How many real “gays” are there? —For those with ambiguous sexual orientation, do not be hypnotized or self-reinforced by the “gay” collective. “Homosexuality is an ancient topic that has been widely practiced from ancient times to modern times, from the West to the East, from animals to humans. Current medical research suggests that homosexuals may have a chromosomal alteration or a change in the structure and function of the brain, so it is reasonable to assume that there is a “third sex” in society, i.e. “homosexuals”. As a result, “gays” in many countries have been fighting for legal “rights”. As a psychiatrist who has been working for nearly 20 years, and a psychologist who has been engaged in psychological counseling and treatment for more than 10 years, I have always attached importance to both biological and psychosocial factors when dealing with visitors. From a biological point of view, I do not deny the existence of homosexuality, and I also support the legitimacy of homosexuals. There are reports that there is at least one homosexual in every 100 people in China, and there is a view that homosexuality exists reasonably, and that it does not need to be treated, but rather needs to be understood and accepted. However, after my in-depth contact with several cases of homosexuals and their families, my view has changed. I question whether there are so many real homosexuals. A significant number of homosexuals are not really homosexuals, either because of early sexual trauma (e.g., child molestation, etc.) or because of failed relationships with the opposite sex during their formative years, and find safety and comfort with the same sex, and end up being collectively hypnotized by the legitimacy of the term “homosexuality,” or being controlled by real homosexuality. As with heterosexual sex, the pleasure derived from same-sex sexual activity during the critical age of pre-pubescent psychosexual development reinforces both the behavior and the individual’s role as a homosexual. There is also a segment of the population that temporarily establishes a same-sex attachment solely to escape loneliness, to compensate for interpersonal barriers, or to relieve psychological stress. For those who are truly homosexual in a non-biological sense, many have the need to return to their normal sexual orientation, and sexual orientation corrective psycho-behavioral therapy is of great significance to their individuals, families and society. However, some homosexuals have been controlled or hypnotized too deeply, lack awareness of the nature of their same-sex behavior, play the wrong gender role, miss out on their youth, delay their families, and take it for granted. Homosexuality is recognized as an attitude and a way of life. I support the freedom of individuals to choose their own way of life, and everyone chooses to live in the way that suits him or her best and is most comfortable. However, the choice of freedom to live should not be an excuse to avoid reality and responsibility. People are social beings, we live for our own sake and for the sake of others (parents, etc.), the unreasonable environment in which we grow up makes us become irrational beings, but some people are willing to be hypnotized by the seemingly reasonable term “homosexual” because they do not have to face the traumas of their childhood, and do not have to face change. I am not trying to change the freedom of sexual orientation of homosexuals, I just want to remind some homosexuals that they have the opportunity to make a change, and with a little effort, they can live a different kind of wonderful life. The homosexuals who come to me for counseling come by themselves, accompanied by their parents, and alone. They are roughly divided into two categories: 1. Some homosexuals are brought here by their parents by force, and they are unwavering in their same-sex orientation, fully accepting their roles on their own, and it is only his/her parents who want to change them. 2. Some other homosexuals are mainly forced by social or parental pressures, and they try hard to change their sexual orientation, but they can’t get out of the same-sex behavior that they have been indulging in. After in-depth contact with many cases of homosexuals, I found that the experiences of homosexuals who visited me varied, but they could be roughly divided into the following categories: Visitor A: a 14-year-old girl, a student, forced by her father to bring her to counseling, the visitor disliked being a girl since she was a child and began to develop at puberty, but she still denied her role as a girl. She dresses up as a boy, with short hair and jeans, desperately trying to tighten her breasts that are starting to develop, likes to socialize with girls, and hates males. Normal growth and development, no traumas in childhood and adolescence, harmonious family relationships, no patriarchal ideology of parents in the environment where she grew up, and no experience of raising her in a boyish way. Visitor B: Male, 31 years old, came from the countryside to work in the city, due to the pressure from his parents to get married, he also has the desire to change his wrong sexual orientation. He complained that he had a short-lived crush on a girl, and after junior high school, he had been focusing his attention on same-sex, kind and educated elders until now. Repeatedly asked about his upbringing, the visitor recalled that his favorable feelings towards the same sex were related to an incident that happened in his childhood. When the visitor was about 10 years old (early adolescence), a middle-aged strange male who was friendly and kind to him touched him and asked him to perform oral sex on him by chance, and the visitor was scared, curious and excited at the same time. Since then, the visitor became interested in the same sex, especially for older, kind and knowledgeable males. In junior high school, she began to have a crush on her male teacher and peeked at him in the shower. He developed into making male friends and having same-sex behavior, and wanted to correct his sexual orientation due to family pressure. Visitor C: Male, 18 years old, senior high school student, studying abroad. Had a girlfriend in junior high school, claimed it was just for face-saving, wasn’t too interested in girls, thought it was disgusting to kiss with the opposite sex, and liked to look at tall, handsome men. Doesn’t consider himself a homosexual. Once by chance watched a movie about homosexuality, found that two men can live like this, began to doubt whether they are gay, visitors through the network found that there is such a world as homosexuality, and found that homosexuality is legal in many countries, more convinced that they are a homosexual, try to make friends of the same sex through the Internet, to confirm their own feelings. Her mother found out about her and brought her to counseling. According to her mother, the visitor was raised as a girl since childhood and grew up in high school with a girl around her to study, live and play, with a strong mother and a weak and passive father, who basically didn’t care about the visitor, who claimed that she hated some of the girl’s habits, and thought that it would be easier to live with a boy. Visitor D: 23 years old, female, college students, since childhood, introverted, shy, rarely interact with the opposite sex, junior high school, there are a few good sisters, all day long inseparable, high school boarding, learning pressure, male and female interactions are even less, all day long with a good girlfriends, self-identified as homosexuals, into the university, the pressure of learning to reduce the pursuit of boys, began to fall in love, and found that he is actually a heterosexual. To summarize the above four cases, visitor A has no obvious environmental triggers, which may be related to biological factors, and is a real homosexual. Visitor B’s same-sex sexual orientation may be related to his early adolescent sexual trauma. Adolescents at that age are in the period of establishment of self-identity, including gender identity. The aggression suffered during this psychosexual initiation combined with the accompanying sexual excitement and pleasure reinforces same-sex attachment behaviors, focusing more attention on the same sex and, at the same time, hindering even more the ability to interact with the opposite sex. The visitor’s homosexuality is more related to her upbringing, being raised as a girl, with a strong mother at home, and surrounded by girls playing and learning together since childhood, the visitor assimilated more female roles, and at the same time, generalized her aversion to the bad habits of the opposite sex during her upbringing to the opposite sex as a whole. However, she was not very clear about her sexual orientation until she watched a movie about homosexuality and wondered if she was a homosexual and validated her feelings by making friends of the same sex. Visitor C is actually an identity disorder due to environmental factors, and his denial of heterosexuality is more of an outward projection of subconscious failure to establish relationships with the opposite sex (including mother and peers). Together with the identification of homosexual behavior in some countries of the society, it is a collective cue to individuals who are just beginning to enlighten their sexuality who are not yet able to fully identify their sexual orientation, enhancing the self-perception of the visitor’s homosexual role. The subsequent occurrence of same-sex sexual excitement and pleasure reinforces this identification with homosexual behavior. For visitor D, it is purely a temporary same-sex attachment state due to environmental factors, usually related to introversion, lack of heterosexual environment, high stress, etc. After the environment improves, this same-sex attachment relationship will end, but it cannot be ruled out that one of the parties in this temporary same-sex attachment relationship is a real homosexual, and he/she/they may take control of the other party to prevent him/her from making friends of the opposite sex, which on the one hand reduces the opportunity for the other party to make friends of the opposite sex. On the one hand, this reduces the other partner’s chances of making friends of the opposite sex, and on the other hand, it reinforces their homosexual role. Among the many visitors, I have read the pain, remorse and regret of many parents, and I have gained a deeper understanding of the loneliness, bitterness and helplessness of many homosexuals. I respect everyone’s lifestyle, and as a psychiatrist, I am willing to help those who are willing to change to make some efforts. Although some people abroad have done sexual orientation conversion therapies for homosexuals, their therapies and effects have been questioned. Some biological scientists believe that homosexuality is genetically determined. For example, Ding Hammer of the National Cancer Institute found that homosexuals and people with homosexual tendencies have a gene called Xq28 at the top of the long arm of the X sex chromosome, which determines people’s homosexuality in sexual orientation. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Audenwood, have also circumstantially demonstrated the existence of homosexual genes through the homosexual behavior of male fruit flies. In addition, by dissecting the brains of homosexuals, researchers have found that the brains of homosexual males are similar to those of heterosexual females and different from those of heterosexual males. All these biologically support that homosexuality is difficult to be converted. This is why both the American Psychiatric Association in 1973 and China in 2001 scratched homosexuality from their respective diagnostic classifications of mental illness (DSM-IV, CCMD-3). Moreover, some experts believe that it is unethical to treat homosexuals for sexual orientation conversion. Therefore, I have mentioned earlier that I am not trying to convert real homosexuals. However, some former victims (individuals who were sexually abused in their pre-pubescent years or influenced by their upbringing) or individuals with temporary same-sex attachments who are still under the hypnotic control or self-reinforcement of homosexuality have the right to know their true selves, and they need to be given the necessary help in choosing a more correct way of life. As Robert Perloff, President of the American Psychological Association, stated in 1985, existing research is incomplete and some of the findings are controversial; some homosexuals really want to change their sexual orientation, and their wishes should be respected and listened to first.