{quotation|Homosexuality and homosexual pedophilia are not synonymous. In fact, it may be that these two orientations are mutually exclusive, the reason being that the homosexual male is sexually attracted to masculine qualities whereas the heterosexual male is sexually attracted to feminine characteristics, and the sexually immature child’s qualities are more feminine than masculine....The child offender who is attracted to and engaged in adult sexual relationships is heterosexual. It appears, therefore, that the adult heterosexual male constitutes a greater sexual risk to underage children than does the adult homosexual male.<ref> A. Nicholas Groth, William F. Hobson, and Thomas S. Gary, “The Child Molester: Clinical Observations,” in Social Work and Child Sexual Abuse, eds. Jon R. Conte and David A. Shore (New York: Haworth Press, 1982), p.136.</ref>}}
=== Dissipation of vital force ===
This argument has been phrased since antiquity in [[agriculture|agricultural]] terms, as "casting one's seed on sterile rocks." {{Fact|date=February 2007}} There was a recognized need for producing more children, generally to keep society going through the traditions of the family and farming. The concern was that more non-procreative sex would "ruin" the participants, reduce society's growth, and perhaps even contribute to social collapse. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
=== Association with effeminacy in men, and masculinity in women ===
{{main|Gender identity}}
This accusation seems to be based on the generalization that all those who engage in same-sex relations are also [[gender variant]], a contention which is not sustained by research in the field. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
=== Homosexuality as a sin ===
{{main|Religion and homosexuality}}
[[Image:Seattle gay parade-protesters.jpg|thumb|Sign using the word ''Gay'' as an acronym for "God Abhors You" (Seattle, United States)]]
Many religions consider homosexual acts to be inherently sinful. Especially, a number of [[Christian]]s interpret Biblical texts to imply that same-sex sexual intercourse is [[sin]]ful. Many [[mainline (Protestant)|mainline]] churches are very divided over the issue of [[same-sex marriage]] and religious [[blessing of same sex unions]] where they can bless same-sex love but not same-sex sex acts. These individuals and congregations believe that such sexual acts as [[anal sex|anal]] and or [[oral sex]] are forms of [[sexual immorality]] that should be advised against. One slogan is the commonly used phrase "love the sinner and not the sin." Other congregations, including the [[Metropolitan Community Church]]es, commonly affirm homosexuality and believe that neither homosexuality or homosexual sex acts are a sin.<ref>MCC. "MCC's International Statement on Marriage Equality" Metropolitan Community Church. [http://www.mccchurch.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsandInitiatives/HumanRightsSocialJustice/MarriageEquality/Marriage_Equality.htm]</ref> Some conservative churches reject the idea of a homosexual orientation and view homosexuality as being an urge towards sinful homosexual behavior and thus something everyone may experience from time to time. Many slogans, including some listed in the next section, have been used by [[religion and homosexuality|religious opponents of homosexuality]], particularly by [[Fred Phelps|Rev. Fred Phelps]], founder of the website [[godhatesfags.com]] and [[Westboro Baptist Church]]. These controversial slogans have included "God Hates Fags", "Fear God Not Fags", and "[[Matthew Shepard]] Burns In Hell".<ref>Dunn, Katia. "What If God Were Gay?". Portland Mercury. [http://web.archive.org/web/20050310064914/http://portlandmercury.com/2000-09-14/city.html]</ref> Another slogan is "God made [[Adam and Eve]], not [[Adam and Steve]]".
Because of the classification as sinful, homosexual acts have been blamed for "bringing down the wrath of God" upon the land, including for the periodic epidemics of disease which decimated the population{{Fact|date=May 2007}}. This "pollution" was thought to be cleansed by fire (modelled after the Biblical destruction of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]]), as a result of which some individuals were burned at the stake.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
A modern example of this type of thinking was shown by the [[Jerry Falwell|Rev. Jerry Falwell]], who blamed homosexuals (among others) for indirectly causing the [[terrorist]] attacks on [[New York]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] on [[September 11, 2001]]. On the broadcast of the Christian television program ''[[The 700 Club]]'', Falwell made the following statement (for which he later apologized):
<blockquote>I really believe that the [[pagan]]s, and the [[abortion]]ists, and the [[feminist]]s, and the gays and the [[lesbian]]s who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the [[ACLU]], [[People For the American Way]], all of them who have tried to [[secular|secularize]] America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/14/Falwell.apology/ CNN report of Falwell's speech]</ref></blockquote>
=== AIDS as a gay disease ===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:AdParody-anti-gaySlogan.png|thumb|left|Anti-gay [[Advertising slogan|slogan]]<br><small>''c. 1990''</small> (Parody of [[Raid (insecticide)|Raid]] advertisement)]] -->
A common theme of anti-gay slogans is that [[AIDS]] is a "gay disease". One example is the [[slogan]] "AIDS Kills Fags Dead", a [[parody]] of the [[advertising slogan]] "[[Raid bug spray|Raid]]: [[Kills Bugs Dead]]", the tagline used in [[television advertising]] for the [[SC Johnson]] [[insecticide]]. It thus identifies gay men with vermin fit for extermination.
The slogan appeared during the early years of AIDS in the United States, when the disease was mainly diagnosed among male homosexuals and was almost invariably fatal. The slogan caught on quickly as a catchy [[truism]], a [[chant]], or simply something written as [[graffiti]]. It is reported that the slogan first appeared in public in the early 1990s, when [[Sebastian Bach]], lead singer of the [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] band [[Skid Row (heavy metal band)|Skid Row]], wore it on a [[t-shirt]].<ref>Michael Musto. "La Dolce Musto", village voice, 2000. http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0022,musto,15284,15.html</ref> A variant of this is "AIDS cures fags", a role reversal which makes homosexuality the disease and the inevitable death from AIDS the "cure".
The phrase has been used by [[religion and homosexuality|religious opponents of homosexuality]]. It was for example seen in 1998 at the funeral of [[Matthew Shepard]], a victim of anti-gay violence, when Phelps and his followers chanted it in front of the gathering.
Data from a 2005 study by the [[Center for Disease Control]] showed that among male adults in the United States, MSM (men who have sex with men) accounted for "71% of all HIV infections among male adults and adolescents in 2005."<ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/resources/factsheets/msm.htm], CDC: HIV/AIDS among Men Who Have Sex with Men. Revised June 2007</ref>
The study also said that "MSM made up more than two thirds (68%) of all men living with HIV in 2005, even though only about 5% to 7% of men in the United States reported having sex with other men." <ref>[http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/msm/index.htm], HIV/AIDS and Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM)</ref>
A 2001 UN study on the epidemic is supposed to have found that "more than 80 percent of all adult HIV infections have resulted from heterosexual intercourse".<ref>[http://www.thebody.com/content/world/art6580.html], References UNAIDS's report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic: December 2001.</ref>
{{see|HIV and AIDS misconceptions|AIDS#Stigma}}
== See also ==
* [[LGBT slogans]]
* [[LGBT rights opposition]]
* [[Heterosexism]]
* [[Homophobia]]
* [[Homosexuality and morality]]
* [[Hate speech]]
* [[Fred Phelps]]
==References==
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