Katharine Martin
Blog post #1
Kunzel
Ben Carson,
a likely republican candidate in the upcoming Presidential election, discussed
his views on sexuality in relation to the prison system during an interview he
did last march and his conservative views reflect those similar to early
penitentiaries trying to control homosexual activities. Carson claims that
homosexuality is a choice “because a lot of people who go into prison go into
prison straight—and when they come out, they’re gay” (Carson 2015), dismissing
any possibility at sexual orientation being biological. In Kunzel’s reading,
she discusses the early prison systems trying to regulate the sexual activity
of its inmates by better understanding why they are engaging in homosexuality.
The first ever federal inspectors of prisons, Joseph Fishman, was in important
figure in this process of understanding, because he amongst others, was able to
deem the homosexuality among men in their prisons as acts of despair and sexual
deprivation overpowering their original attraction to women. Scientists also
became monumental in understanding homosexuality under the larger realm of
sexology (study of sex), as it became popularized during the late 1800s. Like
Ben Carson, Joseph Wilson and Victor Nelson also didn’t see homosexuality as a
biological differentiation, but as a constituted behavior in the specific
setting of the prison. Clearly, we know much more than people like Joseph
Wilson and Victor Nelson did, whom wrote about prison in their book, which is
why Ben Carson’s comment is to problematic now a days. It is considered
politically incorrect to refer to sexuality as a choice and if this man intends
to run for President, he may need to change his mantra to gain any support from
the LGBTQ community. The article states what Ben Carson needs to realize
perfectly, “A change in sexual behavior doesn’t necessarily equate to a change
in sexual orientation” (CNN 2015) and we have the prison system to thank as an
outlet for providing us with this important knowledge.
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