Homosexuality Is A Mental Disorder

Thank you to Garret for instigating this debate. My opponent has said that he does not wish to agree to any of the terms I suggested in my acceptance. I am not excessively attached to any of those rules, but they do seem to be somewhat standard procedure here on DDO so I am curious as to why he has rejected them with no reason why. More importantly, as my statement concerning the BoP in this debate would have been part of those terms that he chose to “not necessarily agree to” without further comment, we are left to assume. Since he is the instigator and maker of a claim in this debate, I contend that Pro has the BoP, but at this point it’s really up to the voter to decide that. Now, on to the topic at hand: Introduction My opponent has provided two sets of criteria through which we can evaluate whether or not homosexuality is a mental disorder. Because he has the BoP in this debate, my only obligation is negate his claims. If I can demonstrate that at least one criterion in both standards does not apply to homosexuality, then I will have successfully negated the resolution. In this round I intend to demonstrate that Pro’s case rests on many bare assertions and unsound reasoning. WIKIPEDIA1. Psychological pattern or anomaly. To make things simple and focus the debate, I’m going to concede this point. 2. Potentially reflected in behavior I concede that homosexuality can be reflected in behavior. 3. Generally associated with distress or disability. This is likely to be one of the more contentious criterion. A large problem with this part of Pro’s argument is his assumption that correlation implies causation. He assumes that because one study found that homosexual males in high school are much more likely than heterosexual males in high school to attempt suicide, homosexuality is the cause of this. It should also be noted that Pro slightly distorted the results of the study when he claimed that “Homosexuals are seven times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexuals.” This phrasing failed to mention that the study was only representative of a small age group, that seven figure only applies to males, and the study dealt with attempted suicide, not just actually committing suicide. But the real problem is this: If Pro wants to argue that a because more students surveyed that were homosexual reported attempting suicide than those that were heterosexual that homosexuality is associated with distress, then, by the same logic, being a heterosexual female can also be associated with distress because more than three times as many heterosexual females in that study reported attempted suicide than heterosexual males. [1]. The reason that homosexual males in high school are more likely to attempt suicide can better be attributed to bullying than to homosexuality. This is evidenced by the fact that homosexual males are more likely to be bullied than heterosexual males, and bullying can lead to depression and suicide. [2][3]. Therefore, it is not homosexuality itself that is associated with distress, but rather bullying and related factors. Regarding the increased rates of other mental disorders for homosexuals has not been demonstrated to be an effect of homosexuality in any way.4. Not considered part of normal development of a person’s culture. First, it should be noted that this debate is not specifically about American culture. Second, Pro’s assertion that that homosexuality is not considered a normal part of development in American culture because gay marriage is illegal in most states is flawed. The argument against gay marriage is that marriage is between a man and a woman, therefore gay people cannot get married to each other because that is not marriage. This has nothing to do with whether homosexuality is accepted. Additionally, if Pro’s argument is true, does this mean that homosexuality is not a mental disorder in states that have legalized same-sex marriage? Nevertheless, numerous cultures throughout history have recognized homosexuality. [4]. Clearly Pro has not proved this criteria to apply to homosexuality. BRITANNICA 1. Illness. Once again, Pro commits the fallacy of assuming causation because of correlation. An analogy: Pregnancy can be lethal or damaging to the physical health of the mother and can take a toll on her emotional health in some cases, for instance, if the pregnancy is unwanted. Yet, I doubt that my opponent wishes to claim that heterosexuality is an illness because clearly pregnancy is an event that is associated with heterosexuality. In the same way that heterosexuality is not an illness for causing damaging pregnancies or transferring STDs, homosexuality is not an illness. 2. Significant psychological or behavioral manifestations. I concede this point.3. Associated with either a painful or distressing symptom or an impairment in one or more important areas of functioning. Pro claims that “homosexuality is more deadly than smoking, alcoholism, or drug addiction.” Unfortunately, the source he uses to back up this claim commits many of the same fallacies Pro commits throughout his argument. It is not homosexuality that necessarily causes the deadly things that are discussed. Another important thing of note is that Pro is misrepresenting his source 10. He uses that source to say that “Men and women in same-sex marriages have a shorter life-span than the general population.” The study he cited states: “Despite recent marked reduction in mortality among gay men, Danish men and women in same-sex marriages still have mortality rates that exceed those of the general population. The excess mortality is restricted to the first few years after a marriage, presumably reflecting preexisting illness at the time of marriage. Although further study is needed, the claims of drastically increased overall mortality in gay men and lesbians appear unjustified.” [5]. Pro challenges that homosexuality “discourages procreative intercourse, and by extension the survival of the human species.” Given that the majority of people are heterosexual and the Earth’s population is already above 7 billion, the concern that humanity will go extinct is laughable. Pro’s assumption of causation extends throughout the remainder of the argument. While homosexuals may demonstrate these behaviors to a greater extent than heterosexuals, drawing the conclusion that homosexuality is the cause is a leap that is unjustified. This is certainly true for his arguments concerning parenting. I would also like to point out that his source 14 regarding this point is not listed. CONCLUSION I have demonstrated that and how Pro’s argument relies on unfounded ideas and fallacious assumptions about causations. I have specifically demonstrated that criteria 3 and 4 of the Wikipedia standard and criteria 1 and 3 of the Britannica standard have not been shown to apply to homosexuality meaning that at this point, the resolution is negated. Sources: [1]- http://ajph.aphapublications.org... [2]- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... [3]- http://www.bullyingstatistics.org... [4]- http://en.wikipedia.org... [5]- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...