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from Medical Issues
Risk Factors Associated with Lesbianism May Be Higher than with Gay Men
Society's disapproval, the study's author suggests,
is the likely source of these risky lifestyles
By Roy Waller
A study conducted by Professor Lisa Lindley of Western
Kentucky University suggests that the homosexual lifestyle
could be slightly more dangerous, in several respects, for
lesbians than for gay men.
Lindley presented her findings last December to the American
Public Health Association.
The study queried 927 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgendered students. It was conducted with the
cooperation of 135 LGBT college associations, and was
reported in an article in the gay-themed magazine The
Advocate (February 18, 2003).
Professor Lindley's study has gathered some unexpected
statistics--particularly because it has been widely assumed
that a gay lifestyle is associated with greater risk factors
for men than for women.
Beginning with the risk factor of suicide, the study found
that 62.1% of lesbians in the sample studied had considered
suicide during their lifetimes, compared to 58.2% of gay
men, while the figures for those who have actually attempted
it were 29.2% for women and 28.8% for men.
The respondents to the Internet-conducted study also
provided data that suggests lesbians are more likely to
smoke, drink liquor, use such controlled substances as
cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD, and mescaline, as well as being more
prone to be overweight and even--in this particular
study--to have more sex partners than gay males.
Lindley puts forward the idea--common to nearly every other
study that has found negative factors associated with
homosexuality--that high-risk lifestyles among lesbians are
likely due to pressures resulting from society's
disapproval. She suggested that lesbians' tend to "come out"
later than their male peers and, consequently, they endure
the pressures of coping with their homosexuality without
support for a longer period of time than do homosexually
oriented men.
Lindley's disturbing study results have been questioned by
gay-activist groups and other researchers.
Studies Finding Pathological Behavior Among Gays are
Conducted with an Eye to Obtaining More Funding
In a piece written for The New York Times, Professor Ritch
Savin-Williams of Cornell University responded to Lindley's
findings. Savin-Williams--who is himself a gay-activist
writer and researcher--argues that most such studies are
conducted with a specific agenda in mind; namely, attempting
to document the mistreatment gay youth and young adults have
suffered so that more research funding can be obtained for
programs that serve the gay community.
"The research is delivering what I call 'the suffering
suicide script,' which essentially tells them, 'Hey, look
how horrible it is to be gay,'" says Savin-Williams.
Lindley herself is cited in The Advocate as stating that
there has been too much emphasis on the negativity of the
homosexual youth experience. In response, she says she now
plans to embark on study of homosexually oriented people's
"resilience and intellect."
Updated: 3 September 2008
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