Homosexuality
- Thread starter Sam4Life
- Start date
Neither really. You’re born with no sexuality; it hasn’t developed yet. But it’s not a choice either. When gay people realize their sexuality, that’s just who they are. We can’t control it. It’s like how a straight person doesn’t choose to be straight.
Based on the theory of evolution, and the fact that homosexuals don't reproduce, it would seem that homosexuality should not have a genetic basis. However, evolution does not rule out some other survival mechanisms for homosexuality such as bisexuality. And since bisexuality is not a socially accepted practice in many societies today, a fraction of these bisexuals may choose to become homosexuals.
Proving rigorously that homosexuality has a significant genetic basis is very hard. The burden of proof is on those who wish to claim that it is genetic. Most of the studies on a genetic basis (of anything) are not randomized controlled trials (RCT). They are observational studies that simply look for correlations. Such studies are a much weaker form of evidence than RCTs. Moreover, correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Since homosexuality is a politically sensitive issue, journals tend to favor studies that reach a 'politically correct conclusion. In other words, if you submit a paper for publication, it is more likely to get accepted if your conclusion is politically correct.
For over a hundred years, most scientists were convinced, based on numerous observational (and politically correct) studies, that whites had a genetically higher IQ than blacks. But when the political winds changed, the "scientific consensus" of the published literature also changed. Thus, it may be difficult to get a scientifically rigorous answer to a politically sensitive question from published literature alone.
Proving rigorously that homosexuality has a significant genetic basis is very hard. The burden of proof is on those who wish to claim that it is genetic. Most of the studies on a genetic basis (of anything) are not randomized controlled trials (RCT). They are observational studies that simply look for correlations. Such studies are a much weaker form of evidence than RCTs. Moreover, correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Since homosexuality is a politically sensitive issue, journals tend to favor studies that reach a 'politically correct conclusion. In other words, if you submit a paper for publication, it is more likely to get accepted if your conclusion is politically correct.
For over a hundred years, most scientists were convinced, based on numerous observational (and politically correct) studies, that whites had a genetically higher IQ than blacks. But when the political winds changed, the "scientific consensus" of the published literature also changed. Thus, it may be difficult to get a scientifically rigorous answer to a politically sensitive question from published literature alone.
The extent to which homosexuality is genetic is unknown. If it does stem from a genetic cause, then it’s likely a complicated cause. Notably, it’s plausible that male homosexuality is not just genetic but epigenetic. There’s a higher statistical probability that men with more older brothers will be gay. It may be that there are very common genes that influence sexual orientation, and how they get switched on and off may be influenced by conditions at conception. But, of course, it’s not an overwhelmingly strong correlation, so there are surely more factors in play.
There’s a word for people who can choose to be either gay or straight. The word for that is “bisexual”.
Even the way I just said it, that’s a lie. Bisexual people can’t really “choose to be either gay or straight”, because it’s not really a choice who you fall in love with, it just sort of happens once you meet the right person. But bisexual people can choose to seek out either gay or straight relationships, in good conscience, because they know they actually have fair odds of finding someone of either gender that they like, and so they do have at least a little bit of choice involved.
But most people? Most people are not really bisexual. Most straight guys are not really secretly bisexual. Most gay guys are not really secretly bisexual. I’ve heard that it’s a little more fluid for women, but I’d bet good money on the idea that if you added up all the men who are not really bisexual, and all the women who are not really bisexual, you’d get a number where on the whole most people are not bisexual.
If you are the kind of person who actually has a choice, congratulations. That makes you at least a little bit bisexual.
But I am not even a little bit bisexual. Neither is my husband. We didn’t choose to be gay. We didn’t choose to fall in love. We just did. And now we’re together, and we both hope to be together forever.
There are probably some bisexual men and women out there who have chosen to seek a partner of their own gender, for reasons. But that doesn’t go for most of us.
When I hear people ask whether (or assert that) gay people “choose” to be gay, it just makes me assume that that person must themselves be so bisexual that they actually don’t understand what it’s like to be just plain straight or just plain gay, and to only be attracted to people of one gender.
Even the way I just said it, that’s a lie. Bisexual people can’t really “choose to be either gay or straight”, because it’s not really a choice who you fall in love with, it just sort of happens once you meet the right person. But bisexual people can choose to seek out either gay or straight relationships, in good conscience, because they know they actually have fair odds of finding someone of either gender that they like, and so they do have at least a little bit of choice involved.
But most people? Most people are not really bisexual. Most straight guys are not really secretly bisexual. Most gay guys are not really secretly bisexual. I’ve heard that it’s a little more fluid for women, but I’d bet good money on the idea that if you added up all the men who are not really bisexual, and all the women who are not really bisexual, you’d get a number where on the whole most people are not bisexual.
If you are the kind of person who actually has a choice, congratulations. That makes you at least a little bit bisexual.
But I am not even a little bit bisexual. Neither is my husband. We didn’t choose to be gay. We didn’t choose to fall in love. We just did. And now we’re together, and we both hope to be together forever.
There are probably some bisexual men and women out there who have chosen to seek a partner of their own gender, for reasons. But that doesn’t go for most of us.
When I hear people ask whether (or assert that) gay people “choose” to be gay, it just makes me assume that that person must themselves be so bisexual that they actually don’t understand what it’s like to be just plain straight or just plain gay, and to only be attracted to people of one gender.
