There is another major cause of gender identity disorder that we must address. It results from early sexual abuse. One study indicated that fully 30 percent of homosexuals say they were exploited sexually as a child, many of them repeatedly. That experience can be devastating, and depending on when it occurs, it can be life changing. Despite the evil of abuse, there is a vigorous effort now to end the taboo against sex between men and boys. This campaign to change social attitudes is being talked about in gay and lesbian literature and is even beginning to appear in the mainstream press. For example, The Weekly Standard (January 1, 2001) featured a cover story entitled "Pedophilia Chic Reconsidered." Here is a quote from this very important and well-documented article written by Mary Eberstadt:
This social consensus against the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is apparently eroding. The defense of adult-child sex—more accurately, man-boy sex—is now out in the open. Moreover, it is on parade in a number of places—therapeutic, literary, and academic circles; mainstream publishing houses andjournals and magazines and bookstores—where the mere appearance of such ideas would until recently have been not only unthinkable, but in many cases, subject to prosecution.
The article ended with this statement: "If the sexual abuse of minors isn't wrong, then nothing is."
Is there further evidence that some members of the gay and lesbian movement are, in fact, seeking legal sexual access to very young boys? Yes. We see it in the growing influence of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), which shamelessly promotes sex between adults and children. Its motto is "Sex before eight or else it's too late." Although this wretched organization has not been endorsed by most gay and lesbian publications, it has not been condemned by most of them either. That tells us a great deal.
There is also the vigorous effort by gays to infiltrate the Boy Scouts in the same way lesbians have done so successfully in the Girl Scouts, where 33 percent of their staff is said to be lesbian. The purpose of this Boy Scout campaign is not to permit the sexual abuse of kids in most cases. It is to use scouting to teach and indoctrinate them. This explains the intensity of the debate and a lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was decided by a razor-thin, five-to-four decision against homosexual interests. Despite the loss, corporations have taken up the cause and are refusing to fund the Scouts. Even some United Way chapters are withholding funds from this fine and desperately needed organization.
There is other evidence of the desire to gain access to boys. It is seen in the worldwide effort to lower the age when a child can legally give his consent for intercourse with an adult. This effort has resulted in many intense legislative struggles in Western nations. I received a letter recently from Lyndon Bowring, a colleague in the U.K. who heads a profamily organization called Care Trust. This is what he wrote: "We are up to our eyes here in London with the rampant advances of the militant gay lobby. Our Parliament is planning to reduce the age of consent for homosexual intercourse between adult males from 18 to 16. Apart from a sovereign miracle of grace, we will not succeed in persuading them not to do so. We are doing everything in our power to prevent it and calling on His divine power to intervene on behalf of our young boys. There is hardly a place on the globe where similar struggles are not occurring, except where no fight remains in discouraged or outnumbered Christians."
Alas, Mr. Bowring and his coworkers lost that fight. The age of consent in the U.K. was lowered to sixteen. It is fourteen in Canada, fifteen in Sweden, fifteen in France, fourteen in Germany, Iceland, Italy, San Marino, and Slovenia, and twelve in Spain, Holland, Malta, and Portugal.29 Isn't it utterly outrageous that twelve-year-olds in these latter countries, most of whom will not have reached puberty, can give their consent to older males who want to exploit them sexually? Furthermore, their parents can't legally prevent the exploitation. The question that jumps out at us is, "Why have gay and lesbian organizations worked feverishly to lower the age of accountability?" There can be only one answer.
The most shocking evidence of this targeting of children appeared in the following article written by Michael Swift, who worked for a publication called the Gay Community News. It was read during a congressional debate by former Congressman William Dannemeyer, who also entered it into the Congressional Record. Here is a short excerpt from that shocking statement:
We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups, in your movie theater bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truck stops, in your all-male clubs, in your houses of Congress, wherever men are with men together. Your sons will become our minions and do our bidding. They will be recast in our image. They will come to crave and adore us.
All laws banning homosexual activity will be revoked. Instead legislation shall be passed which engenders love between men. All homosexuals must stand together as brothers; we must be united artistically, philosophically, socially, politically, and financially. We will triumph only when we present a common face to the vicious heterosexual enemy.
The family unit—spawning ground of lies, betrayals, mediocrity, hypocrisy and violence—will be abolished. The family unit, which only dampens imagination and curbs free will, must be eliminated. Perfect boys will be conceived and grown in the genetic laboratory. They will be bonded together in a communal setting, under the control and instruction of homosexual savants.
All churches who condemn us will be closed. Our only gods are handsome young men. We adhere to a cult of beauty, moral and esthetic. All that is ugly and vulgar and banal will be annihilated. Since we are alienated from middle-class heterosexual conventions, we are free to live our lives according to the dictates ofthe pure imagination. For us too much is not enough.
We shall be victorious because we are filled with the ferocious bitterness of the oppressed who have been forced to play seemingly bit parts in your dumb, heterosexual shows throughout the ages. We too are capable of firing guns and manning the barricades of the ultimate revolution.
Tremble, hetero swine, when we appear before you without our masks.30
This article, which outraged conservative Christians and many other Americans, was greeted with a shrug by the general public and by members of Congress. Did these words represent one man's private views, or are they representative of a larger community? I don't know. Certainly not all homosexual activists would ascribe to them. It is clear, however, that our boys need to be protected from sexual abuse, whether it is homosexual or heterosexual in character. Guard them night and day when they are young. Don't send them into a public bathroom alone. Be very careful whom you trust in summer camp, in Sunday school, or in the neighborhood. Any sexual exploitation of a child, whether from a family member or the man next door, whether gay or straight, has the same deleterious effect.
I'll go a step further to make a controversial recommendation to you as parents. I don't think it is a good idea to leave your children of either sex in the care of teenage boys. Nor would I allow my teenage son to baby-sit. Why not? Because there is so much going on sexually within adolescent males. It is a preoccupation that invades every aspect of life. The sex drive in boys is at its lifetime peak between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Under that influence, children have been severely damaged by "good kids" who meant no harm but who were enticed by curiosity to experiment and explore. I'm sure many of my readers will disagree with this position and may even be shocked by it. In the vast majority of cases, it would be safe to ignore my warning. But I simply would not take a chance during the vulnerable years. There is simply too much at stake. I have talked to too many parents who have regretted trusting someone they thought was okay. I make this recommendation knowing it will confuse and perhaps anger some of you. It is simply my opinion based on unfortunate incidents I have witnessed through the years.
Returning now to the issue of homosexuality, I am concerned not only about the sexual abuse of boys (and girls), but also about what they are being taught by the culture at large. Suddenly, everyone seems to be talking about a subject that I didn't know about until I was eleven years old. Now we seem determined to tell every five-year-old about this aspect of adult sexuality. Our public schools appear to be moving relentlessly in that direction.
Given what we have discussed in this chapter, can you see how this pervasive teaching will be terribly confusing to very young boys who are experiencing a gender-identity crisis? How about the other cultural influences, including television and movies, that are urging boys and girls to "think gay" and to experiment with role-reversal behavior? When combined with the absence or disengagement of fathers, we can begin to understand why the incidence of homosexuality appears to be rising and why more and more children and teens are reporting that they think they are homosexual.31 As the institution of the family continues to unravel, we are laying the foundation for another epidemic like those that have occurred historically.
Moms and dads, are you listening? This movement is the greatest threat to your children. It is of particular danger to your wide-eyed boys, who have no idea what demoralization is planned for them. I would ask, "Is there anything more important than taking the time to protect your kids and to be there when they need you most?" I think not.
I'll close by referring again to Mark and other boys who appear effeminate, gender-confused, or chronically uncomfortable with same-sex peers. Parents, you have no time to lose. Seek professional help for those who appear to be in difficulty, and pray for them every day. Fathers, begin applying the principles outlined by Dr. Nicolosi, and by all means, give your boys what they most urgently need: YOU.
Book: Bringing Up Boys
By Dr. James Dobson