Is homosexuality just genetic?

[Darkness]

Hetrosexual couples choose to be together, also. That should be obvious unless you are speaking from irony.

I was merely talking about the way some heterosexual people get married, because that is what they feel they are supposed to do. I was not making generalisations about heterosexuals. I am hetero myself.

 

[NeoSeeker]

I believe that there could be choice and experimentation involved, but ultimately you choose what is best for you. Is that genetic? It's possible.

 

[Autodidact]

I simply don't care who people love. Thomas Hobbes said that life is, "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." If we can find happiness and love, we should go for it. And you know what. I bet all those gay and lesbian people who choose to be together are a hell of a lot happier than the heterosexual couples who just get together because that is what people do.

*raises hand*

 

[Autodidact]

Hetrosexual couples choose to be together, also. That should be obvious unless you are speaking from irony.

Hard to be sure when there's so much social pressure to do it.

 

[Duck]

I think the "gay culture" stems from the stereotype of effeminate gays and butch lesbians. Although really if I had to guess I would say that approximately half (probably less than that from my own experience) of the gays and lesbians I know fall into the effeminate or butch category. And there are also gays and lesbians who are fairly androgynous.

I think that "gay culture" might have origins in the gay "ghettos" (like the Castro district in San Francisco, or Westheimer in Houston, Texas) where for many years safety existed for LGBT people only in the numbers provided by living in the same area. A certain amount of insularity and "culture" would develop which could be easily stereotyped by the bigots.

 

[Midnight Pete]

I think that "gay culture" might have origins in the gay "ghettos" (like the Castro district in San Francisco, or Westheimer in Houston, Texas) where for many years safety existed for LGBT people only in the numbers provided by living in the same area. A certain amount of insularity and "culture" would develop which could be easily stereotyped by the bigots.

Sterotyped or merely detected? Why is the idea of gay culture so displeasing to gays?

Every group has its own culture.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Gays I will give some credit to, but what excuse do red heads have? You can just buy a blonde or brunette. Instead they flaunt their red hair in our faces, and try to sell red hair dye to young girls and boys. I mean, nobody in the Bible had red hair. Sort of tells you something, doesn't it. :sarcastic

Because our hair reflects the color of the devils skin. We signed a pact before birth, and a result our hair turns red. As for no one in the Bible having red hair, no one was ever supposed to realize that and be onto something like you are. That and dying your hair is such a pain.

Sterotyped or merely detected? Why is the idea of gay culture so displeasing to gays?

Because we shouldn't be defined by our sexuality. We don't define heterosexuals by their sexuality. If we did, then straight guy culture would be sports, beer, scantily clad women, and complete disregard for emotions and brains. But yet there are plenty of guys who don't like sports, who will admit they drink wine, have enough respect for women to not view them as sexual objects, and are in touch with their emotions and can use their brains before their dick. It's not like we're talking about something like the Chinese culture. They have very different backgrounds, ancestry, history, customs and traditions, and a different language. When you are in China town, you know it. Gays however share the same culture as that of the heterosexuals of that same culture.

 

[Nerthus]

No one else in my family is gay, so it can't be all that genetic.

 

[Autodidact]

Sterotyped or merely detected? Why is the idea of gay culture so displeasing to gays?

Every group has its own culture.

Well, speaking as an old school, fairly butch lesbian, I celebrate lesbian culture and heritage. From Sappho to Ellen Degeneres, Boston marriage to comfortable shoes, I embrace (almost) all of it.

 

[Smoke]

Sterotyped or merely detected? Why is the idea of gay culture so displeasing to gays?

Every group has its own culture.

Doesn't bother me, though for the most part gay culture is exactly like the general culture, only a few years earlier.

 

[Meow Mix]

Well, speaking as an old school, fairly butch lesbian, I celebrate lesbian culture and heritage. From Sappho to Ellen Degeneres, Boston marriage to comfortable shoes, I embrace (almost) all of it.

Judging from your profile I'd say you're more what Ellen called "chapstick" ;P

Which, speaking of, I think your profile pic is pretty

 

[Autodidact]

Judging from your profile I'd say you're more what Ellen called "chapstick" ;P

Which, speaking of, I think your profile pic is pretty

Uh, it's not me. I better change it. I'm oollldddd.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

No one else in my family is gay, so it can't be all that genetic.

Genetics are funny. You could not have a single blue eyed person in your family, but there are probably carriers for the genes that cause blue eyes. The same goes for many disorders that are genetically based. Such as sickle cell anemia. It's estimated (according to my psychology book) that 1 in 10 African Americans are carriers for the gene. Not that many have it though.

 

[Nerthus]

Genetics are funny. You could not have a single blue eyed person in your family, but there are probably carriers for the genes that cause blue eyes. The same goes for many disorders that are genetically based. Such as sickle cell anemia. It's estimated (according to my psychology book) that 1 in 10 African Americans are carriers for the gene. Not that many have it though.

I hope you're not saying homosexuality is a disorder!

I can't see how people can be carriers of the 'gay gene'. It isn't like having an illness, it's a personal preference.

 

[Autodidact]

Nerthus--I do think that women have various degrees of an ability to form a pair bond with another woman, that this ability can be evolutionarily beneficial, and that it is carried genetically. However, I don't think many women are purely gay, or even that many purely straight. I think of it as a lesbian capacity. I could go on and on if people are interested.

 

[Midnight Pete]

Well, speaking as an old school, fairly butch lesbian, I celebrate lesbian culture and heritage. From Sappho to Ellen Degeneres, Boston marriage to comfortable shoes, I embrace (almost) all of it.

And why shouldn't you? :rainbow1:

 

[Penumbra]

Sterotyped or merely detected? Why is the idea of gay culture so displeasing to gays?

Every group has its own culture.

Is there a heterosexual culture?

Maybe there are some homosexual cultures, but it's not like all or even most homosexuals are part of some overarching lifestyle.

Nerthus--I do think that women have various degrees of an ability to form a pair bond with another woman, that this ability can be evolutionarily beneficial, and that it is carried genetically. However, I don't think many women are purely gay, or even that many purely straight. I think of it as a lesbian capacity. I could go on and on if people are interested.

That's probably how it is. Most males seem more definitive in their orientation than most females.

 

[xkatz]

I don't think anything behavioral is "just genetic."

^This.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I hope you're not saying homosexuality is a disorder!

I can't see how people can be carriers of the 'gay gene'. It isn't like having an illness, it's a personal preference.

No. That was just an example of how people can be carriers for a gene, although they don't display the characteristics of the gene. Disorders are commonly mentioned as examples. As for a "gay gene," it's theorized that there is a gene that probably needs to just be turned on, and there are probably also some influence from the nurture side of the debate. If it is genetic, it's likely that many people are carriers but it's not an expressed trait. Or it is expressed and alot of people don't show it.
Personally I think the answer to it being genetic or environment depend on how you look at it. We know that sexual orientation isn't something you make a conscious decision about. But there are many cultures that didn't really make a clear distinction between heterosexual and homosexual, which to me implies that it's possible that our societies have put such an emphasis on sexuality that we have created these labels and made it so that people make themselves fit into one or the other. There is a saying "You're either gay, straight, or lying." People, even gays, have this mentality, even though there are plenty of men and women who are sexually attracted to both genders, some having preferences, and some not having preferences.

 

[DarkSun]

I hope you're not saying homosexuality is a disorder!

I can't see how people can be carriers of the 'gay gene'. It isn't like having an illness, it's a personal preference.

Just because something is genetically determined does not make it a disorder.

I think it's both nature and nurture. I don't think homosexuality is purely genetic nor do I think we are all slaves to our genes.

I don't think anything behavioral is "just genetic." 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.

I assume that some people could not be straight, some could not be gay, and some could be either straight or gay depending on how they are shaped by their environment.

Phenotypes can be influenced by external factors, true story.