Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 66 replies, 66 voices, and was last updated 17 years, 7 months ago by
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Were any of the people in your class gay? Have you consulted any gay people to test your prediction that they agree with you? Just because you all disagreed with your teacher doesn’t make you all right and him/her wrong. Isn’t it possible that people who are older than you and have lived being gay (not just talked about it) and people who have studied homosexuality know more about it than some high school students in Oklahoma?
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Name : James D., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 47, City : Summit, State : NJ, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,Homosexuality is not a choice. The problem is the terms ‘sexual preference’ and ‘alternative lifestyle.’ The word preference infers chioce. Being gay is not a choice; just ask any gay person. Would someone choose to be the victim of hatred and prejudice? most likely no. You are born the way you are. If you’re gay, it is a wee bit harder than being straight, but gay people have survived this. The word ‘lifestyle’ also gives me the willies. This also implies choice. But you can’t help with whom you fall in love.
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Name : Bill23255, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 31, City : Ft. Dodge, State : IA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Scientifically, nobody really knows whether sexual orientation is determined by genetics or environment. Like any number of other traits, though, it’s commonly thought to be a combination of the two. My personal take is that sexuality is not so much a choice or consequence of biological determinism, but a matter of personal preference, which is a spectrum rather than an either/or trait. I am attracted to men and women, not because of any choice I have made, but because that’s what I like. Some people prefer blondes, some prefer men. And like any other preference, it can change over time.
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Name : Jess, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 19, City : Brisbane, State : NA, Country : Australia, Occupation : Medical student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,An interesting research article was published in an issue of ‘Behavioral Neuroscience’ in the last quarter of 2003 (around October.) You can look it up at http://www.nytimes.com. The research showed that our blinking response to loud sounds (you squeeze your eyes at a startling sound) differs between men and women. Not only that, but homosexual women have the same blinking response as men. I don’t think they joined a secret lesbian club that taught them to blink that way. Food for thought…
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Name : Holly, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 24, City : Durham, State : NC, Country : United States, Occupation : student/woodworker, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,As an orthodox Christian, I believe being homosexual is an active decision made by the individual, and is a sin because the person has a choice in the matter. Science isn’t of much help here, either – I could pull sociological and psychological articles that could put forth a strong argument for either nurture or nature.
Just because it’s a sin, though, doesn’t mean that I love my homosexual friends any less. They are still human beings, equally deserving of love in God’s eyes. I don’t preach to them or try to ‘convert’ them, as mankind is fundamentally flawed to begin with. I struggle with this dilemma sometimes; sometimes I wonder if love should win out over faith in the end.
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Name : Juno, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Orthodox Christian, Age : 21, City : Richmond, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Long ago being left-handed was considered sinful by Christians (something to do with Satan being associated with the left). Today we know that handedness is determined by nature, not nurture, but back then, children were punished for using their left hands to write with. They did it anyway, in secret, and pretended to be right-handed when they had to. No one chose to be left-handed, and no one chooses to whom they are attracted. I know it is hard to believe, but it is as hard for me to comprehend how you could be attracted to women as it is for you to comprehend how I could be attracted to men. Churches are administered by people, people who sometimes make mistakes. It wasn’t that long ago that churches condemned interracial marriages and endorsed segregation. It is good that you are thinking about what they are teaching now.
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Name : James D., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 47, City : Summit, State : NJ, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College,Nature. No question. It’s not a disease, it’s not a gene, it just is. It’s not because your dad didn’t pay enough attention, or because your mom paid too much. One day, you just find yoruself thinking ‘Wow, that guy has a nice ass…’ and from there you just realize there was no point that ‘it’ happened – that it’s always been a part of you.
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Name : Chris, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Harrisonburg, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : restaurant manager, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,As a ‘semi-out’ bisexual male, I can say that being gay was much more a realization than a choice. I don’t think someone could choose to be gay, any more than a redhead could choose to have red hair. It’s easy to hide it and even deny it entirely, but that doesn’t make it any less real. Using the same analogy, dying your hair does not really make you a redhead. Nature, not nurture.
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Name : Reed, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : Seattle, State : WA, Country : United States, Occupation : Technical, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,well, Negel, this one’s still on the table. you are not alone in wanting to know whether homosexuality is ‘nature’ or ‘nurture’ or some combination thereof. the ‘sinfulness’ issue is an entirely separate and equally undecided one. it really comes down to a very private matter of your own beliefs, which it sounds to me like you are just beginning to explore outside of your upbringing. as for me, i think my 8 year old son put it best when he said ‘i don’t get it. why would an all-powerful god create people who he *knew* would do certain things if those things were wrong? he sounds like kind-of a meanie to me’ best of luck in your search for truth!
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Name : omphale, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : Minneapolis, State : MN, Country : United States, Occupation : writer, musician, mother, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class,Ask yourself this: when you see a member of the opposite sex that you like, how do you feel? You know that tingly feeling, the heart skipping, the butterflies in the stomach? Is that the way you were born to react, or is it a lifestlye choice you’ve made? Once you’ve answered that, I think you might have answered your own question…
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Name : Wiggy, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Manchester, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I am glad to see you are beginning to use critical thinking about your churches teachings. it’s one of signatures of every religion i have ever seen, heard or read about. prevention of questions that they don’t really have answers for. Here’s some thought on the matter. First, any one who has spent enough time around social animals (animals that regularly gather in groups) can tell you that homosexual behavior is not confined to humans. My own eyes have seen bulls on bulls, male dogs on male dogs (heck male dogs on cats, ducks, chairs etc), and male llama on male llama. scientific studies have been very difficult to confirm because many reports were euphmized homoerotic acts as ‘Dominance competion’ I would suggest ‘Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity’ by Bruce Bagemihl. In dealing with the question, it really helps to remove the pure human connotation that this debate is framed in. Onnce you do remove the human debate, it becomes much easier to see natural systems at work in humans and others. Second thing is nuture as a term, tends to be not encompassing enough to cover post genetic (nature) affects that may lead to homosexuality (IMHO). things like hormone and pheremones have the potential to be very powerful, in this respect. However the human systems but are nearly completely unstudied beyond obvious effects (like sync of women’s menstral cycle) Third thing is, and preface it, I hang around with alot of homosexual men, and a few homosexual women (throw in a few random bisexual too) . But in talking to them the thing that strikes me over in over is that how early in their lives they knew they weren’t ‘normal’ in some way. the only people I know who ever use the term ‘choice’ for their behavoir are people who claim to be bisexual, and even then not all of them use th term choice. And the fourth thing and last thing I would point out, based on my time in the company of both male and female homosexuals, is that I have a personal belief (that I have no proof for) that the mechanism for male homosexuality is different that of female homosexuality. things that point towards that is that the behaviours and attractors aren’t mirror images of one another like one would expect of the mechanism were the same. hope that all helps. Later Chris
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Name : chris32186, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Deist, Age : 28, City : San Diego, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : computer guy, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I am the daughter of a lesbian who ‘chose’ to be straight for many years and it made her miserable. She has now been with her current partner 25 years and she is happy. Mosy gay people that I know, knew at a fairly young age that they did not have the same responses to the opposite sex that future heterosexuals did. That’s not choice or conditioning, that’s instinct. …and before somebody brings it up: Homosexuals are NOT pedophiles. Pedophilia is about power and forcing oneself on someone who can’t fight back or is easily manipulated.
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Name : Gravy, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pantheist, Age : 39, City : Raleigh, State : NC, Country : United States, Occupation : Evidence Handler, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I know that I never came to a point when I sat down and said; ‘Hmmm. Will I be attracted to men or women?’ Some certain girl appeared and ‘Ding Ding!’ Being attracted to women was never a ‘choice’, it’s just the way it is. Just like I didn’t chose to like many of the things a person likes. I think it would be the same for gay people too. If it were a choice, I don’t think people would choose to be so hated and persecuted, to the point where some people think it’s a-ok to bash your head in, and have the police not even care. There are people who do it for attention a few times, but I think they just go back to their original orientation. Barring those people, I think that everybody else is just trying to get through life with the hand they were dealt.
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Name : Nathan20140, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 40, City : Seattle, State : WA, Country : United States, Occupation : Tech, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,_Foundations of Physiological Psychology_, 5th edition, by Neil R. Carlson (intuition says he’s a doctor, but I have no supporting evidence). Page 277: ‘Several studies have examined the brains of deceased heterosexual and homosexual men and heterosexual women. So far, these studies have found differences in the size of three different subregions of the brain: the suprachiasmatic nucleus, a sexually dimorphic nucleus of the hypothalamus, and the anterior commissure . . . The suprachiasmatic nucleus was found to be larger in homosexual men and smaller in heterosexual men and women; a sexually dimorphic nucleus of the hypothalamus (the _third interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus_, or INAH-3) was found to be larger in heterosexual men and smaller in homosexual men and heterosexual women; and the anterior commissure was found to be larger in homosxual men and heterosexual women and smaller in heterosexual men. Obviously, the differences did not follow a simple pattern.’
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Name : Michael20707, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : bi-curious, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 20, City : Livingston, State : LA, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College,Just as each individual is unique, there is not one answer which applies to every human being. The majority of homosexuals are born with that orientation. If you visit places where people are under extreme circumstances, like a women’s prision, for example, you might find a different spectrum of opinions. There are women in gay relationships in prison who would not be gay outside. 99% of educated homosexual people believe that they were born with that identity.
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Name : Jennifer30856, City : Philadelphia, State : PA, Country : United States,
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