A Questionnaire for Heterosexuals

One of the fun new changes I’ve discovered with WordPress is that you know how people found you and from where they clicked. I was intrigued by one of yesterday’s incoming clicks and followed it. It was a blogger who accidentally stumbled on my “Top reasons I am glad I am a lesbian” posts. She was a heterosexual, and did not find any humor in my personal musings contrasting my former life with my much preferred current pairing–supposing that I was merely “man bashing.” Well, my “disclaimer” may not have done enough to communicate that my purpose was not “man bashing,” but the bottom line is the “top reasons” are my experiences from 3 decades in church and a decade and a half married to a “fundie” (one commenter’s term.. and I loved it!). That stuff is a reality out there! Of course, I am grateful that not all men (or women) may fall into a particular mold!

Shortly after that stop, today I ran across this “Heterosexual Questionnaire” that originated in 1972 “to put heterosexual people in the shoes of a gay person for just a moment. Questions and assumptions made of Gays and Lesbians that are unfair, are reversed and this time asked to the straight people.” The “disclaimer” on the survey was “This is a fun survey, but also an activist survey…”

I thought it was a good tie-in to help illustrate the gulf that can exist between gay world and straight world.

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?

2. When and where did you decide you were a heterosexual?

3. Is it possible this is just a phase and you will out grow it?

4. Is it possible that your sexual orientation has stemmed from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?

5. Do your parents know you are straight? Do your friends know- how did they react?

6. If you have never slept with a person of the same sex, is it just possible that all you need is a good gay lover?

7. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality… can’t you just be who you are and keep it quiet?

8. Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?

9. Why do heterosexuals try to recruit others into this lifestyle?

10. A disproportionate majority of child molesters are heterosexual… Do you consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual teachers?

11. Just what do men and women do in bed together? How can they truly know how to please each other, being so anatomically different?

12. With all the societal support marriage receives, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships among heterosexuals?

13. How can you become a whole person if you limit yourself to compulsive, exclusive heterosexuality?

14. Considering the menace of overpopulation how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual?

15. Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don’t you feel that he or she might be inclined to influence you in the direction of his or her leanings?

16. There seem to very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you to change if you really want to.

17. Have you considered trying aversion therapy?

(Questionnaire by Martin Rochlin, Ph.D., 1972)

Found another version of this same Questionnaire here, it has 22 questions instead of 17 (5 differing one’s in addition to these).