I do wish there was some information available beyond the first two paragraphs. I don't foresee this triggering much useful discussion otherwise...
Having been bullied as a kid, this has a "well, duh" aspect for me. We all knew people who were suspected of being gay who got beat up or harassed regularly in school, it's like being fat or poor or a crybaby. I suspect other people are going to have a different conclusion about this common sense link.
Did the bullying make you gay?
I do wish there was some information available beyond the first two paragraphs. I don't foresee this triggering much useful discussion otherwise...
From other sources:
"The findings of a study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (December 2003) suggest higher incidences of illegal drug usage, alcoholism, psychological problems, and violence in the gay community than in the general population...
But bullying at school, the study noted, was reported no more often by gay men than by heterosexual men. Reports that gay men and lesbians are disproportionately vulnerable to school harassment "are often taken at face value," the researchers noted, with researchers failing to draw a comparison to heterosexual students, who--at least in this study--were found to suffer similar high rates of school bullying and harassment..."
"Two recent studies published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found higher rates of psychiatric disorders among homosexually oriented men and women than among the heterosexual population (Herrell 1999 & Fergusson 1999). Those articles mentioned that a third study, not yet published, had confirmed their findings."
Same-Sex Sexual Behavior and Psychiatric Disorders
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:85-91
Background It has been suggested that homosexuality is associated with psychiatric morbidity...
Results Psychiatric disorders were more prevalent among homosexually active people compared with heterosexually active people.
Conclusion The findings support the assumption that people with same-sex sexual behavior are at greater risk for psychiatric disorders.
There was a kid like that in my elementary school classes. Big fella, kind of pudgy, effeminate and not very attractive. He became a priest. :-/
I learned a valuable lesson as a short(5'2"),fat(170lbs) sixth grader. I was bullied a lot until I had enough one day and did a "Ralphie" (those familiar with the movie Christmas Story know what I mean) on some kid. A couple of the kid's friends bailed him out and saved his worthless little butt, but I never got bothered again. After I grew into my weight and added a few pounds in HS (6'1" 185) I didn't have too worry much, but I never forgot the lesson.
And by the way I do not consider myself scarred for life by the incident, nor mentally unstable, though some of my more Liberal friends might disagree.