Diversity in Human Sexuality

david_myers
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Originally posted on June 16, 2015.

I was alerted, by this article in Nature, to a new report on sexual orientation from the Academy of Science of South Africa.  The report is state of the art.  It’s lucid and easily readable.  It gets the important facts exactly right (methinks).  And it speaks to pertinent issues in African countries, and also to controversies here in the USA. “Spread the word. Share the report and its findings,” opined Nature in a separate editorial.

The full report, here, responds, for example, to the contention that condoning homosexuality increases it.  It notes that, in African countries (in most of which same-sex relationships are illegal), “The prevalence . . . is no different from other countries in the rest of the world.”  The report estimates, from the best worldwide data, “that between 350 million and 400 million people are not heterosexual.  At least 50 million people who do not claim a heterosexual orientation live in African countries.”

About the Author
David Myers has spent his entire teaching career at Hope College, Michigan, where he has been voted “outstanding professor” and has been selected by students to deliver the commencement address. His award-winning research and writings have appeared in over three dozen scientific periodicals and numerous publications for the general public. He also has authored five general audience books, including The Pursuit of Happiness and Intuition: Its Powers and Perils. David Myers has chaired his city's Human Relations Commission, helped found a thriving assistance center for families in poverty, and spoken to hundreds of college and community groups. Drawing on his experience, he also has written articles and a book (A Quiet World) about hearing loss, and he is advocating a transformation in American assistive listening technology (see www.hearingloop.org).