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Is Homosexuality A Choice?

Is Homosexuality A Choice?

  • Yes

    Votes: 33 15.9%
  • No

    Votes: 136 65.7%
  • Maybe/Don't Know

    Votes: 38 18.4%

  • Total voters
    207
I don't know if it is a choice or not. I do know it's not genetic according to scientific studies. So who knows where someone's taste in partners come from.

I can say from anecdotal evidence that I have seen supposed people male and female flip flop between being bi, gay and hetero. I have also noticed it more with females by far than males. So I think it might have something to do with men and women dealing with bad or abusive relationships differently among other things. Women (it would seem) appear to be more likely to try alternative sexual partners openly than a male. Again this is anecdotal, so who knows for certain?

All I can say is equal protection under the law is too important. So I don't care if it's a choice or not.

The law doesn't have to accommodate all choices and, in fact, is designed to limit choices. You can't ride your motorcycle on a bike path even if you choose to ride motorcycles instead of bicycles. Sorry about your luck but the state doesn't want to accommodate your choice in this matter.
 
Now does this mean he was not born gay? We have no way of knowing one way or the other but it seems plausible that the events if his life may have influenced his sexual outlook perhaps even to the point of complete reversal.

Yet that's not a choice. It doesn't have to be genetic for it to not be a choice. There are many factors that can influence sexual orientation, genetics, in utero conditions, birth order, childhood experiences etc. But I don't believe there's ever been a case of someone just deciding their sexual orientation on a whim.
 
What i always notice in these polls is that gay people will all say it's not a choice and then a subset of heteros who think they know better, undoubtedly because they are homophobes, will say it is. Do we learn anything new from that?
 
The law doesn't have to accommodate all choices and, in fact, is designed to limit choices. You can't ride your motorcycle on a bike path even if you choose to ride motorcycles instead of bicycles. Sorry about your luck but the state doesn't want to accommodate your choice in this matter.

I had no choice in being black. I had no choice in being born male. I did not pick the ethnicity of my parents. The law must recognize and take into account things that are not in our control. Who we are attracted to choice or not we have very little control over. Equal protection for all under the law is not the same as riding a motorcycle on the bike path. That kind of reasoning is what allowed Jim Crow laws etc to be allowed for too long in this country.

Then to top it off you end with sorry about your luck? Wow, just wow.
 
Homosexual sex is. Homosexual orientation isn't necessarily a choice.
 
What i always notice in these polls is that gay people will all say it's not a choice and then a subset of heteros who think they know better, undoubtedly because they are homophobes, will say it is. Do we learn anything new from that?

Has nothing at all to do with being any kind of "homophobe." Nice try at demonizing with no substance. :roll:
 
What i always notice in these polls is that gay people will all say it's not a choice and then a subset of heteros who think they know better, undoubtedly because they are homophobes, will say it is. Do we learn anything new from that?
I would only agree there might be evidence to support your claim if and only if everyone who suggests it is or might be choice, also thought that choice should be limited. I count so far three of us who believe it might be choice or might not, but that even if it is a choice, it should be recognized and honored similarly to all hetero relationships. Therefore your premise fails on a grand scale.
 
I think in some cases, yes, and in many cases no. The most common type I see, in which I believe there is choice, is in women who have been in bad or dysfunctional relationships with men, then out of a need for intimacy in a relationship, turn to other women, rather than risking another mistake with a man. I tend to think this is the exception rather than the rule. With my niece, who is lesbian, there is absolutely no question in my mind that it was not a choice.

And yet there are many who don't. It seems like some people are wired for it, and some are not.

I don't believe it's a "choice" in the notion that one can go "I Choose to be homosexual" or "I choose to be straight". I do believe it can manifest itself in a person in ways other than pure genetics, ie that environmental factors can also help to usher in the feelings of attraction

Kind of the same way that a person comes by a favorite color, or a particular taste in music. It's not something you choose overtly, but it develops as a result of who you are.

Funny thing is that a lot of homosexuals have done just that, including a close relative. Seems to bear out that it is a choice.

It's called "being in the closet". That usually doesn't work out so well.
 
I don't think so. I have a similar view of alcoholism, having a volatile temper, compulsive over eating, etc.
 
All sexual behavior is choice. However, inclination, attraction, likes, dislikes - some inborn, some environmental, combo of nature and nurture.
 
I had no choice in being black. I had no choice in being born male. I did not pick the ethnicity of my parents. The law must recognize and take into account things that are not in our control. Who we are attracted to choice or not we have very little control over. Equal protection for all under the law is not the same as riding a motorcycle on the bike path. That kind of reasoning is what allowed Jim Crow laws etc to be allowed for too long in this country.

Then to top it off you end with sorry about your luck? Wow, just wow.

Who or what you are attracted to might or might not be your choice, as in preference, but the state doesn't have to approve even if it's not your choice. If you are attracted to children, relatives or animals, the state isn't obliged to accommodate your "involuntary desire" that you have little control over.
 
I'd argue that it is not a choice in the majority of cases. However, that being said, I wouldn't deny the possibility that certain individuals might take up the lifestyle purely as a matter of counter-cultural personal preference either.

After all, there are plenty of fetishes out there far stranger than same sex coupling which require no innate biological compulsion to pursue. Why would homosexuality necessarily be an exception to that rule?

Human beings can have a tendency to gravitate towards the more depraved ends of sexual spectrum with disturbing ease when left to their own devices. History has more than proven that.
 
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I never woke up one day and just decided to be gay; I just am and I voted no.
 
I do not think it is a choice - you may choose to live with it or not though. I do not believe in all the time of human evolution that humans began by choosing straight or gay; therefore, even though there is no genetic "proof", I believe you are born with it - a genetic alteration (not defect). One of life's simple purposes is to pass on genes, excluding technology man+man or woman+woman it's impossible.
 
Who or what you are attracted to might or might not be your choice, as in preference, but the state doesn't have to approve even if it's not your choice. If you are attracted to children, relatives or animals, the state isn't obliged to accommodate your "involuntary desire" that you have little control over.

I actually agree with some of that. But we are not talking about those who cannot give consent such as children. We are also not talking about incest or beastiality. That slippery slope argument has already been refuted so many times. We are talking about 2 consenting adults not committing incest. Nor any other act that could be considered illegal.
 
Funny thing is that a lot of homosexuals have done just that, including a close relative. Seems to bear out that it is a choice.
It's called "being in the closet". That usually doesn't work out so well.

Not necessarily, many, many pre-teens and young teens naturally "experiment" even though they know and grow up to be straight. It's a natural process of puberty and realizing sexuality.
 
There has been considerable research with monozygotic (identical, same DNA) twin databases, and no correlation exists.

What are you talking about? If an identical twin is gay then there is a 50% chance that the other twin will be gay. That is astronomically higher than for fraternal twins and the general public. Obviously it isn't purely genetic, but virtually everyone now agrees that genetics do play a role. Where did you get your information?
 
This isn't about whether one is for or against gay marriage.....

Simply vote and discuss whether you believe that homosexuals have a choice in the matter, or were simply born that way, with no choice whatsoever.

Please be courteous - thanks in advance.

I think for some people it is.
 
I'd argue that it is not a choice in the majority of cases. However, that being said, I wouldn't deny the possibility that certain individuals might take up the lifestyle purely as a matter of counter-cultural personal preference either.

After all, there are plenty of fetishes out there far stranger than same sex coupling which require no innate biological compulsion to pursue. Why would homosexuality necessarily be an exception to that rule?

Human beings can have a tendency to gravitate towards the more depraved ends of sexual spectrum with disturbing ease when left to their own devices. History has more than proven that.

Hmm, good point. I've never thought/heard about possible fetish connection. I'd say that is plausible.
 
This isn't about whether one is for or against gay marriage.....

Simply vote and discuss whether you believe that homosexuals have a choice in the matter, or were simply born that way, with no choice whatsoever.

Please be courteous - thanks in advance.

Hasn't this been discussed like 100 times?
 
I actually agree with some of that. But we are not talking about those who cannot give consent such as children. We are also not talking about incest or beastiality. That slippery slope argument has already been refuted so many times. We are talking about 2 consenting adults not committing incest. Nor any other act that could be considered illegal.

Of course but the argument that the government must accommodate you if you can't help what you are attracted to is blown by the fact we all agree it doesn't in the case of bestiality, incest, etc.
 
This isn't about whether one is for or against gay marriage.....

Simply vote and discuss whether you believe that homosexuals have a choice in the matter, or were simply born that way, with no choice whatsoever.

Please be courteous - thanks in advance.

There is no rational reason to think it's a choice.
 
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