By birth or by choice?

[Miami1839]

I agree.

Originally posted by amycat412
I think it could be either....

It comes down to nature v nuture.

Someone not "born" homosexual could become that way due to influences in their childhood that adversely affect their view of the opposite sex in a sexual way...or same sex abuse could be said to be a cause of homosexual behavior later in life as well.

But I absolutely believe it does not have to occur as a result of outside influences.

You are attracted to who you're attracted to, and we can't help who we are attracted to.

I'm just rambling...

[33girl]

I think that your preference is by birth, hormones, nature, however you want to say it. Whether you act on the preference is by choice.

Very few people are 100% hetero- or homosexual - most people have attractions or urges at one time or another, the only difference is how strong it is. That's why there are men who come out as gay late in life after being married & having kids. They might have been hetero *enough* to do that, but not for all time. And some gay people could probably never get through a hetero sex act.

On the nature/nurture debate, there was a famous sexual reassignment case that was reported on in Rolling Stone.

http://www.infocirc.org/rollston.htm

[BiSororityGrrl]

This will be a debate until the end of time, and is actually pointless as it only raises other issues that cause arguments. As a gay female, I can't tell you that I was born gay, but I also can't tell you that I wasn't. Do you remember liking boys when you were an infant? As for me, I had my first crush in the third grade, and it just so happened to be a girl.

So, I don't think there will be an answer to this question for a very long time.

[librasoul22]

I think it is purely a choice. I DO agree with everyone who said that personalities are formed due to nature and nuture. However, I don't think that homsexuality is a personality trait.

It is not considered HOMOSEXUAL behavior until it is actually ACTED upon.

I agree with 33girl.

Many people have fantasies involving the same sex. Some people act on them. That is when it crosses the line.


*Spraying on flame-retardant*

I don't believe in bisexuality, btw (PARTICULARLY in men). Either you are or you are not.

[Kevin]

I think I'm repeating myself in lots of threads about things like this.

What I've seen here is that most here are choosing a nature vs nurture type approach..

I would venture to say that it is not one or the other.. but both.

Everyone is born with certain genes that will ultimately predispose them to be a certain way.

I'm not convinced and personally don't believe that there is ONE gene that contributes to sexual orientation.

However, I think that there can be inherited traits that lead a person to choose a certain lifestyle -- or be predisposed to it.

At any rate, people have free will and can ultimately choose whichever path they want to.

So my vote goes for not #1 or #2, but both!

[FHwku]

i think some guy named Kevin Smith has something to do with writing a movie called 'Chasing Amy'

On the swings, Ben Affleck's character asked why Renee Zellweger's (Amy) was with him, if she was a lesbian. I think she said something like, she came to it of her own terms, not by society's. anyway, she said "because people are people," or something to that effect. that seems pretty honest.

[AOX81]

Originally posted by FHwku
On the swings, Ben Affleck's character asked why Renee Zellweger's (Amy) was with him, if she was a lesbian.

Joey Lauren Adams played the lesbian in Chasing Amy.

Anyway, I think that you are born with a sexual preference. You like men, women, or both. I don't think people just wake up and say "hey, I'm gonna be gay/straight/bisexual today." I just don't think it works that way. Again, I think you are born with a preference...whether or not you express it is your choice. (I think this is why so many people are in the "closet", they choose not to express their true feelings.)

I have an aunt who is gay and we all knew it for years...she didn't "come out" until she was in her mid-30s. People need to get over all the stereotypes and be happy that their friends and loved ones have found someone to love in this crazy world!

[ZTAngel]

I believe it's both. You see many cases where it's just the way a person grows up that causes them to be attracted to the same sex.
But, I believe more so in nature just from what I've seen in my own family.
My grandmother had seven children ( ) including my father. His oldest brother had always felt since he was little that something was different. In school, he was teased. He married a woman and was unhappy. They had two children. His wife divorced him when she found out he was having an affair....with a man. Now, he couldn't be happier. He is with his lifelong partner. I just think nature because he was the only one out of seven children that was a homosexual. I think that if it was nature that his brothers and sisters may have tendencies. Also, my cousins grew up with my uncle and his partner. You'd think that this environment would cause them to become homosexual. They're both straight with one happily married and the other is engaged.

[LeslieAGD]

Originally posted by amycat412
You are attracted to who you're attracted to, and we can't help who we are attracted to.

I agree.

Personally, I don't think it's about how a child is nurtured. This might sound like nonsense, but I don't think it's the way one is born and I don't think it's a "choice." I think it's just something inside of a person that develops.

[JMUduke]

beating a dead horse again are we? i dont think it even really matters how or why that person came to be gay. no one questions me and why i am heterosexual. but, i will be willing to answer your questions if you do ask why i like boys, i mean after all it is a fascinating subject....

[damasa]

Originally posted by JMUduke
beating a dead horse again are we? i dont think it even really matters how or why that person came to be gay. no one questions me and why i am heterosexual. but, i will be willing to answer your questions if you do ask why i like boys, i mean after all it is a fascinating subject....

ok, why do you like boys?

[Honeykiss1974]

By choice.....

No one is born gay. Although we are born into this world with the potential to commit sin (sinful nature), I do not believe that we are born gay in the same connotations as someone being born with blue eyes (genetics) Therefore someone chooses to live this lifestyle (Homosexuality is a sin just like premarital sex, murder, adultry, etc. that someone choses to do)

If someone was born a homosexual, that would mean the people were born to be a murderer, an adulterer, or a thief. How ridiculous does that sound?

[Optimist Prime]

Studies show that it is genitic. Even gay people who have children and raise them, when mostly the child sees only gay people. the child grows up straight. Its just who you are. If you are atracted to same sex you are atracted to same sex. If you like to be handcuffed you like to be handcuffed. There is no switching. You can deny it and be unhappy, but you will still long for it.

[Dionysus]

I believe we all have a mixture of heterosexuality and homosexuality in ourselves. Some more that others. What matters is which we act on.

I have to agree with Honeykiss... I simply can't believe that God would create someone with the intent to be sinful.

the only two gay people I've known (and I know that's a small number to make a gigantic generalization from) have both said that they chose that lifestyle for themselves in high school/ early college. One said he did it to be different, and the other said he did it because he had trouble getting girls to date him.

But in no way do I take those two experiences to speak for the entire gay population!