Conservatives display ignorance anew in House SOGIE hearing
By Fil Andrew E. Bagano
They need rehabilitation. A super special elite class.
These were some of the ideas thrown in the latest House of Representatives hearing on the SOGIE bill. [1] Representative and evangelist Eddie Villanueva, who aired the former sentiments, was referring to an early psychiatric view of homosexuality as a form of neurosis to be treated through therapy. However, this view has long been debunked as pseudoscientific.
Lyndon Caña from the Coalition of Concerned Families of the Philippines said the latter statement, adding that the SOGIE bill is partial in its protection of LGBT+ people. According to Caña, the fact that certain crimes committed against LGBT persons are penalized more heavily as compared to straight persons is not fair to the straight community. [2]
Weaponization of ignorance
Villanueva’s statements clearly ignored existing genetics research in the field. Starting from the seminal studies of behavioral genetics and psychology in the 1990s [3][4], we have found out that homosexuality is modestly linked to genetic factors. More recent studies [5] have shown that environmental factors may contribute more to sexual orientation. Still, it is no reason to suggest that LGBT behavior is an abnormal condition that needs treatment: like eye color or height, SOGIE is tied to genetic variations.
Caña’s statements also contain fallacious statements about equality. The SOGIE bill does not aim to provide LGBT+ people certain legal privileges; simply put, it is affirmative state action driven by a desire to end non-binary gender discrimination. A mere decade ago, women were still discriminated against in work and social contexts, which led to the passage of the Magna Carta for Women. What makes SOGIE different in trying to root out social injustices for the LGBT+ community?
Even worse, Caña claimed that bisexuality or pansexuality might be used as an excuse for infidelity. This can be no further from the truth. Both sexual orientations do not preclude a committed relationship; in fact, it is much more common to ascribe a male’s infidelity, something unheard of in LGBT+ circles.
Religious stagnation
The aforementioned facts about sexuality’s links to natural causes should be enough to warrant the quick passage of the SOGIE bill. However, a strong religious sentiment amongst the population and many of our lawmakers have hampered these noble efforts.
Perhaps a good step forward for conservatives is to recognize that their traditions and religious dogmas are divorced from the secular state. Their very practice of such is guaranteed by their constitutional civil rights, and to attack the SOGIE bill on the same grounds is akin to giving the state free rein to repress them in turn. In the end, only two things prohibit us from granting equal rights to them: a disinterest in scientific perspectives and an overreliance on religious dogma.
