• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

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
joG said:
I have looked at a good number of studies on this topic that seem to prove the hypothesis you want. One statistic I saw that tends to make me think the no choice assumption might be right, is that the distribution of homosexuals (male) in different societies and cultures around the world is relativly constant.
But to be honest, that is not a really strong argument.
Click to expand...

The strongest argument is that homosexuality is very common in the animal kingdom. Animals are much more driven by instinct and less by rational decision making.

This suggests they likely are just following their instincts and basic urgers, not making a decision to be different.
 
Ryan5 said:
It is a choice but it doesn't seem so because it's a manifestation of a cultural mental imbalance in the individual so they will never see it as being the flawed perception it is, they will always try to justify it as biological.



Such is why you see such heated posts by gays. Subconsciously they know it's a choice but they could never admit that or they'd essentially be confessing that it's actually simply the equivalent to a child playing pirate. It is possible to choose not to as evidenced by 'bisexual' people. At least that group admits it's a choice openly so.
Click to expand...

Actually, we see some of the most heated posts by anti-gays, people who vigorously state that homosexuality is a choice. Subconsciously they know it is not, but they could never admit that since they'd be essentially confessing that their bias has no rational basis and their stereotyping borders in bigotry.

Notice. Your post is what happens when you don't consider both sides of a closed-minded argument. MY post demonstrates that neatly.

I will say what I always say on this matter. Current research tends to demonstrate that all sexual orientation (homosexuality, bisexuality, AND heterosexuality) is caused by a combination of factors, including genetics, biology, biochemistry/hormones, and environmental factors.
 
Nightrider said:
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.
Click to expand...

All I can relate is my own personal experience.

All my life I have been with women. However, there are times I find certain men to be very attractive. To the point where I could imagine myself being with them. However, I never feel quite motivated to do it beyond that simple "hrm, I wonder if ..." Then months may go by before I think about it again, all the while I see all sorts of very attractive women. So the ratio is probably 99>1 or something like that.

So at least in my case, there is some curiosity and potential.

How common that is? No idea. I understand that sort of thing is more common in women then in men.
 
Rocketman said:
A bull that can't fetilize the cows because it is attracted to other bulls is defective, most people realize this
Click to expand...

As usual, your post indicates your inability to understand the definition between sexual behavior and sexual orientation. A bull who DOESN'T fertilize cows because it is attracted to other bulls is not defective since he still CAN fertilize the cows.
 
Rocketman said:
not on private farms, it is a defect in bumans and animals, it has been proven over and over and has nothing to do with pc or opinion
Click to expand...

Actually, it has been proven over and over to not be a defect. In fact, I did it in ONE POST, in this thread.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
The strongest argument is that homosexuality is very common in the animal kingdom. Animals are much more driven by instinct and less by rational decision making.

This suggests they likely are just following their instincts and basic urgers, not making a decision to be different.
Click to expand...

There is that. Of course it is the same basic argument as the statistical constant. Both would seem to point to genetics.
 
Ryan5 said:
It is a choice but it doesn't seem so because it's a manifestation of a cultural mental imbalance in the individual so they will never see it as being the flawed perception it is, they will always try to justify it as biological.

Such is why you see such heated posts by gays. Subconsciously they know it's a choice but they could never admit that or they'd essentially be confessing that it's actually simply the equivalent to a child playing pirate. It is possible to choose not to as evidenced by 'bisexual' people. At least that group admits it's a choice openly so.
Click to expand...

Flawed premise. Bi-sexual people are not choosing to be straight or gay. They have an orientation to both simultaneously. For them to choose a partner between a man and a woman is really no different from a straight male choosing between two women or a straight woman choosing between two men.

FreedomFromAll said:
Nice opinion but I dont but that 100% of all homosexuals live that lifestyle against their choice. In case you missed it, I have been asserted that there exists a small percentage of people that can chose their sexual orientation. There exists that thing called fluid sexuality, where the person (usually biologically female) can jump back and forth between heterosexuality and homosexuality. Some though have no real choice and switch back and forth against their choice but do so by their choice. To ignore that these people exist is not very nice and doesnt make them feel to good about it either.
Click to expand...

From the context I wonder if you are confusing the issue with gender fluidity or just paralleling the concept to this. I've never heard of such in regards to sexual orientation, although admittedly, that is indeed what we are talking about. I am assuming that you are seperating this out from bi-sexuality insofar as bi-sexuals are attracted to both genders simultaneously, and sexual fluids, when they make their choice are "locked" towards the one until they change it again?

The bolded line contradicts itself. If there is no choice then one can't choose, not even choosing not to choose. Could you possibly mean that it's not a conscious choice?

Ryan5 said:
They are merely culturally imbalanced organisms that through neo modern consumer cultures that lack any clear values these organisms became mentally and emotionally cultural imbalanced. Instead of following the biological coding of nature to biologically progress on the path to create another organism, these particular organisms became culturally confused through 'Bright Lights' (consumer culture). The story of the night bugs flying into the bug zapper. That is not their natural progression but they still became confused and flew into the zapper. The same is true of humans who label themselves gay, bisexual or whatever. Their signals in their upbringing somehow led them to choose destruction over progression. Nature doesn't spawn organisms with instincts to end their genetic lines. This is how you know it is a choice and not biological. Biology does not code a species to fly into the bug zapper. That is mere confusion.
Click to expand...

Distinguish destruction vs progression please. If by "progression", you mean "reproduction" then tie that in with a comparison of homosexuals vs heterosexuals who choose not to reproduce. Then please follow that up with the comparison of those bi- and homosexuals who do choose to reproduce. And just to cover the bases, show where asexuals fall on your destruction/progression idea.
 
CaptainCourtesy said:
As usual, your post indicates your inability to understand the definition between sexual behavior and sexual orientation. A bull who DOESN'T fertilize cows because it is attracted to other bulls is not defective since he still CAN fertilize the cows.
Click to expand...

SInce he doesn't he becomes a loser, which might explain homosexuality in people. Are they society's losers?
 
Rocketman said:
SInce he doesn't he becomes a loser, which might explain homosexuality in people. Are they society's losers?
Click to expand...

based on what fact?
 
Rocketman said:
re read the whole conversation, I am not here to teach
Click to expand...

You assume that the bull is there for breeding. If he becomes grade A stake that's a winner right there. When you figure in only breeding ability/desire as your only criteria for "winner/loser" you've already lost.
 
read it already, thats what i thought, ZERO "facts" LMAO
 
maquiscat said:
From the context I wonder if you are confusing the issue with gender fluidity or just paralleling the concept to this. I've never heard of such in regards to sexual orientation, although admittedly, that is indeed what we are talking about. I am assuming that you are seperating this out from bi-sexuality insofar as bi-sexuals are attracted to both genders simultaneously, and sexual fluids, when they make their choice are "locked" towards the one until they change it again?

The bolded line contradicts itself. If there is no choice then one can't choose, not even choosing not to choose. Could you possibly mean that it's not a conscious choice?
Click to expand...
The bolded sentence does not contradict itself. I said basically some people have no choice. In that situation that I was talking about some peoples orientation involuntarily switches. As opposed to those that do it voluntarily.

And no Im not mixing anything up.


WHat I keep hearing from homosexuals and heterosexuals is that you have to be born on or the other. Then they remember bisexuals and insist that they had to be born that way too.

What exactly would be wrong with a heterosexual deciding to be homosexual? I ask this question to anyone really not just you. I have a friend that says thats exactly what he did. He claims to have not been born gay or anything of the sorts, just that he thought it would be fun. And says that he likes it more than being straight. Personally I dont really care if someone is born gay or not born its their life they can do whatever they want. I would never tell someone what they could or could not do based on what? what are these people basing their claim on that its impossible to decided ones one sexual orientation?

Sexual Orientation: Is It Unchangeable? | Psychology Today

So, what does this all mean? Is sexual orientation fluid and/or changeable? Or are some gay and lesbian people really closeted bisexuals? A long time ago, Kinsey told us that bisexuality is much more prevalent than we think. However, we live in a society in which many people (including self-identifying gays and lesbians) don't quite believe in bisexuality. Maybe Anne Heche and some of the respondents in my study are being pressured to "pick one sex, dammit, and stick with it!" Is that what's happening?

Does it really matter?

If we truly believe that it is acceptable to have sexual and romantic relationships with the same sex, then it shouldn't matter whether or not sexual orientation is changeable. If it is really OK, we should be as accepting of a person who has a relationship with a man and then a woman as we would of someone who usually eats vanilla ice cream and then decides to start eating pistachio. So what? Sex between two consenting adults, like eating ice cream, should be about pleasure, personal preferences, or expressions of love and affection, not about social rules and definitions. However, in order to support the people in our lives who are struggling with their sexual orientations, we must reluctantly leave Utopia and remember that we live in a world that puts limits on people's sexual inclinations and punishes those who don't follow the rules. People of all sexual orientations (even those who don't claim one) need to find ways to live in a world that stigmatizes same-sex attractions and relationships, and those of us called upon to support and assist these people need to understand this if we are to be helpful.

Its funny really the homosexual community used to always complain about heteros being so closed minded. Now they seem to be asserting that all I can do is believe that everone is stuck with the sexual orientation that they were born with, sounds a bit closed minded to me.
 
Rocketman said:
SInce he doesn't he becomes a loser, which might explain homosexuality in people. Are they society's losers?
Click to expand...

This is nothing but your own personal value judgment, an opinion that has absolutely no merit when discussing facts, which is what we are. Here's another distinction that you don't seem to understand: demonstrate for us the difference between a fact and an opinion. The reason that I ask is that all you seem to do is post non-factual opinions, when those who oppose your position only seem to post facts. Perhaps this occurs because you don't really know the difference.
 
Rocketman said:
re read the whole conversation, I am not here to teach
Click to expand...

You'd have to have knowledge on this topic to teach. You don't, as proven by this and many other threads, so you can't.
 
FreedomFromAll said:
The bolded sentence does not contradict itself. I said basically some people have no choice. In that situation that I was talking about some peoples orientation involuntarily switches. As opposed to those that do it voluntarily.
Click to expand...

Let's look again at what you said:
FreedomFromAll said:
Some though have no real choice and switch back and forth against their choice but do so by their choice.
Click to expand...

When you added that "but" in there you indicated that the subjected in the line, those what have no choice, are doing so by their choice. Did you possibly mean to write "...but others do so by their own choice."?


WHat I keep hearing from homosexuals and heterosexuals is that you have to be born on or the other. Then they remember bisexuals and insist that they had to be born that way too.
Click to expand...

I see no contradiction to the concept that there are 4 basic ways to be born sexual orientation wise: Heterosexual, Bi-sexual, Homosexual, and Asexual

What exactly would be wrong with a heterosexual deciding to be homosexual? I ask this question to anyone really not just you. I have a friend that says thats exactly what he did. He claims to have not been born gay or anything of the sorts, just that he thought it would be fun. And says that he likes it more than being straight. Personally I dont really care if someone is born gay or not born its their life they can do whatever they want. I would never tell someone what they could or could not do based on what? what are these people basing their claim on that its impossible to decided ones one sexual orientation?

Sexual Orientation: Is It Unchangeable? | Psychology Today
Click to expand...

I agree with you that if indeed you are one of those who can change your orientation then fine by all means do so. But that doesn't mean that all can, any more than it means that none can choose. The issue is not in whether or not any given individual can choose, but in that those who would suppress homosexuality and bi-sexuality claim that all can choose and thus should not be allowed to choose.

Its funny really the homosexual community used to always complain about heteros being so closed minded. Now they seem to be asserting that all I can do is believe that everone is stuck with the sexual orientation that they were born with, sounds a bit closed minded to me.
Click to expand...

This is a problem point with me as well. I find it so sad and ironic that there are those in the homosexual community cannot accept the very existence of the bi-sexual community. But do not paint the homosexual community with that broad brush. For if indeed they all felt that way there would not be a LBGT movement. Although for the life of me I still don't see how the T fits in with the LBG save that they face many similar problems.
 
I voted maybe/don't know, because - as the question is phrased - the two other answers are almost certainly wrong. Most homosexuals are probably people who are inherently drawn to people of the same sex, just as most heterosexuals are probably inherently drawn to people of the opposite sex. But considering that some people change over time, some qualify themselves are bisexual, etc. it is clearthat some people are also homosexual by choice.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
There's no poll.

But no, homosexuality isn't a choice. Gays can't just flip over to the other side anymore than a straight person can make himself gay.
Click to expand...

Sometimes I think it is, especially in young people. Being gay and/or bi-sexual has become the new Mohawk.
 
Additionally, I would argue that the current obsession with homosexuality is nothing short of ludicrous.
 
USNavySquid said:
I don't believe that someone could like gay sex without being attracted to men. At the least, someone would find sex with men pleasurable and seek men out to achieve that pleasure. Is that not attraction? I don't have any studies that support the idea that homosexuality is a choice. I do have studies that say that the cause of orientation is not definitively known. I'm arguing what I believe, as I said before. If the APA ever says that homosexuality is not a choice, that will go a long way towards persuading me. I favor the APA because it presents an aggregate view, as opposed to a study here or a study there. Still, individual studies do indeed represent a small sliver of reality, provided they are valid and replicated.

If homosexuality is not a choice, then no one has ever made the choice to be homosexual. -That's hard to prove, in my opinion.

Here's what i have:
American Psychological Association. (2008). Answers to your questions: For a better
understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/sorientation.pdf

Frankowski, B. L. (2004). Sexual orientation and adolescents. Pediatrics, 113(6), 1827-1832.
Retrieved from Sexual Orientation and Adolescents

Johnson, R. D. (2003). Homosexuality: Nature or nurture. AllPsych Journal. Retrieved from
Homosexuality: Nature or Nurture in AllPsych Journal
Click to expand...

Who gives a ****? It doesn't matter why there are homosexuals, just that there are and they're human too. That's it, mind your own business.
 
Ikari said:
Who gives a ****? It doesn't matter why there are homosexuals, just that there are and they're human too. That's it, mind your own business.
Click to expand...

Face it, as humans, we need to know the why of everything. It's part of our collective nature.
 
maquiscat said:
Face it, as humans, we need to know the why of everything. It's part of our collective nature.
Click to expand...

Why for important things like math or science or philosophy, not to make bigoted distinctions between other humans. I mean, I know we do it a lot, but we don't need to. There's no purpose to asking "why" in this case, human is human.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom