“It is kind of like alcoholism. … Once you drink then you know. You may be born a homosexual or with homosexual tendencies, but if you remain celibate then you never express them”

SOUNDBITES — “I would not say homosexuality among men is on the increase in Jamaica, but it is among women. If you have more people and more awareness it is going to seem that there is an increase. There is no scientific evidence that homosexuality or the practice thereof among men is on the increase in Jamaica. … It would seem that more and more people are coming out of the veritable closet. But homosexual behaviour has always been a substantial part of man’s behaviour overtime and when I say so, I don’t mean excessively, or greater than the norm, but it will always be a small percentage of the norm. Lesbian behaviour, in my opinion, is on the increase though. I have not done any hard research on this, but based upon what I have seen, I believe that cases have risen and there has been increased activity in this area. Female homosexual behaviour can be a choice. There is a greater element of choice and reaction to being hurt by males. Women in question look for love and affection in the arms of another woman, and there is a greater element of female homosexuality being acquired behaviour, rather than someone born that way The men who express themselves homosexually, were almost all born that way. It is recognised that it is in fact a mixture of both inheritance of genetics and practice, but the practice is facilitated by the genetic predisposition. It is kind of like alcoholism. You may be born an alcoholic but if you don’t drink you never know. But once you drink then you know. You may be born a homosexual or with homosexual tendencies, but if you remain celibate then you never express them. Once you begin to express them then you usually find that that is your preferred choice.” —”Top” Jamaican psychiatrist Dr. Aggrey Irons making a mockery of his “Dr.” title [Jamaica Observer]