LGBTQI: THE LAW OR THE HEALTH?

Recently, after news broke out that an office has been opened for LGBTQ in Ghana, there have been serious debates in the Ghanaian media as well as social media space as to whether LGBTQ is an accepted social behaviour or lawful act .

For both Bismark Kwabla Kpobi and Philemon Aning-Antoh who are Mental Health Experts, LGBTQ is a sexual disorder, hence victims need mental health care. Also, legal practitioners like Samson Anyenini are of the view that it is an illegal act as section 104 of Ghana’s Criminal Code proscribes LGBTQ with the specific provision of ‘unnatural carnal knowledge’. Meanwhile, Director of LGBTQ + Rights in Ghana, Alex Kofi Donkor told TV3’s Miriam Osei Agyemang on the Mid-day News on Friday February 19 that persons who are identified as LGBTQ are verbally and physically attacked in the country. To him, this must stop because LGBTQ have fundamental human rights that must be respected and protected by the society (sighted in an article published by Charsaytv online).

In an open letter written to Parliament of Ghana by Mental Health Expert, Bismark Kwabla Kpobi which was sighted on social media on 21st of February, 2021, he asserted that LGBTQ is a Sexual Disorder . He therefore admonished Government to empower the Mental Health Authority to fight this menace. Below is the full statement made by Bismark Kwabla Kpobi.

As the LGBTQ activities and incessant pressure from super power countries and half thinking influential people in society, it will be right and dutiful for the government of Ghana to empower the Mental Health Authority and Ghana Health Service to equip the mental health, Psychiatric personnel to dealing with this social menace which is devilish in nature and morally abominable.

The Bible says we should train up a child on the right way so when they grow they do not depart from it , and on that note, I appeal to philanthropists, NGOs, government to help empower Mental Health Authority and Ghana Health Service to helping with proper health education on the mental illnesses, sexual disorders and many more.

When you read about the Psychosexual theory of developmental a propounded by renowned Psychologist Sigmud Freud, stated categorically on the issues of fixation that leads to some of this vices; fixation at Oral , Anal, phallic and Latent Stages can results into what we seeing today.

Erik Erikson, a student of Sigmud Freud further expanded this theory to Psychosocial Development of the child and we can purely deduce the problems of these LGBTQ at Trust vs Mistrust, Identity vs Role confusion.

Having stated the cause of these sexual disorders, I pray the government to as a matter of urgency through Parliament should enact laws that will empower mental health activities in the country.

LGBTQ need Modern psychiatric Hospitals to treating them not legalisation of their problems.

The nation should spend more resources in Mental Health issues and not fall to the evils of the European countries and Americans foolishness of animalistic activities.

Additionally, Philemon Aning-Antoh, a Mental Health Expert deepened the health argument with the following statements sighted on social media.

It is well documented that homosexuality was classified as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) until 1973 when it was replaced with the diagnosis of “sexual orientation disturbance”.

London-based psychiatrist, Clifford Allen, argued in 1965 that female homosexuality is a sexual neurosis and is just as treatable as any other neurosis and claimed to have cured a number of female patients through psychotherapy.

Aversion therapy has been widely known to help in the treatment of homosexuality. There is also a grand scheme of affairs to massage the DSM to suit the context of the so-called sexual disorientation but we must not fall prey to it.

One of the determinants of mental health/illness is “cultural appropriateness.” Is homosexuality culturally appropriate in Ghana and for that matter, Africa?

How can polygamy be condemned in Africa and LGBTQ lauded?

Ghana can in no uncertain terms accept LGBTQ under the guise of human rights protection, treaties, and conventions.

Sexuality describes the ways an individual experiences (or doesn’t experience) attraction, and the related identity they claim for themselves according to Brown.edu
LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender and Queer/Questioning.

Commonly words used to describe LGBTQ people include “Queer Community” or “Rainbow Community”.

Lesbian

A lesbian is a female homosexual: a female who experiences romantic love or sexual attraction to other females.

Gay

Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. Gay is often used to describe homosexual males but lesbians may also be referred to as gay.

Bisexual

Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior toward both males and females, or romantic or sexual attraction to people of any sex or gender identity; this latter aspect is sometimes termed pansexuality.

Transgender

Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. It is sometimes abbreviated to trans.

Transsexual

experience a gender identity inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Two-Spirit

Two-Spirit is a modern umbrella term used by some indigenous North Americans to describe gender-variant individuals in their communities, specifically people within indigenous communities who are seen as having both male and female spirits within them.

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities that are not heterosexual or cisgender. Queer was originally used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires but, beginning in the late-1980s, queer scholars and activists began to reclaim the word.

Questioning

The questioning of one’s gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation, or all three is a process of exploration by people who may be unsure, still exploring, and concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons.

Intersex

Intersex is a variation in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, or genitals that do not allow an individual to be distinctly identified as male or female.

Asexual

Asexuality (or nonsexuality) is the lack of sexual attraction to anyone, or low or absent interest in sexual activity. It may be considered the lack of a sexual orientation, or one of the variations thereof, alongside heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality.

Ally

An Ally is a person who considers themselves a friend to the LGBTQ+ community.

Pansexual

Pansexuality, or omnisexuality, is sexual attraction, romantic love, or emotional attraction toward people of any sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are insignificant or irrelevant in determining whether they will be sexually attracted to others.

Agender

Agender people, also called genderless, genderfree, non-gendered, or ungendered people are those who identify as having no gender or being without any gender identity. This category includes a very broad range of identities which do not conform to traditional gender norms.

Gender Queer

Gender Queer is an umbrella term for gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine—identities which are thus outside of the gender binary and cisnormativity.

Bigender

Bigender is a gender identity where the person moves between feminine and masculine gender identities and behaviours, possibly depending on context. Some bigender individuals express two distinct “female” and “male” personas, feminine and masculine respectively; others find that they identify as two genders simultaneously.

Gender Variant

Gender variance, or gender nonconformity, is behaviour or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine and feminine gender norms. People who exhibit gender variance may be called gender variant, gender non-conforming, gender diverse or gender atypical, and may be transgender, or otherwise variant in their gender expression. Some intersex people may also exhibit gender variance.

Pangender

Pangender people are those who feel they identify as all genders. The term has a great deal of overlap with gender queer. Because of its all-encompassing nature, presentation and pronoun usage varies between different people who identify as pangender.

In conclusion, there are ongoing discussions and debates on LGBTQ, what is your take on it? Kindly comment and let us have an educative discourse. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Watch out for My Journey to the Vaccine City right here on this blog. My Journey to the Vaccine City is written in a satirical poetry form to enlighten you on vaccines in this era of COVID-19. Stayed glued to this space. Thank you.

Credits (others).

1. https://www.brown.edu

2. https://ok2bme.ca/resources/kids-teens/what-does-lgbtq-mean/