Can a person be born gay/homosexual?

There is a lot of controversy right now over homosexuals in the military, gay marriage, teaching children in school ... At the root of this issue is the question of whether or not it is a choice, or if a person can be born gay/homosexual.

In the book "If You Read Just One Book This Year ... " the author, who goes by the pen-name "An American Man," addresses this issue ... The author starts out with a humorous approach ... by comparing homosexuals to vegetables ...

"Many people in the media seem to forget that intelligent consumers want to understand both sides ... I want to know and understand WHY people are gay ... Even if you don't like or didn't expect the answers you receive, shouldn't the TRUTH actually BE important?"

American Man then discusses how we are "losing out because of manipulative, selfish agendas ... because there is "no genetic proof that anyone is born gay. However, does that mean that people are NOT born gay? No. .... just like stem cell research, and evolution, and the education system ... ...

The author points out that "Many people have come in and out of the lifestyle...

"Part of it is cultural sexual lust ... it is like a fad or a virus. Some people are more susceptible than others. And once infected ..."

Well, you're right. You didn't prove anything. Still, I've provided you with a website whose members admit choosing to be gay. I posted that LUGs exist who admit choosing to be lesbians until graduation.

Robert Spitzer, who was key in getting homosexuality remove from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual has changed his mind. That is, he used to think homosexuals couldn't change but now after interviewing a couple hundred ex-gays, he believes change is possible. Spitzer had a lot to lose but he admits change is possbile

Another website, People Can Change has a lot of information on the subject and I very much encourage you to check it out.

If you don't accept what I've posted as evidence some choose their orientation then what would you accept?

Coming to this a little late.. Good conversation about the what’s, and what-not’s of homosexuality. I would say that, for the most part, most of the information given here by those opposed to the idea of being born gay is, well, primarily spot on.

I would like to comment briefly on this though:

“As I see it, the vast majority do not choose their same-sex attraction but neither are they born with their same-sex attraction. It’s quite complicated but environment, as any credible scientist will say, is the major factor”

I believe that, in all honesty, and from the research I’ve seen, and the many, many abstracts I’ve read on the subject; the “choice” must take place on, or before someone’s 18th birthday. Of course it varies somewhat, but, notwithstanding making a self aware choice, the decision is made, and then hard wired prior to the maturation of the pre frontal cortex. Once the PFC is mature, it takes a tremendous effort to undue the wiring. Of course, that will lead many to google just exactly what the PFC actually does, but I invite all to take the challenge. The journey to the truth is enlightening. :)

Point is, and this is why I am adamantly against institutionalizing homosexuality in any form, including, but not limited to homosexual marriage. Doing so secures the right to teach it to our kids. You know, those kids that haven’t themselves developed their own pre frontal cortex..

Homosexuality, and the belief that it is somehow innately human, and immutable, is analogous to religious beliefs. ONE has to believe it to be true, and once that dedication has been made, no amount of information to the contrary will supplant the belief system. I have no problem with adult homosexuals, but my tolerance stops at the children. They’re not equipped to protect themselves against the kind of indoctrination that a homosexual curriculum would bring. Since, as the OP rightly points out, no one knows the answer on whether gays are born that way or not, we as a society should err on the side of caution. Even if that means upsetting a few homosexuals in the process..

Tim-

You didn’t prove it and neither did I.

The first thing to do is to define the question appropriately. Human sexual preferences exist on a continuum from exclusively hetero to exclusively homo, with infinite gradations in between. It's not a light switch that has an "on" and "off" position.

Secondly, I am over 60 and have been in the arts all my life. I have known literally hundreds of gays and lesbians and have known dozens closely as friends, and have heard details of the lives of many others from their friends.

Thirdly, I did my graduate thesis on the topic of the Constitutional law of family and marriage, in which I read extensively about all aspects of sexuality and mating culture/customs in the U.S. and Europe since the beginning of U.S. history. Not only have I read widely in the psychological literature that has found no single or even a compelling biological determinant, but I have heard and witnessed the life experiences (environment) of many gay individuals.

* Many experienced childhood sexual abuse or a rape in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood.

* Many were bullied or called "gay" for being artistic, or for having been assaulted by a bigger child of the same sex.

* Many grew up with emotional neglect by parents; or were adopted children with clinical attachment disorders, unable to feel truly loved by their adoptive parents.

* Others grew up with absolutely no moral code, and their present life does not demand one -- they do not intend, say, to run for public office (and these days, that's not even a barrier).

* Some have a profession in the arts or in leftist politics surrounded by gays and subjected to those influences, or even the coercion of predatory gays.

* Many had clear manifestations of a depressive or anxiety disorder that they tried to "self-medicate" with high-risk behaviors such as gay experimentation or drug use that would flood the brain with adrenaline, temporarily relieving the depression or anxiety, but ultimately contributing to a downward spiral. I do not believe in the liberal nostrum that gay teens commit suicide because of homophobia alone. I believe that suicidal teens are more likely to try using gay behaviors as a way to cope with depression than teens who are not clinically depressed.

* And a sizeable percentage of gays and lesbians that I personally knew in our community left gay behaviors and relationships behind in their twenties or thirties and took a heterosexual mate, had children and left their former friends in disbelief. One such man has been married now for 37 years to the same big-breasted woman and they are grandparents. Others are women who left it behind and are grandmothers now. Do they act out on the side? Perhaps; but apparently not enough to get them kicked out by their heterosexual mates or to cause gossip in our very close community.

There can be no "proof" in an open-and-shut way to a contiuum of complicated behaviors and conditions. But individuals can judge by their careful observations what may have influenced a friend whom they know well. This is my eyewitness account after a lifetime.

I have concluded and seen that many "gay" persons who are motivated can work through the psychological conditions that led to their initial attraction to the gay lifestyle and can move on and become stable in lasting heterosexual relationships. Others choose celibacy rather than acting out sexually outside of marriage, as do many widowed or divorced heterosexuals, especially women.

Walking away from sexual addiction and fetishism and choosing chastity instead is not just for gays.

Well, thanks Scripter! Truth be told, I have battled liberals, and advocates of SSM for well over 8 years now. Like you, I entered the fray because I saw a consistent contradiction with the claims they (The agenda) were making. All too often I have seen how unchallenged rhetoric can swiftly become the truth. So, back in the day, I did some quick searches on the net, and started to really learn about how deep the agenda was. How terrible the MSM was at reporting the facts. I saw people vilified on message boards, including myself. I saw them called everything in the book, from gay themselves, to homophobe, to racist (Which speaks volumes for the accuser) to hater.. The list goes on. I got tired of it. I knew that even a cursory opinion against homosexual marriage, or special rights, wasn’t indicative of someone that was hateful. Mostly it came from parents, grand-parents, inquisitive minds; people truly curious, like myself, on the causes of homosexuality. As a student of philosophy, and a logic, I felt that from my desktop I could help people understand how they were being had. How they were being mislead on this subject; and specifically how the terms of the debate were being systematically redefined before our eyes by a mostly complicit media machine.

I still get hostile people calling me names and such, but I rarely if ever these days bother to acknowledge their childish retorts. If you can’t argue without name calling, then you do not deserve any of my time, and effort. Like you said, Scripter, the issue is very complex, and you can tell instantly when you’re arguing with someone that has no clue what they’re talking about. Try to educate them, and you’re not seen as noble, but a bigot. When the definition of bigot is directed back to them, they simply slip away, forever into the doldrums of internet fantasy.

I don’t, and have never claimed to know for sure if homosexuality is inborn, but the VAST, (And it’s not even close) amount of real science done on the subject points to a mostly, if not entirely, environmental cause. If it is environmental, then experimenting with our kids is the epitome of unethical science. I won’t allow that to happen on my watch.

Tim-

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.