Christian and an Ally | Why Being Gay is Okay ✓

Isn't Homosexuality the Same as Bestiality, Pedophilia, and Other Paraphilias?

This one makes me feel sick to my stomach. How anybody could think that homosexual sex is equivalent to non-consensual or paraphilic sex is beyond me, but that's why I need to address this.

A huge difference between homosexuality, bestiality (also called zoophilia), and pedophilia is that one involves two consenting adults (homosexuality), and the other two involve animals or children, who cannot give consent. Consent is the presence of a yes, not the absence of a no. Since animals can't say yes or no, they are unable to consent to sexual acts with humans. The same is the case for children; they do not understand what consent entails, so they are not old enough to give their consent.

Bestiality is animal abuse, cruelty, and rape. Both animals and humans are harmed in the act of cross-species sex, and it is often accompanied by other acts of animal cruelty, such as torturing, maiming, or killing the animal. Furthermore, humans have gained most of our current STDs from animals, like genital chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis flagellate infection. HIV originated from chimpanzees, while herpes B came from other species of monkeys. Humans also got Q Fever, Brucellosis, and Leptospirosis from animals.

Bestiality is inhumane and abusive. Besides the many negative health effects on both animals and humans, animals cannot give their consent, so bestiality is animal cruelty. It is completely different than homosexual sex, which is an act between two consenting adults.

Pedophilia is in the same boat as bestiality. Children cannot give their consent, so pedophilic sex is rape and child abuse. It is psychologically and mentally damaging to the child, and it can lead to them growing up to be abusive or pedophilic themselves. Children who are victims of pedophilia are more likely to practice unsafe sex, develop drug or alcohol addictions, become a teen parent, go to prison, or have mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and eating disorders. Pedophilia cannot be compared to homosexuality.

Bestiality and pedophilia are classified as paraphilias, not sexualities. The American Psychiatric Association defines paraphilias as involving "recurrent, intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies . . . involving nonhuman objects, the suffering or humiliation of oneself or partner, or children or other non-consenting persons." They are mental disorders, NOT sexual orientations. Sexual orientation is defined as "a person's emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction to a particular gender." Animals aren't a gender, nor are children, objects, or anything else involved in paraphilias.

It is insulting and dehumanizing to accuse homosexual sex of being the equivalent of abusive or non-consensual sex. However, I want to be clear that none of this chapter is meant to insult people who may struggle with paraphilias. It's when they act upon their sexual desires and harm animals, children, or other adults that it becomes problematic. If you or a loved one are struggling with unhealthy paraphilic urges and desires, there are resources online connected with ASAP, as well as numerous support groups. Please check them out and get help. Google "professional help for someone with _____ paraphilia" and check out your options for therapy.

An argument I have seen attached to this misconception of homosexuality is the idea of the "slippery slope of sin," as I call it. Once homosexuality is accepted, anti-gay Christians argue, then who's to say that bestiality, pedophilia, or incest won't be next?

Once again, there are good reasons that the latter three things are not socially accepted. Bestial sex is animal abuse and cruelty; pedophilic sex is child abuse and rape; incest is bad for the gene pool and linked to physical and psychological problems. On the other hand, homosexual sex is consensual and unproblematic. It has no connection to paraphilias or incest.

Since homosexuality is so different from the other things listed above, it is extremely unlikely that allowing homosexuality to be accepted will cause us to accept paraphilias. I don't think that pedophilia or bestiality will ever be accepted in mainstream society. Maybe the stigma around them will decrease, just like the stigma around other mental illnesses has decreased over the years, but it will never be okay to have sex with children or animals. Even if it is proven down the line that pedophilies or zoophilies cannot choose who they are attracted to, defining their desires as a "sexual orientation" does not mean that they will be allowed to have sex with children or animals. We can and should make programs to help them manage their urges, but they will never be seen as healthy sexual desires. Children and animals cannot consent!

To my anti-gay readers, please refrain from using this argument against homosexuality. It is insulting, demeaning, offensive, ignorant, and downright false. Homosexual sex between two consenting adults is NOT anything like non-consensual, abusive sex. Period.