Are People Born Gay?

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The Argument:

The American Psychiatric Association wrote:

No one knows what causes heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality. Homosexuality was once thought to be the result of troubled family dynamics or faulty psychological development. Those assumptions are now understood to have been based on misinformation and prejudice. Currently there is a renewed interest in searching for biological etiologies for homosexuality. However, to date there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological etiology for homosexuality. Similarly, no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse. Sexual abuse does not appear to be more prevalent in children who grow up to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, than in children who identify as heterosexual.

Errr. I guess (:

Last time i checked.. there is no 'gay' gene (:

Taylor123123 wrote:

Last time i checked.. there is no 'gay' gene (:

there is no gene, but it is thought to be more psychologic then genetic. There is no genetic disposition to homosexuality, but there are possible explainations. Psychologic pre-disposition it the most likely of answers. it is predetermined based on mental development, and is reinforced by the nurturing process. this is shown in self-hating homosexuals that refuse their lifestyle so much that they bash and join hate groups to further reject their true selves.

having a genetic predisposition is greatly unlikely. it is either a choice, which is possible, or a mental disposition to homosexuality. Genetics is complicated, but sexual preference is not a physically defining feature, it is a sexual one, and sexuality is purely mental, nothing more.

~Souleater~ wrote:

there is no gene, but it is thought to be more psychologic then genetic. There is no genetic disposition to homosexuality, but there are possible explainations. Psychologic pre-disposition it the most likely of answers. it is predetermined based on mental development, and is reinforced by the nurturing process. this is shown in self-hating homosexuals that refuse their lifestyle so much that they bash and join hate groups to further reject their true selves.

having a genetic predisposition is greatly unlikely. it is either a choice, which is possible, or a mental disposition to homosexuality. Genetics is complicated, but sexual preference is not a physically defining feature, it is a sexual one, and sexuality is purely mental, nothing more.

You hold a good argument.
I think it's true, you don't learn to be
attracted to someone do you?

Well... I think guys just become gays because Just as Domo said guys get attracted by their same sex and the just do gay stuff

There is a lot of evidence that points to the fact that homosexuality develops prenatally. I discovered this a few years ago when doing research for an argument against some fundamentalist Christian. However, just last semester when I was taking my Human Sexuality course in college, they actually taught in an up-to-date textbook that it is a prenatal development issue.

So, yes, you're born gay. No ifs, ands, or buts. There's a plethora of evidence (and I mean a lot) to support it. I, once, had a huge compilation of sources for it, but too lazy to recompile the list. It ranges from sexuality trends among families, studies of parents, mental evaluations, etc., etc. What happens is, when the mother is pregnant, the fetus is exposed to too high a level of estrogen. The brain is largely developed by hormone exposure. The genitals are supposed to be the source of said hormones, causing the brain to develop similarly to the body. However, the mother also exposes the child to her own hormones. If her hormone levels are too great, the brain of the child will develop as if it's female (the sex of the mother). This is why homosexuality is much more abundant in males than females (10 times more likely, or something like that; since the mother's estrogen is to blame). Not sure about homosexual females, but it's most likely due to the mother producing too much testosterone (less common; thus less likely for females to be homosexual; and yes, both men and women produce both sex hormones - the question is just how much of it).

/educated

GAMEchief wrote:

There is a lot of evidence that points to the fact that homosexuality develops prenatally. I discovered this a few years ago when doing research for an argument against some fundamentalist Christian. However, just last semester when I was taking my Human Sexuality course in college, they actually taught in an up-to-date textbook that it is a prenatal development issue.

So, yes, you're born gay. No ifs, ands, or buts. There's a plethora of evidence (and I mean a lot) to support it. I, once, had a huge compilation of sources for it, but too lazy to recompile the list. It ranges from sexuality trends among families, studies of parents, mental evaluations, etc., etc. What happens is, when the mother is pregnant, the fetus is exposed to too high a level of estrogen. The brain is largely developed by hormone exposure. The genitals are supposed to be the source of said hormones, causing the brain to develop similarly to the body. However, the mother also exposes the child to her own hormones. If her hormone levels are too great, the brain of the child will develop as if it's female (the sex of the mother). This is why homosexuality is much more abundant in males than females (10 times more likely, or something like that; since the mother's estrogen is to blame). Not sure about homosexual females, but it's most likely due to the mother producing too much testosterone (less common; thus less likely for females to be homosexual; and yes, both men and women produce both sex hormones - the question is just how much of it).

/educated

To further discussion, what would you say about people who are "ex-gay"

Repression. You can repress anything, especially if you think it will harm you - i.e. you'll go to Hell if you're gay. You can repress your gender, identity, and anything about you that you don't like. At the same time, homosexuality is a gray area. The more estrogen, the more homosexual. It can be very likely that the person is bisexual, making it extremely easy to repress the same-sex attraction by simply focusing on the opposite sex. This is why there is an epidemic of suicides at "straight camps." You can teach the kids with minor opposite-sex attraction to repress homosexuality, but it's much more difficult (but not impossible) to teach a full-blown homosexual. They're likely to, and have been shown to, kill themselves - they believe themselves disgraces to life, God, etc., and are unable to change. No one has ever killed themselves over switching to vegetarianism. Nor over switching to solar power, diet foods, fur-free clothing, or which video game console they bought. These are choices. If someone feels like the only way they can stop being homosexual is to kill themselves, you need to seriously reconsider what it means to be a homosexual.

No one is born gay its not a gene thing either its just some people can be attracted by same sex.

I do think people are born gay, there is just too much evidence that says so, like the research with the lab rats I mentioned in another thread. I personally think people are born gay because it helps cut down on population.

People can believe what they want to believe (BarBie GIRL!) about homosexuallity but i think its neither a choice or a gene screw up it just happens

I believe what Game has stated is to be true. It makes perfect logical sense and it is quite possibly true. As Game stated its about the hormones and the levels. So in a sense the baby is born "gay". Now symptoms of homosexuality may not appear till a later age but they will always have that high exposure to the female hormone. Its not a gene, its not a life style choice. Its the hormones you were exposed to as a baby.

.l.-_-.l. wrote:

People can believe what they want to believe (BarBie GIRL!) about homosexuallity but i think its neither a choice or a gene screw up it just happens

Because of magic, right? Being born gay does not mean genetic. Read my posts on the previous page before commenting, please.

GAMEchief wrote:

There is a lot of evidence that points to the fact that homosexuality develops prenatally. I discovered this a few years ago when doing research for an argument against some fundamentalist Christian. However, just last semester when I was taking my Human Sexuality course in college, they actually taught in an up-to-date textbook that it is a prenatal development issue.

So, yes, you're born gay. No ifs, ands, or buts. There's a plethora of evidence (and I mean a lot) to support it. I, once, had a huge compilation of sources for it, but too lazy to recompile the list. It ranges from sexuality trends among families, studies of parents, mental evaluations, etc., etc. What happens is, when the mother is pregnant, the fetus is exposed to too high a level of estrogen. The brain is largely developed by hormone exposure. The genitals are supposed to be the source of said hormones, causing the brain to develop similarly to the body. However, the mother also exposes the child to her own hormones. If her hormone levels are too great, the brain of the child will develop as if it's female (the sex of the mother). This is why homosexuality is much more abundant in males than females (10 times more likely, or something like that; since the mother's estrogen is to blame). Not sure about homosexual females, but it's most likely due to the mother producing too much testosterone (less common; thus less likely for females to be homosexual; and yes, both men and women produce both sex hormones - the question is just how much of it).

/educated

This.
Also to add to it. I'm sure I've said this a dozen times now, homosexuality is documented in many other animals as form of natural birth control to help limit population in already strained environments. Humans are already well beyond our acceptable level of population. Its only a matter of time till we crash and millions die. But before that there will be a raise in homosexuality.
Also there is some crazy percent(over 60%) of all male will orgasm to homosexual stimulation once in their life. I don't know the stats for women.

There is no deciding to be gay. No one wakes up and decides to to make sexuality/life more complicated by being attracted to the same sex.