Saw this in the news today. What do you think: are people born Gay or is it a choice?

 

Ok, first off using just one case study to create a conclusion is just bad research, plain and simple. That kind of article should be taken as seriously as the National Inquirer. Second, I do believe that people are born with varying degrees of female and male hormones, and it varies from person to person at birth. Sexual attraction and orientation are, in my opinion, not a choice, but something you are set up with a birth. Whether or not you "are born gay" can be argued, but I think that the innate disposition to sexually prefer your own sex versus the opposite is something you are born with, and not developed through life experiences. There are, however, people who choose to be gay through experiences. For example, a friend of mine was raped when she was in middle school. The rapist was caught and convicted, but she feared men from that point after. She chooses not to date men but only women. Then again, it could also be argued that she was born with the preference for women before she was violated. The conclusion in all honesty is: we just don't know for sure, but genetics seems to be providing the most solid answers.

 

Are you asking me (gay) or my gay brother or my lesbian sister? (Three out of five.) My gay nephew? (born to one of the two straight brothers.) Several gay cousins? Many friends where there are two kids, both of them gay?

For those who like to claim it's a choice, funny how most (if not all) have never had a same-sex experience. For them, they "just know" they "chose" to be hetero. (Did they buy the first house they looked at? Buy the first car they test drove?) Riiiiight. "They" just know that "we" chose.

 

Ben was..

 

I actually agree with you. Once upon a time, I used to believe it was a choice that gay people made (because that was what I was taught). But then I realized I didn't choose my orientation; it's just how I was and I couldn't change it if I wanted to.

BTW: that's a lot of gay people in one family! Don't take that the wrong way--I don't mean anything negative by it. But that seems unusual...no?

 

The question I wonder about are why are transgender individuals allowed to use names other then their legal ones. However if a straight person was to do that they would be punished. I can get they prefer to go by another name but if using that name was so important to them then they should have it legally changed. Just like a straight person would have to.

 

I thought it was at one point when I was much younger. But over the years, I've met many people with several gay siblings in their family. I used to work at a bar which was the regular haunt of two gay brothers. Occasionally, their third and fourth gay brothers would come. I met their 5th gay brother once. Never met the 6th, but they assured me, he did exist. Six out of nine kids. Seven boys, two girls.

 

Wow. Genetics or something in the water? (jk)

 

I don't think it's all that different than someone using a nickname. I had a neighbor who, for years, I always knew him as Scott. I later found out Scott was his middle name. Charles was his first name. He was from Mississippi and he said it's pretty common for kids to have the first name of a father or grandfather, but to go by their middle name to friends and family.

Now, if a transgendered person were signing a legal document, and they sign a name other than their legal one, that's a problem.

 

The yet "undiscovered" gay gene? THAT one always gets people riled up to the point of (That's why it's fun to toss it out there.)

 

My personal favorite is the "its not natural." Ever seen a giraffe fuck another male giraffe? Yes, yes they do, in fact they do that more than they fuck females...

 

Dolphins have same sex relations, too.

 

If "gayness" were genetic then in cases where one identical twin was gay the other twin would be gay 100% of the time since both have the exact same genes.

They're born gay like I was born wanting to suck off a shemale.

 

When I hear debates about being Gay; is it a life style choice, is it genetic, I switch the term "Gay" with "Likes large breasted women" or some such. In my view, Gay is just a variation of sexual preference; I like large breasted blondes. My brother likes petite brunettes. A,other brother likes his best when they bite.
As that wit Hilary Clinton said once; "What difference does it make now?"

 

Mr. Dover?

 

Are you born hetero?

Is being born straight a choice? Did you wake up one day and decide you were not gay?

 

It's not a binary question. You're missing out other possibilities. I don't believe anyone is born gay. No science has ever found a gay gene that absolutely predetermines your sexuality, and they likely never will. When it comes to "who you are" there are two factors at work, genetics and environmental. We are the sum of our genes and our life experiences.

Twin experiments show that people with the same DNA are more likely to have the same sexual preferences, one may conclude that this is proof that sexuality is entirely based on genetics. However, this is wrong, as this would mean identical twins would always share the same sexual preference, and this is not remotely the case. This test almost 100% proves that people are not born gay or straight.

From an environmental point of view, twins usually lead very similar lives, sharing similar experiences, and are therefore more likely to mature the same way. This is certainly a more satisfactory answer in terms of evidence than the unsupported hypothesis "people are born gay".

However, I do not think that it is the environment alone. The most likely answer is that being gay is mostly based on early childhood experiences, and as our genetics determine how we subconsciously respond to those experiences, genes help steer you one way or the other.

So in conclusion being gay is not a choice any more than being straight is a choice. Why would anyone choose to be gay? Particularly in places like Africa and the Middle-East where they imprison, even execute you for your sexuality. Nor are people born gay.

 

Answer is simple.

People are BORN heterosexual.

People are BORN homosexual.

People are BORN bisexual.

The only ones who have a CHOICE of a kind, or who can be molded by socio-cultural or religious pressure are bisexuals, who can decide not to pursue sexual relations with people of their own sex and concentrate on the opposite sex.

Any "successful" example (other than mentally destroying someone through brainwashing) of turning someone from a homosexual to a heterosexual is a "false positive", because they are really cases of convincing a bisexual that they should conform to religious or social "norms" and forgo their tendencies toward same sex relationships and stick to the opposite sex.

 

When I was in the first grade I had a crush on a girl in my class. I did not choose to have a crush on her. I just did.

Unfortunately, she did not choose to have a crush on me. She did not.

In answer to the question, I doubt anyone would choose a sexual orientation that causes one to have as many problems as homosexuality.

 

This is not correct see my last post. People are not born gay. There is both a genetic and environmental component. Research with twins both fraternal and identical demonstrate this. Fraternal twins are more likely than regular brother and sister to grow up with the same sexual preference. Identical twins are even more likely still to have the sexuality. This indicates a genetic component, as identical twins have the same DNA, while fraternal twins do not. Likewise not all identical twins possess the same sexuality, thus proving it cannot be solely based on genes, and there must be some environmental factor at play.

Who you are as a person is always dependent on both the environment in addition to your genes. This does not mean homosexuality is a choice. It's most certainly not something one has any control over, and it's not something someone can actively change.