Anti-gays seem to always need some reason to hate the LGBTQ+ community, so the next argument they use is that homosexuality must be harmful in some way. This is usually split up into two broad categories: (1) harm to the individual "practicing" homosexuality, and (2) harm to others and/or the community as a whole.

First, let's tackle the supposed harm to the gay individual. Anti-gay people love to cite all sorts of studies and data that supposedly "prove" that being gay is inherently more harmful than being straight. The most widely used argument is that gay sex is more risky and detrimental to one's health than straight sex. But what type of sex are we talking about, exactly?

Anti-gays focus largely on anal sex, so let's discuss that first. Yes, it's true: people who practice anal sex are 18 times more likely to contract HIV than those who don't. This is partially because semen and rectal lining carry HIV easier than vaginal fluid, and because rectal cells are more susceptible to the virus than vaginal cells. However, this statistic can also be attributed to three other factors:

(a) roughly 1 in 15 gay or bi men have HIV, so men choosing from this dating pool have a higher chance of encountering a partner with HIV;

(b) the same-sex dating pool is much smaller than for heterosexuals, so there are less available partners to choose from; and

(c) gay sex is a taboo subject and sex education for gay people is basically nonexistent, so many gay and bi men are unaware of how to protect themselves from STDs.

Now that we're aware of the HIV statistics, how frequently are gay people having anal sex? Not as frequently as anti-gays claim. In fact, in one study, anal sex was found to be the least common form of physical intimacy among gay and bi men. When asked about their most recent sexual experience, 75% of respondents said that it involved kissing, oral sex, or masturbation, but only 36% said that they had received anal sex and 34% said that they had given it. In comparison, a recent study found that 44% of straight males and 36% of straight females have had anal sex before!

Anti-gays focus on anal sex partially because of its health risks. The anus doesn't have the natural lubrication that the vagina does, so without lubricant, the anus can be severely torn and damaged, leaving the receiver especially vulnerable to STDs. The anus muscles were meant to push out waste, so repetitive anal sex can weaken those muscles, although Kegel exercises can combat or correct this problem. The anus also has specific bacteria in it that can be harmful if not properly handled. Basically, anal sex can be harmful if the proper precautions are not taken. As long as both partners are aware of the risks and take precautions, there is no reason to get more upset about anal sex than any other type.

Not only that, but anti-gay people blatantly ignore the fact that all sexual acts come with associated risks. Everyone who participates in sex runs the risk of catching an STD, whether it be vaginal, oral, anal, or anything else that involves swapping large amounts of bodily fluid. During vaginal intercourse, the vaginal walls can be torn much like the anus lining is torn during anal sex, which increases the risk of STDs. (Both of these are a result of a lack of proper lubrication beforehand.) Other risks of vaginal intercourse include vaginal soreness, muscle cramps, and/or a fractured penis.

As for oral sex, it is often accompanied by soreness in the jaw, neck, mouth, and legs. Other more kinky sex practices have their own sets of possible hazards. Having sex comes with risks, and these risks can be minimized by safe sex practices and good sex ed. Focusing on what gay people do in bed is a counter-productive argument, ignores the risks that anyone having sex might experience, and is frankly disturbing (namely, why are you so obsessed with gay sex if it really bothers you that much?)

Another anti-gay argument is that gay people are more prone to mental illnesses or drug and/or alcohol abuse than straight people. I have already gone over why homosexuality itself is not a mental illness, but it is true that members of the LGBTQ+ community tend to have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and drug use than the population as a whole. However, this is not something inherent to being gay but because of the extreme stress they face as a minority. Studies done on minority groups have shown that social stigmatization, prejudice, and discrimination are the major contributing factors to poor mental or physical health in the LGBTQ+ community. Ironically, this means that anti-gays are one of the biggest reasons why gay people show high rates of mental illnesses and drug abuse in the first place.

The last widely-used anti-gay argument involving the supposed harm to the individual is the claim that gay people don't live as long as heterosexual people. This claim can be traced back to a pseudoscientist by the name of Paul Cameron, whose studies are widely quoted by anti-gays but whose research methods were completely unsound and unscientific. His studies have been debunked and discredited for over three decades. The American Psychological Association (APA) was quick to drop his membership after he began releasing anti-gay propaganda papers, and he has also been publicly denounced by groups such as the ASA, the NPA, and the CPA. The papers that Cameron has released were published in low-prestige journals with little to no impact on the scientific community, and even worse, he had to pay the journals to publish his work. His studies are completely false. Gay people have the same life expectancy as straight people, and there hasn't been any reliable evidence for the contrary.

Now let's move on to the supposed harm to others and/or the community as a whole.

One of the biggest arguments that I've heard against same-sex couples is the claim that gay people, especially gay men, show higher rates of child molestation than heterosexuals. Once again, this claim is most famously attributed to Cameron, whose research claims to show that homosexual adults are more likely to molest children than heterosexual adults. In truth, same-sex couples and gay people as a whole are NOT more likely to molest children than heterosexuals. Reliable studies have shown that child molesters reflect an average sample of the population (for example, ~72% of American men are white, while ~79% of American child molesters are white). Even more alarmingly, most child molesters reflect the "average" American man: white, married, educated, working, and religious. And 90% of these predominantly heterosexual child molesters target children who are in their network of close family and friends!

A related argument claims more broadly that same-sex couples cannot raise their children as well as the traditional father-mother family unit. However, once again, this claim has no basis in fact or reliable scientific research. Studies have shown that children with parents of the same sex are just as well-developed as children with parents of the opposite-sex. In fact, it was posited in two different studies that children of same-sex couples might actually be more well-adjusted than their peers with opposite-sex parents. There is no evidence that children are better off with having one father and one mother versus having two parents of the same gender. If anti-gays were as "family-oriented" as they claim to be, they would do everything they could to find foster children their own loving parents. Instead, they attempt to prevent many of these children from being adopted by loving parents based purely on the parents' gender.

In conclusion, homosexuality is NOT harmful to the gay individual or society as a whole, contrary to what anti-gays want you to believe. But you know what has been proven to be harmful? Anti-gay attitudes and religious intolerance!

Gay conversion therapy, also known as sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) or ex-gay therapy, has been proven to be especially damaging. People who have experienced gay conversion therapy report feeling "unacceptable, unforgiven, disillusioned, and [under] great emotional distress  —  feelings that were associated with anxiety, panic disorders, depression, and suicidality." This was the case regardless of their level of religiosity. Even the more benign methods of therapy, including "praying the gay away," came with increased levels of "shame, depression, fear, anger, lowered self-esteem, feelings of failure, and even suicidal thinking." Furthermore, there are no professional guidelines for how conversion therapy is conducted, so the techniques used vary wildly. Everything from pseudoscientific claims about the "causes" of homosexuality to electric shock "therapy" have been reported.

Not only is gay conversion therapy harmful, but it also doesn't work. Proponents of gay conversion therapy claim that they can change people's sexuality, or at least minimize those people's same-sex "urges," but nothing has ever been proven. More and more "ex-gays" are coming back out of the closet to admit that their feelings never went away in the first place, and ex-gay organizations like Exodus International have crumbled over time. Sexuality cannot be changed, and organizations that claim to help gay people minimize or change their attractions are far more harmful than good.

Another example of the harm that comes from anti-gay attitudes and religious intolerance is the high rates of mental illness and drug abuse in the LGBTQ+ community. As I said earlier, studies have shown that social stigmatization, prejudice, and discrimination are the major contributing factors to poor mental or physical health in the LGBTQ+ community. This means that anti-gays are one of the biggest reasons why gay people show high rates of mental illnesses and drug abuse, NOT because of anything inherently wrong with being gay.

Anti-gay people who argue that homosexuality is harmful are just grasping at straws, trying desperately to justify their hatred of the LGBTQ+ community. In reality, being gay is no more harmful than being straight. Being gay is okay!