Viewpoint

'U' class: Homosexuality is a 'learned' lifestyle

The final word has been spoken concerning whether "gayness" is hereditary or a learned behavior. This conclusion did not cost the federal government a dime - no federal grants were involved - no taxpayer money.

The breakthrough did not come from a lengthy federally funded research treatise, nor was it published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Rather, University of Michigan instructor David Halperin has stated unequivocally that male homosexuality has to be learned. Writing in the University Fall 2000 course catalog, Halperin states: "Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others."

He further explains that not only is it necessary for an aspiring homosexual to "learn" how to be gay, but his course will examine "the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay identity."

The use of the term "initiation" alone proscribes the possibility of homosexuality being an inherited trait. "Initiation" means starting or causing to start. By definition, one cannot start something that was already determined genetically at birth.

Halperin's course description is helpful in developing a better understanding of homosexuality, especially in light of recent statements from the homosexual community, which would have us believe homosexuality does not involve choice or learning. They state that a homosexual is a homosexual simply because he was born that way.

Halperin's course explodes that reasoning, for if a homosexual needs to learn how to be gay, and even needs a University course to teach him how, then it is obviously not a matter of heredity. Let me demonstrate. The full catalog entry for this course is available at: www.lsa.umich.edu/saa/publications/courseguide/fall/361.html?f00. But to prove my point, I will excerpt from Halperin's own course description and substitute the word "Irish" for "gay." I should be given this liberty, because I am a good part Irish. Here goes:

"Just because you happen to be an Irish man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Irish men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be Irish from others, either because we look to them for instruction or because they simply tell us what they think we need to know, whether we ask for their advice or not. This course will examine the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of Irish identity... In particular, we'll examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be Irish: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals and other works of classical and popular music... What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or aesthetic dimensions of Irish identity, including Irish sexuality... this course will... seek ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be Irish.

It just doesn't work, substituting "Irish" for "gay," especially when you consider having to "learn" to be Irish. I didn't have to "learn" how to do that. Not many Afro-Americans have to "learn" how to be Afro-American, either. They might study to learn more about their cultural heritage, but no one has to learn how to be something they cannot help being.

Halperin has to be right, because U.S. News & World Report's latest ratings rank the University of Michigan among the top 25 institutions of higher learning in America. Who would argue with U.S. News and World Report? It has to be true: "Gayness" has to be learned.

- This viewpoint was written by New York University graduate student Mike Carrier and was submitted to the Daily through the American Family Association of Michigan.