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Is homosexuality just genetic?

J

john r

New Member
there are those believers who think that under the new covenant believers are to continue to have a relationship to god thru regulation as in deut 28 instead of directly to the spirit of the one who lives in them(apart from me you can do nothing). christ is about his love(love one another as i have loved you). ......"follow me"
 
Reptillian

Reptillian

Hamburgler Extraordinaire
Nature vs. Nurture...Nature always wins.

Actually I think its likely that all human beings have some homosexual tendencies and that sexuality is more of a complex scale. Lots of shades of gray instead of just simple black or white...we all know what a sexy color gray is. I should write a book about the scale of sexuality and call it "Shades of Gay" :p

Meow Mix: Sure you don't want to give men another try? I look pretty cute in a dress and makeup. ;)
 
Venatoris

Venatoris

Active Member
I still don't understand this notion that homosexuality must be either a choice or genetics. Who can honestly say that they have made a conscious choice about what appeals to them? I have used this example before but it has been a while so here goes...
I hate black olives, I could not choose to like them if I wanted to and it certainly isn't genetic because everyone in my family(and I mean everyone) loves them. Not genetic, not a choice, it just is what it is, a preference. Personal tastes are not a choice nor are they determined by genetics so why would sexual preference be any different.
 
fallingblood

fallingblood

Agnostic Theist
Thanks for all the answers. The reason I asked this question is because for some time now, I was under the impression that homosexuals and heterosexuals are born that way. However, in my developmental psychology book, they quoted a study done in I think 1990 (I don't have my book in front of me right now) that used identical twins. They found that around 50% of twins in which one was homosexual, the other was as well. What this suggested was that homosexuality is not simply genetic, that one is not born that way. Instead, it suggested that environment also played a role in homosexuality.

This made me think that it is probably likely that some are simply more predisposed to being homosexual than others. So it would be both, as is generally the case.
 
Darkness

Darkness

Psychoanalyst/Marxist
Smoke said:
I don't either. But I don't think homosexuality is really behavioral. That is, one is homosexual whether or not one chooses to have sex with members of the same sex. My sexual attraction to my own sex goes back as far as I can remember, which is the age of two. Actual sexual activity began much later, but I didn't get any gayer as I got older. I was gay to begin with.

I don't know, and I don't think anybody knows, the extent to which homosexuality is genetic, but the "behavioral" argument doesn't apply, because sexual orientation isn't behavioral. What you do about it is.

All I can say for sure is that if it isn't genetic, it might as well be, because I was sexually attracted to members of my own sex at an extremely early age, and I would think even earlier. It's just that I can't remember any earlier.
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I can't give frubals to you again yet, but you hit the nail on the head. People don't typically grow up to become homosexual any more than they grow up to become heterosexual. I thought girls were hot when I was five and I still think they are damn sexy.

In general, I feel that sexual orientation is mostly sociological/environmental. I don't know how else to explain the fact that almost all of the Athenian men preferred sex with men. It is possible there was a gay gene that was prominent back then, and minuscule now, but it seems unlikely. In the end, I don't think it matters all that much. Fundamentalists who don't like homosexuals are not going to all of a sudden become pro-gay because we find a gay gene. Many of them believe science is an atheistic conspiracy anyway.
 
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J

john r

New Member
there is a wide spectrum orientation parameters in humans. on one end there are those are solely heterosexual and on the other there are those who are solely homosexuals and in between everything else. homophobia is fear about those possibilities that exist within ones own being, and the in capacity to deal with them.

there are those who were gay from their first sexual memory. there are those who being capable of both chose to be gay.
 
D

Duck

Well-Known Member
Darkness said:
I can't give frubals to you again yet, but you hit the nail on the head. People don't typically grow up to become homosexual any more than they grow up to become heterosexual. I thought girls were hot when I was five and I still think they are damn sexy.

In general, I feel that sexual orientation is mostly sociological/environmental. I don't know how else to explain the fact that almost all of the Athenian men preferred sex with men. It is possible there was a gay gene that was prominent back then, and minuscule now, but it seems unlikely. In the end, I don't think it matters all that much. Fundamentalists who don't like homosexuals are not going to all of a sudden become pro-gay because we find a gay gene. Many of them believe science is an atheistic conspiracy anyway.
Click to expand...

Several years ago, (recently haven't been able to find a link, unfortunately) I read an article by a fairly prominent evangelical preacher (prominent in SE Texas at least) that indicated discovery of a genetic cause for homosexuality would cause him to change his anti-abortion stance. He said that he would be in favor of aborting "gay" fetuses and only "gay" fetuses. I read some articles in the magazine of the southern baptist convention that led me to think the authors of those articles felt the same way. Those SBC articles were much more recent (2008 or 2009 I think). The original article I read was in the late 90's.
 
Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber & Business Owner
I tend to picture it as each person having a potential range within various attributes and behaviors, based on their genetics. Environmental influences then determine where that person ends up within each range of each attribute.
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That pretty much sums up the whole of the nature/nurture debate. You can be born with the potential to be a genius, but if that potential is not nurtured then that potential will never be realized.

Homosexuality (non-breeders) is a very subtle form of population-control built right into us by God/Nature.
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If that was the case, then humans as a whole would be a very gay species. In some heavily populated cities and nations we might even find places where heterosexuals are the minority. As for other species, we wouldn't observe as many instances as we do, especially in zoos where the population is low.

I believe that it's mostly genetics, because sexuality is a very complicated subject that is anything but black and white, and sexuality seems to be fluid. I think we have preferences, rather than a set in stone orientation. However, society does play a very strong role in the development of orientation. Or society puts alot of emphasis on sexual orientation, and there are many negative views held about bisexuality which puts alot of people in the situation of having to decide to be one or the other. I also base this on how some societies, such as ancient Greece, didn't seem to even care about gender when it came to sex.
 
D

Duck

Well-Known Member
Darkness said:
I can't give frubals to you again yet, but you hit the nail on the head. People don't typically grow up to become homosexual any more than they grow up to become heterosexual. I thought girls were hot when I was five and I still think they are damn sexy.

In general, I feel that sexual orientation is mostly sociological/environmental. I don't know how else to explain the fact that almost all of the Athenian men preferred sex with men. It is possible there was a gay gene that was prominent back then, and minuscule now, but it seems unlikely. In the end, I don't think it matters all that much. Fundamentalists who don't like homosexuals are not going to all of a sudden become pro-gay because we find a gay gene. Many of them believe science is an atheistic conspiracy anyway.
Click to expand...

Several years ago, (recently haven't been able to find a link, unfortunately) I read an article by a fairly prominent evangelical preacher (prominent in SE Texas at least) that indicated discovery of a genetic cause for homosexuality would cause him to change his anti-abortion stance. He said that he would be in favor of aborting "gay" fetuses and only "gay" fetuses. I read some articles in the magazine of the southern baptist convention that led me to think the authors of those articles felt the same way. Those SBC articles were much more recent (2008 or 2009 I think). The original article I read was in the late 90's.
 
M

Meow Mix

Chatte Féministe
Duck said:
Several years ago, (recently haven't been able to find a link, unfortunately) I read an article by a fairly prominent evangelical preacher (prominent in SE Texas at least) that indicated discovery of a genetic cause for homosexuality would cause him to change his anti-abortion stance. He said that he would be in favor of aborting "gay" fetuses and only "gay" fetuses. I read some articles in the magazine of the southern baptist convention that led me to think the authors of those articles felt the same way. Those SBC articles were much more recent (2008 or 2009 I think). The original article I read was in the late 90's.
Click to expand...

Ugh... some people are repugnant :facepalm:
 
Autodidact

Autodidact

Intentionally Blank
Duck said:
Several years ago, (recently haven't been able to find a link, unfortunately) I read an article by a fairly prominent evangelical preacher (prominent in SE Texas at least) that indicated discovery of a genetic cause for homosexuality would cause him to change his anti-abortion stance. He said that he would be in favor of aborting "gay" fetuses and only "gay" fetuses. I read some articles in the magazine of the southern baptist convention that led me to think the authors of those articles felt the same way. Those SBC articles were much more recent (2008 or 2009 I think). The original article I read was in the late 90's.
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Kind of a pre-stoning.
 
Dezzie

Dezzie

Well-Known Member
fallingblood said:
The question is quite simple. Is homosexuality simply decided by genetics, or is their a choice involved to some extent? Basically, we are talking about nature vs. nurture here. Or, is one born homosexual or is it decided later on in life. This can go with heterosexuality to. I'm interested in the responses.
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No, in my opinion it is not just genetics... Some homosexual or bi teenagers are that way because their friends do it. lol I swear, it's like a fad now in some schools... :p
 
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