Today we present general information about some of the factors that put women at higher risk of cancer.
As for lesbian health research in general, information is limited on the prevalence of particular health risk factors among lesbians. The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) provides one useful source of data for looking at differences between lesbian and heterosexual women in the study in terms of certain health-related risk variables.
1. Religious Implication or Wrath of God
Lev. 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”1
Lev. 20:13, “If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them”
Unlike other sins, homosexuality has a heavy judgment administered by God Himself upon those who commit it – and support it. This judgment is simple in that those who practice it are given over to their passions – which means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins.
“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error,” (Rom. 1:26-27).
As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing. They will not seek forgiveness. They will die in their sins. They will face God’s holy condemnation. But, that isn’t all. In addition to the judgment of being given over to their sin, those involved in it also promote it and condemn others who don’t approve of their behavior.
“…and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them,” (Rom. 1:32).
So, in their hearty approval of homosexuality they encourage others to be trapped in their sinfulness. They will not trust in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross. Without Jesus, they will have no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, they will have no salvation. Without salvation, there is only damnation in eternal hell. But, we don’t want this for anyone.
2. High Rate of STDs and HIV
They suffer a high rate of STDs due to the unprotected s*x that always occur in a girl to girl sexaul intercourse…they engage in a lot of fondling, intense fingering, mouth-to-v**ina s*x intercourse and mouth-to-anus s*xual intercourse [in which they suck up vaginal and an*l fluids of their partner whom they are not even sure of their s*x life…because the partner might as well be bisuexual meaning…she sleeps with both men and women…and will definitely have unprotected s*x with 4 out of 12 men because of the reluctancy in protected s*x awareness that has gone numb from the already existing unprotected s*x with her female counterparts. and lesbians never keep one partner…they get down one sensing that you are one of them and will suck up all their vaginal and an*l fluids asap…while fingering with either dirty hands or unsterilized s*x toys that must have been used by or one their numerous partners or encounters. thereby making the circulation of STDs and HIV amongst them to be on the high side
3. Overweight.
Body mass index (BMI), an indication of overweight, differed significantly between lifetime lesbians and heterosexual women in the WHI, with a greater proportion of lifetime lesbians having a BMI of more than 27 (52.3% of lifetime lesbians compared to 45.8% of heterosexual women).
4. History of Pregnancy.
Women who reported having a lesbian s*xual identity were least likely to have children (30%), and those reporting a heterosexual identity were most likely to have children (73%). Slightly more than half (58%) of those reporting any lesbian same-s*x orientation (identity, behavior, or desire) indicated that they had biological children. Thus, although lesbians are less likely to report having biological children than are heterosexual women, there are still substantial numbers of lesbians who are parents, particularly if these figures include adoptive or other nonbiological parents. In the WHI sample, lesbians were much less likely to have ever been pregnant than were heterosexual women. These differences were particularly pronounced for lifetime lesbians of whom 34.1% had previously been pregnant, compared to 61.2% of the mature lesbians and 89.9% of the heterosexual women.
5. The Health Impacts of Stress
Lesbians, similar to other stigmatized individuals, likely experience stress related to the difficulties of living in a homophobic society. Stress may result from the burden of keeping one’s lesbian identity secret from family or coworkers, being excluded by physicians from making health care decisions for a gravely ill lesbian partner or, among many other factors, being the target of violence or other hate crimes. Hostility and isolation are very potent forms of stress that contribute to allostatic load by leading to elevated levels of the stress hormones (McEwen, 1998; Powch and Houston, 1996).
Although the precise health effects of stress on lesbians have not yet been examined systematically, some hypotheses can be made about their possible health risk based on information about both the stress effects of discrimination on other groups and the stress effects of socioeconomic status.9 It can be hypothesized that lesbians who experience such forms of psychosocial stress sustain negative effects similar to those of other groups that experience discrimination.
It can also be hypothesized that stress effects may be greatest for lesbians who are subject to multiple forms of discrimination.