Haggard's Law

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Haggard's law is an internet adage or epigram named after Pastor Ted Haggard that is typically stated as:

The louder and more frequent one's objections to homosexuality are, the more likely one is to be a homosexual.

It is used as either a purely sarcastic musing that people who strongly object to homosexuality are scientifically proven to be more likely to engage in homosexual activities,[1] or in a reflection of the probability based on the numerous public scandals[2][3][4][5] of famous figures in the opposition of homosexuality and homosexual behavior.

Contents

[edit] History

The Internet adage made its first published appearance in an article[6] written by Dennis DiClaudio of Comedy Central fame and is named after American evangelical preacher Ted Haggard. It was created after and is reference to a scandal[3] involving prostitute and masseur Mike Jones who alleged that Haggard had paid Jones to engage in sex with him for three years and had also purchased and used crystal methamphetamine.[7] Although Haggard denies using methamphetamine or having sex with Mr. Jones, the scandal has caused many to view Haggard as extremely hypocritical about his spoken views, as he was known to publicly preach against homosexuality.[8]

Original quote by author Dennis DiClaudio:

Haggard's Law – The likelihood of a person harboring secret desires to engage in sexual and/or romantic activities with members of the same sex is directly proportional to the frequency and volume of said person's vocalized objections to homosexuality.[6]

The "law" is more generally used to reference extreme hypocrisy in public figures who lead the moral opposition of homosexuality, and then are discovered to have partaken in homosexuality or homosexual behavior.

[edit] Science?

A 1996 study[9] from the University of Georgia indicated that the effect may actually be real. In the study, 64 men were assessed by the "homophobia index" and their arousal by homosexual and heterosexual images were measured and they were split into a two groups, "homophobic" and "non-homophobic." In the "non-homophobic" group, 66% showed no arousal yet in the "homophobic" group only 20% managed to restrain themselves from getting aroused - and significantly underestimated their own arousal.[10] However, it should be noted that what was measured as arousal may have been the result of the uncomfortable feelings the homophobic group were feeling on seeing homosexual imagery. The authors of the study did note that "anxiety has been shown to enhance arousal and erection" so this confounding factor may explain the results more consistently.

Additional studies seem to confirm previous suspicions, reflecting that outspoken homophobia is more likely to be present among homosexuals whose parents were authoritarian about the subject.[11]

[edit] Bisexuality?

Haggard's Law could sometimes be a bit of a misnomer as the newly-outed may not only be attracted to their own sex, but "swing both ways." Haggard himself insists that he can still "exclusively have sex with my wife and be permanently satisfied."[12]

[edit] Instances of Haggard's Law

  • Ted Haggard, duh
  • Larry Craig
  • George Rekers
  • Roy Ashburn, Californian anti-gay politician caught on a DUI after picking a man up at a gay bar.[13]
  • Bob Allen, anti-gay Florida politician.[14]
  • Jonathan Merritt, son of James Merritt, former leader of the Southern Baptist Convention.[15][16]
  • Matt Moore, who claims to be ex-gay thanks to religion, was found using gay hook up services.[17]
  • Possibly Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, according to former church member Lauren Drain.[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

Articles on RationalWiki about Eponymous laws
  Danth's Law  -  Feminist internet laws  -  Godwin's Law  -  Gore's Law  -  Haig's Law  -  Internet law  -  List of Poe's Law examples  -  Loi de Poe  -  Murphy's Law  -  Poe's Law  -  Rove's Law  -  Whale.to  
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