Is Homosexuality a choice?

[Solly]

OK, it's a genetic variation. A variation that eliminates the possibly of achieving the main reason why we are here.

[Pathetic voice from background] *but we can adopt!!* [/Pathetic voice from background]

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Jack_www
One example I could think of is a person who strongly believes in a religion that says that homosexuality is wrong and that person feel that he is gay but decides not to act on that attraction.

That would be the person's prerogative, of couse, but that by no means is a prescription for those of us who do not share such beliefs. Not acting on an attraction is not the same as not having it. One then has to consider the psychological harm of not ever being able to fulfill one's sexual desires. I don't see it as being a healthy way to live.

Also alots of people that are not gay and want to wait before their married to have sex dont act on their attractions etheir as well. Or how about priest that never get married?

I know plenty of gays, including myself, who abstained from sex until first in a serious relationship. Since marriage is denied gays, telling them not to have sex outside of marriage is a wee bit hypocritical.

As for priests...you might be surprised to learn that an strong majority of priests are not celibate. Human nature is a powerful force.

I know I was just saying if it happened, I never said it would.

But why? What was the point?

[Worthingtons]

Boris , You say i do not know what I am on about, yet talk about a theory that IS far fetched yourself.

Even if , by ascertaining stress levels the human body can deduce scarcity and since embed in genes measures to control the population, making folk gay is an odd to way to do it.

The only way i believe it to be Genetic is in the way different people fancy different looks. Some like small,thin, dainty blondes; others like tall,curvy brunettes ect and some guys will have a tendancy to prefer more masculine type looks.

But overall i think this is a minor factor, early environment factors will play a large influence, and eventually there'll be borderline people who take the final step of choosing homosexuality.

I dont believe in the 100% gay or 100% straight rule. I consider myself straight, but it doesnt mean i have never looked at a bloke and thought him attractive - it just simply doesnt happen often enough to make me analyse further.

[Solly]

So that would explain those who fancy butch women and those who fancy girls-looking boys - they are borderline cases?

[Whaleboy]

Does it really matter if it is choice or not? To each his own.

I think it is for most people something they cannot help, which does not take anything away from those to whom it is a choice. As far as I'm concerned, people are free to do what they want, its not hurting anyone, as long as people don't chat me up simply because I happen to walk into the wrong club on a saturday night .

[Solly]

"Does it really matter if it is choice or not?"

That's what I was thinking, I suppose it doesn't matter if it is or isn't.

[Ben Kenobi]

But the homosexual population has consistently remained at about 5-7%, so the human race is clearly not in any danger.

Boris:

News to me.

What happened to the sources claiming 10%?

As for whether people choose to be homosexual, you may not be able to choose whom you are attracted to, you can certainly choose whether you act on these impulses.

[Giancarlo]

Originally posted by obiwan18


Boris:

News to me.

What happened to the sources claiming 10%?

As for whether people choose to be homosexual, you may not be able to choose whom you are attracted to, you can certainly choose whether you act on these impulses.

So we should live boring and dull lives to fulfill christian rhetoric like your own?

[Solly]

you can certainly choose whether you act on these impulses.

That is the crucial point about sin here.

Who hasn't been tempted to steal something when no-one was looking..and yet didn't.

[FrustratedPoet]

How any straight person could consider themselves qualified to answer this question is beyond me. What the **** would we know about it?

There are a lot of intelligent gay people who visit this forum. If they say that their sexuality is not a matter of choice then how on earth could you argue with them?

[Solly]

I don't steal, does that mean I'm not qualified to say that stealing is a choice?

[Evil Knevil]

Originally posted by Sava
"hypothalamus" is the part of the brain that releases hormones and chemicals that give the feeling of attraction, BTW

Err... no. Don't cite neurochemistry without knowing more about it.

[Kuciwalker]

Yes and no.

They don't choose to have homosexual urges. They do choose to act upon them.

[Spiffor]

Summary of this post: homosexuality and heterosexuality are partly matter of social pressure and choice.

I think biological factors aren't the only factors explaining homosexuality or lack thereof. One person's attractiveness depends on instinct, but also strongly depends on beauty standards in the society. During the middle ages, fat women were considered attractive because fat was a sign of good health; In some tribe of Ethiopia, these women are considered most attractive.

I also think homo- and heterosexuality isn't a black and white matter, but rather a scale on which people are more or less attracted to the same sex / the other sex. That's why some of our gays started bi. Technically, except for the most extreme people on each scale, most of us could have homosexual attraction as well as heterosexual ones. And technically, most of us could have a sexual relationship with either sex.
However, society makes it difficult. Heteroes are discouraged to look for homosexual adventures, and I suppose such discouragement exists by the homos as well. As such, the utter rejection of one sex or another is a matter of social pressure, and to some extent a matter of choice (choosing between accepting this social pressure or not).

[DanielXY]

Homosexuality is clearly not a choice.
I would prefer to be gay instead of being straight. It would make many things so much easier (you wouldnt need to understand girls, understanding guys is easy).
But I dont get atracted to guys in a sexual way. So damnit I have to remain straight, got no choice.

I guess that answers the question...