Is Promiscuity a Characteristic of the Homosexual Lifestyle? Sex With 10,000 Men?

Robert R. Reilly in his book MAKING GAY OKAY: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything, presents results from surveys on the inherent promiscuity of active homosexuals that make it impossible for them to remain faithful to one partner in a monogamous marriage. Thousands of sex encounters with male partners are not rare in the gay world.

“One respondent reported that he had engaged in sex with more than 10,000 men. Only 35 percent reported that they had engaged in anal sexual intercourse with fewer than 100 men; 42 percent reported that they had engaged in sexual intercourse with between 100 and 499 men; and 23 percent admitted to having 500 or more partners.” (The Journal of Human Sexuality, vol.1, 2009)

In 1995 Thomas Schmidt, PhD, wrote in Straight and Narrow? That

“promiscuity among homosexual men is not a mere stereotype, and it is not merely the majority experience – it is virtually the only experience….. there is practically no comparison possible to heterosexual marriage in terms of either fidelity or longevity. Tragically, lifelong faithfulness is almost nonexistent in the homosexual experience.” (p.108)

In other words, Reilly comments, “the popular depiction in the media of the faithful homosexual couple of decades’ duration is largely a fiction.”

He asks, “What then is the point of insisting on homosexual marriage when promiscuity prevails?” His answer is that “they have the need to sacramentalize their behavior….Legalizing homosexual behavior is not, then, as some have suggested, being ‘inclusive’ or making room for another kind of marriage. It requires the denial of the true nature of marriage.” (p.64)

Harvard researcher Edward Green, in his book, Broken Promises:How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World (2011) recounts how at an AIDS conference in Washington in 2004 his presentation on the effectiveness of abstinence for the unmarried and “zero grazing” for the rest is the best means of dealing with the AIDS epidemic in Africa received muted applause.

“But when a female college student came to the microphone and exclaimed, ‘I think people should be able to have as much sex as they want, with as many people as they want’, she received a thunderous, standing ovation.”

In contrast, “the authors of Sex in America reported that 90 percent of heterosexual women and more than 75 percent heterosexual men have never engaged in extramarital sex. Heterosexual couples were 41 times more likely to be monogamous than homosexual couples.” (Michael Brown, A Queer Thing Happened in America, p.383)

What do you think? Do you think promiscuity is compatible with the Christian understanding of marriage? How does promiscuity devalue  a person and a personal relationship? How is the understanding of marriage going to be changed by legalizing same-sex marriage? What is your understanding of faithful, monogamous marriage? How has promiscuity amongst heterosexuals damaged their marriages? How can we promote self-control and chastity in our culture? What would Jesus say to young singles growing up today in a sex-saturated culture? What do you say to your children about ‘hooking up’?