NationStates Jolt Archive

Are people born homosexual or do they just become that way later in life?

Either born with it, or it develops very early (before one has a concept of sexuality).

This is based on my personal experiences.

Later in life due to a screwed up mind.

i dont know where it comes from but im pretty sure you cant "go gay all of a sudden" as an adult
you are either gay or you arent. unless youre bi, but thats a different topic

I think that people are born that way. You are who you are.

Dunno if you are borned with your sexuality or it's the society that drives you in to it. Atleast I think it's not a choice you make as quite a few christians and other people think.

I don't think it should matter. Do you really want the gov't, or anyone, telling you who and how to love?

Later in life due to a screwed up mind.

Can you care to explain what you mean with screwed up mind?

I mean, I can get turned on by a Shemale when not knowing she is really a he, as one example.

Either born with it, or it develops very early (before one has a concept of sexuality).

This is based on my personal experiences.
gotta agree but with one change: you are technicly staight even if your attracted to ppl of the same gender until you do something with them

I believe it is a choice that you make, I do not believe that you are born with it.

gotta agree but with one change: you are technicly staight even if your attracted to ppl of the same gender until you do something with them

So a complete virgin is not sexual in anyway? ;)

So a complete virgin is not sexual in anyway? ;)

No, I think you'd still be straight (sp?). According to his logic, anyway.

I don't know for a certainty (who really does?), but I don't believe they are born gay. It's pretty safe to say it isn't genetic at the very least. I would assume they may have a predisposition at birth, but other factors during the formative years will mold them as well.

I believe it is a choice that you make, I do not believe that you are born with it.

I am actually curious why people think it's a choice you can make. Care to explain?

Does this mean that pedophiles choses to be pedophiles aswell? And same with all other kinds of sexualities?

gotta agree but with one change: you are technicly staight even if your attracted to ppl of the same gender until you do something with them

That's a retarded change.

Are you gay until you have sex with someone of the opposite gender?

I say, either born with it or it develops very early on. I have a friend who's been a lesbian for as long as she can remember. She's simply never thought of guys in a sexual wayl it's unnatural to her.

Are people born homosexual or do they just become that way later in life?
Does it really matter one way or another?

Does it really matter one way or another?

In day to day life, no. In science, yes. It helps us understand yet another level of ourselves, and human development. Inherently science exists only as our attempt to understand the nature of things.

lesbians = gud.

I'm gonna say it is not a choice, but you aren't born gay either. I think it the result of a genetic predisposition *though that is unproven*, how your mind developes *don't mean "If you are gay you are messed up in da head", just that peoples minds develope different ways*, and what kind of setting you were raised in. I doubt it is a choice, cause who on Earth decides "Hey! I'm gonna now like people of my own gender, therefor submitting myself to misunderstanding and rejectiong for the rest of my life!"? And a doubt there is a gene that makes you 100% guaranteed gay because 1) it takes at least five genes to decide hair color, think of how many it would take for something as complex as homosexuallity, and 2) if it is only a gene thing then how the heck is gayness passed on? Gays aren't gonna be having biological children.

lesbians = gud.

I dunno. I mean, it's kinda depressing when you think about it. It's already irritating when a really good looking girl has a boyfriend, but at least then it's only ONE girl you no longer have a chance with. With lesbians, you just lost two :p

Does it really matter one way or another?


It only matters when people point it out. Otherwise most people would never know. It is not like they all wear signs that say I'M GAY AND PROUD. Most of them are very low key. I used to work with a woman. She was the greatest. Always had a joke to tell. I never knew she was gay until one day she told me she broke up with her lover. I asked what his name was and she told me it was another woman. Goes to show you that you just don't know.

If it is only a gene thing then how the heck is gayness passed on? Gays aren't gonna be having biological children.

It could be a sacrificial lamb situation. I believe in such a concept strongely.

I dunno. I mean, it's kinda depressing when you think about it. It's already irritating when a really good looking girl has a boyfriend, but at least then it's only ONE girl you no longer have a chance with. With lesbians, you just lost two :p

You know, no matter what your orientation, it is to your advantage is more members of your own sex are gay.

I'm gonna say it is not a choice, but you aren't born gay either. I think it the result of a genetic predisposition *though that is unproven*, how your mind developes *don't mean "If you are gay you are messed up in da head", just that peoples minds develope different ways*, and what kind of setting you were raised in. I doubt it is a choice, cause who on Earth decides "Hey! I'm gonna now like people of my own gender, therefor submitting myself to misunderstanding and rejectiong for the rest of my life!"? And a doubt there is a gene that makes you 100% guaranteed gay because 1) it takes at least five genes to decide hair color, think of how many it would take for something as complex as homosexuallity, and 2) if it is only a gene thing then how the heck is gayness passed on? Gays aren't gonna be having biological children.
Gay people have kids all the time. Sometimes it's because they haven't figured out their sexuality yet and start having heterosexual relationships before they've come to grips with it, sometimes because they're pressured by society or family or culture to hide their homosexual urges in heterosexual relationships. Whatever the reason, gay people do reproduce. My ex-wife is lesbian and she had a child before we married and one while we were married--two potential places for the gayness to be passed on to future generations.

You know, no matter what your orientation, it is to your advantage is more members of your own sex are gay.

LOL I'll agree to that!

I'm not really sure myself, but I was listening to this doctor on the radio and what he was saying seemed to make sense to me. He said there is no substantial evidence to prove that homosexuals are just "born that way" and that it is more of an excuse than anything. Apparently these doctors think, because of studies, that homosexuality comes later in life and has a lot to do with the relationship a child has with their same sex parent. And that a lot of lesbians are lesbians because they have been treated badly by men. And according to this doctor he has known people that are gay, and with the support of family and friends have changed their sexual orientation and stayed straight.

Gay people have kids all the time. Sometimes it's because they haven't figured out their sexuality yet and start having heterosexual relationships before they've come to grips with it, sometimes because they're pressured by society or family or culture to hide their homosexual urges in heterosexual relationships. Whatever the reason, gay people do reproduce. My ex-wife is lesbian and she had a child before we married and one while we were married--two potential places for the gayness to be passed on to future generations.

Then if a child is gay, would that mean one of their parents must be too? That's the real problem with the genetic idea, as far as I'm concerned. There are plenty of straight parents who have gay children. That leaves us with two choices: one or both parent(s) are gay, or something else is the/part of the puzzle.

Then if a child is gay, would that mean one of their parents must be too? That's the real problem with the genetic idea, as far as I'm concerned. There are plenty of straight parents who have gay children. That leaves us with two choices: one or both parent(s) are gay, or something else is the/part of the puzzle.

You don't know much about genetics, do you? The 'Gay Gene' is obviously recessive.

You don't know much about genetics, do you? The 'Gay Gene' is obviously recessive.

If homosexuality is, in fact, caused by genetics.

You don't know much about genetics, do you? The 'Gay Gene' is obviously recessive.

Watch the attitude, sport. A simple bloodtest resolves this issue just fine. Take 50 gay people, and check for a 'gay' gene. Every last one of them should have it. Take 50 more straight people just to be safe, and ensure none of them have this gene. Ta-da.

I doubt you'll find the gene you're looking for. Just my bet.

sexual orientation is at least partially genetic, but certainly cannot be completely genetic. studies of identical twins show that individuals with identical DNA who are raised apart (adopted by different families, usually) will show much higher concordance in later sexual orientation than siblings (who are only 50% identical in DNA), but these identical twins do NOT show 100% concordance. currently, the most plausible theory based on all the evidence is that sexual orientation is generated by DNA in the form of a predisposition; some people will never be attracted to somebody of the opposite sex, no matter what, while others are the opposite. still more are some place in the middle, and could be either gay or straight, or bisexual. a person's environment as he/she grows up will determine how this predisposition is expressed. just as a straight person can choose to not have sex, a gay person could choose to not have gay sex, or either could choose to have sex with the gender they aren't naturally attracted to. current results suggest that nature is somewhat more important than nurture in setting a person's attractions, but nature is more important when it comes to how they ACT on their desires.

If homosexuality is, in fact, caused by genetics.

And i guess you can back that up in some way?

I'm not really sure myself, but I was listening to this doctor on the radio and what he was saying seemed to make sense to me. He said there is no substantial evidence to prove that homosexuals are just "born that way" and that it is more of an excuse than anything. Apparently these doctors think, because of studies, that homosexuality comes later in life and has a lot to do with the relationship a child has with their same sex parent. And that a lot of lesbians are lesbians because they have been treated badly by men. And according to this doctor he has known people that are gay, and with the support of family and friends have changed their sexual orientation and stayed straight.

Sounds a bit too much like Frued for my liking. Plus, it also makes it sound like being gay is a bad thing.

Watch the attitude, sport. A simple bloodtest resolves this issue just fine. Take 50 gay people, and check for a 'gay' gene. Every last one of them should have it. Take 50 more straight people just to be safe, and ensure none of them have this gene. Ta-da.

I doubt you'll find the gene you're looking for. Just my bet.

It is very, very difficult to pinpoint such a specific gene out out billions.

Watch the attitude, sport. A simple bloodtest resolves this issue just fine. Take 50 gay people, and check for a 'gay' gene. Every last one of them should have it. Take 50 more straight people just to be safe, and ensure none of them have this gene. Ta-da.

I doubt you'll find the gene you're looking for. Just my bet.
you would be correct. according to the Human Genome Project, there is no "Gay Gene." there is no gene for musical talent, no single gene for intelligence, and pretty much no single-gene cues for any complex human behavior. sexuality ties into a number of different systems and processes, and nobody with a basic grasp of human genetics would ever suppose such a complex behavior would be regulated by a single gene, or even a single gene cluster.

It is very, very difficult to pinpoint such a specific gene out out billions.

Yet not impossible. And it would once and for all close the case on genetics and homosexuality. If you have a better way to prove/disprove genetics and homosexuality, be my guest to suggest it. I for one don't see it.

Sounds a bit too much like Frued for my liking. Plus, it also makes it sound like being gay is a bad thing.

That is because I heard it from a very Christian doctor on the radio.

It is very, very difficult to pinpoint such a specific gene out out billions.
no, actually, it isn't. i'm speaking from personal experience, as somebody who located a specific gene for a specific type of colorblindness in under 6 months. and that was as a sophmore in college. and i'm not that bright, quite frankly.

with the Human Genome Project behind us, we can find genes pretty freaking quickly. in fact, the entire human genome has been searched for a "gay gene," and one has not been found. they've looked. it's not there. there is not a gene for gay.

That is because I heard it from a very Christian doctor on the radio.

Well, there ya go.

Yet not impossible. And it would once and for all close the case on genetics and homosexuality. If you have a better way to prove/disprove genetics and homosexuality, be my guest to suggest it. I for one don't see it.

Hey, I was just defending myself. I will trust the scientific community when it comes to a conclusion on this stuff. I really don't think it should matter politically.

But that doesn't preclude the potential for several genes, working in concert, to provide a predisposition toward homosexual behavior, does it Bottle?

I apologize if my comment came across as rude or an attack. It wasn't intended as such. I just honestly don't see the issue (genetics and homosexuality) ever being resolved by any other means. Well, that's not completely true. It could also happen if we determined what caused homosexuality and it wasn't related to genetics.

Well, there ya go.

It doesn't necessarily mean he is wrong, I'm not sure what I believe, but a lot of what he was saying made a lot of sense. And, as I said before there is no substantial evidence to support the theory that homosexuality is something that you are born with.

But that doesn't preclude the potential for several genes, working in concert, to provide a predisposition toward homosexual behavior, does it Bottle?

doesn't preclude it at all, no, and that is seen as the most likely hypothesis to date. but there simply CANNOT be a single gene that, by itself, makes a person gay. all the data we have contradicts that theory.

homosexuality is a biologically sound trait to pass on, and there is significant data with primate models to suggest that humans (like other Great Apes) will benefit most from bisexual orientation. thus there is no reason why homosexual predispositions wouldn't be passed down through generations, since they are beneficial traits (biologically speaking). however, like any complex behavior or complex instinctive process, the human frontal cortex can control these predispositions, and even subvert them in some cases. whether or not we SHOULD is another matter, but it is certainly possible to do so. genes alone cannot be held responsible for sexual behavior, nor can we claim that any sexual practice is valid simply because it is coded for in some part of our genes...after all, rape is selected for in chimp populations, and they are our closest relatives.

basically, i don't see why it matters. whether or not homosexuality is okay has nothing to do with how genetic it might be.

I am gay, (well actually I'm somewhat bi but I prefer males and I'm not a polygamist so I'm basicly gay...), and from a very early age I was the opposite of most gender stereotypes. from age 8 or so it was my opinion that close "friends" frequently had sex and your girlfriend was someone you did not even kiss until your wedding day. in the bible somewhere it says "I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look upon a woman" - and I took that quite literally. honestly it's hard to tell if what I thought was right or what I was predisposed to feel caused it - I could agree with either. haha, on the one side christianity could've driven me to be gay (the bible states something about "men who have not defiled themselves with women" being the only ones going to heaven...because it's authors were dirty sexists), or on the other I just looked at everything I was taught to beleive in a different way because I was predisposed from birth or early childhood to behave that way. it doesn't especially matter to me - I could get into a female, but it's disgusting and wrong to have children when there are still orphans who need parents, and the world is overpopulated anyway, so I now beleive that being gay is as much an important political choice for me as it is a predisposition. (I would venture to say that anybody who is even slightly open to it should at least try, because we really ARE reproducing much too prolificly)

as a disclaimer, I beleive very strongly in monogamy and saving sex for when it is intimacy, not random lustful play. people seem to think all gay men are lavicious sex-happy sluts. that gets old.

doesn't preclude it at all, no, and that is seen as the most likely hypothesis to date. but there simply CANNOT be a single gene that, by itself, makes a person gay. all the data we have contradicts that theory.

homosexuality is a biologically sound trait to pass on, and there is significant data with primate models to suggest that humans (like other Great Apes) will benefit most from bisexual orientation. thus there is no reason why homosexual predispositions wouldn't be passed down through generations, since they are beneficial traits (biologically speaking). however, like any complex behavior or complex instinctive process, the human frontal cortex can control these predispositions, and even subvert them in some cases. whether or not we SHOULD is another matter, but it is certainly possible to do so. genes alone cannot be held responsible for sexual behavior, nor can we claim that any sexual practice is valid simply because it is coded for in some part of our genes...after all, rape is selected for in chimp populations, and they are our closest relatives.

basically, i don't see why it matters. whether or not homosexuality is okay has nothing to do with how genetic it might be.
I knew that was basically what you were going to say, but you say it so well I figured I would groove you a curveball over the fat part of the plate--you swatted it quite nicely.

It doesn't necessarily mean he is wrong, I'm not sure what I believe, but a lot of what he was saying made a lot of sense. And, as I said before there is no substantial evidence to support the theory that homosexuality is something that you are born with.

well, afaik alot of germans thought much of what Hitler said made alot of sense. ;)

It doesn't necessarily mean he is wrong, I'm not sure what I believe, but a lot of what he was saying made a lot of sense. And, as I said before there is no substantial evidence to support the theory that homosexuality is something that you are born with.

Oh, I dunno if he's wrong or right. Nobody might ever know in the near future, it might take quite some time to figure it out.

I just don't like his idea of "training" kids to be straight -_-

well, afaik alot of germans thought much of what Hitler said made alot of sense. ;)

Please, don't give me that crap!

Please, don't give me that crap!

was a lowshot, hence the ;).

anyway, my point is still valid, good talkers can make sense of things that doesn't really maike sense.

Oh, I dunno if he's wrong or right. Nobody might ever know in the near future, it might take quite some time to figure it out.

I just don't like his idea of "training" kids to be straight -_-

in the pacific I beleive it was a standard practice that adolescent males would pair off with eachother until it came time to be married to a woman, and it was socially accepted to prefer to stay with your origional same-sex mate. most non-patriarchal societies have a tendency to be bisexual. I think in such "primative" (that is to say, non dogmatic) societies, we can most accurately observe the predisposition thing, and findings imply that most people are at least somewhat bisexual, but have it trained out of them at an early age. of course, I had something of an absentee father (allways away raising money for conservative christian "family" groups, ironically), so I can't say frued wasn't at least partially correct. Half the world has an absentee father nowadays though - so this probably isn't true in my mind...unless it accounts for the recent civil rights movement. *shrug*

If it is indeed genetic, then it's more likely to be caused by a mutation or some genes getting crossed. Maybe some wires got crossed in the brain. I don't know. But I don't think having gay parent(s) makes you more likely to be gay.

However, I recall reading an article in some magazine (Time, Scientific American...something) that discussed why some people have an extreme sexual attraction to feet. It seems like feet and genitals "recieving stations" are next to each other in the brain, so some scientists believe that the attraction is just a simple wire crossing.

But then again, I'm no expert. This is just what I remember reading, as well as my own opinion thrown in.

(PS: if it isn't clear, I do support gays. a gay friend of mine is one of the nicest guys I know!)

Are you gay until you have sex with someone of the opposite gender?

Yes.



:D

Yes.



:D

Do you have anything to back that answer up?

That's a retarded change.

Are you gay until you have sex with someone of the opposite gender?
Well... if you've never masturbated then you are asexual ;)

Can you care to explain what you mean with screwed up mind?

I mean, I can get turned on by a Shemale when not knowing she is really a he, as one example.

What I mean anyone who is transexual, bi-sexual, or gay has a screwed up mind for being that way.

What I mean anyone who is transexual, bi-sexual, or gay has a screwed up mind for being that way.
And wouldn't being attracted to a transexual be an act of gayness even though you wouldn't necessarily be gay to be attracted to one as they come of as female at first sight.

What I mean anyone who is transexual, bi-sexual, or gay has a screwed up mind for being that way.


so, if i am turned on by the looks of a shemale without knowing what it is, does that make me fucked up in my brain aswell?

I think it's the way you're born. I think some people are just wired that way. It's nobody's fault, it's the way it happens. As long as gay people aren't bothering you or making unwanted advances, I wouldn't sweat it. I don't think homosexuality is what's wrong with the world.

Personally I think it's used as a diversionary subject by people when they don't want to cover more important subjects. I use as an example all of this nonsense over gay marriage just before the election. I think it's being used to distract us from things like unemployment or the war in Iraq.

I believe people are born homosexual. Just like people are born heterosexual.. Think about it, if you're straight, when exactly did you decide to become straight? You didn't, it's just who you are, the same is true of people who are gay. You don't pick your sexual orientation, it picks you. I don't recall ever deciding I was attracted to men over women, I just was. Thus, I'm straight, but I didn't make a decision about that, did you?

I am actually curious why people think it's a choice you can make. Care to explain?

Does this mean that pedophiles choses to be pedophiles aswell? And same with all other kinds of sexualities?

Well I think that a big factor that may help make some men decide to be attracted to other men is if they do not have a positive male role model, Im not saying that is always the case but I believe it is a factor. I believe someone sexual preference later in life when they are old to enough to fully understand it can come and change with deciding factors in someones life. I dont think that a persons sexual preference is coded in their DNA, I mean Ive known some gay people that stopped being gay and went straight, so I dont think its a gene thing it is more of a mental thing.