Is homosexuality a genetic or cultural phenomenon?

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naturalplastic
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22 Jan 2011, 10:38 pm

pandabear wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
Question: Is homosexuality a genetic or cultural phenomenon?
Answer: Yes.

ruveyn


Well, some people have claimed a potential dietary link. A lot of our food is soy based, especially infant formula. Plus, our food animals are fattened with soybeans.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53327


So why is there overpopulation in China?
Theyve subsisted on soy for millennia and it hasnt made a dent in their heterosexual reproductive talents.



Vigilans
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22 Jan 2011, 10:46 pm

Perhaps only people who eat those tofu hot dogs become homosexual? Tofu is made of soy, and I have empirically proven in this thread that hot dogs lead to homosexuality



Vexcalibur
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22 Jan 2011, 11:21 pm

does it matter?

Even if it was a choice, then what argument could we pull to make free adults unable to choose what sex to like? Or who to marry?


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23 Jan 2011, 1:06 am

I am 40 years old now and have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as gay or straight. They are concepts that our civilised world has come to rely on. I would say most people can be swayed either way. I would say human, and animal, sexuality is a dynamic thing that each person learns during life. Never say never etc. Anyone who thinks it is an absolute is severely misguided.



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23 Jan 2011, 1:11 am

marshall wrote:
Pistonhead wrote:
Seriously you think the greeks weren't into gay sex? Look at their art damn it, loads of examples of dudes touching each other and worse. Very obviously people felt like immortalizing those acts, most of which probably either were VERY experienced or had admired watching it at the very least.

No doubt some were. I'm just saying that the relationship didn't have to be full blown sexual. There are degrees of homo-eroticism.


I saw a documentary once about homosexuality in ancient greece. They concluded by saying the Greeks encouraged it amongst their soldiers. The thinking being that only if two men loved eachother would they fight to the death for eachother.



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24 Jan 2011, 6:52 pm

Salonfilosoof wrote:
That's precisely my point. IMO most people are born bisexually with a strong preference towards their own gender for friendship and a strong preference towards the other gender for sex. In a traditional culture, hese preferences are cultivated and people who deviate from the norm adapt to these preferences due to social instincts like peer pressure. In the post-modern West, however, people are actually stimulated to question their sexuality. This, in combination with whatever positive experiences people may have had with other people of the same gender, whatever negative experiences people may have had with other people of the other gender and unusual parenting situation are in my opinion the causes of people labeling themselves as homosexual or bisexual.


My own view is slightly different. I believe that sexuality is strongly centred in the hypothalmus, which is a structure that exhibits sexual dimorphism (it is anatomically different in males and females). There are a number of physiological studies that demonstrate divergent anatomical characteristics and physiological reactions in self-identified homosexual and heterosexual men and women.

I suggest that the liberalism of western culture does not encourage people to question their sexuality, but, rather, does not force people into denying their sexuality. Consider two teenagers whose developing attraction is exclusively towards members of the same sex. One teenager in a liberal culture, where gay and lesbian role models are visible will be able to look to the adults in the community and say, "that is me." The teenager in the repressive culture lacks the model in the community that validates the sexuality that is developing.

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However, feel free to tell your story. If possible, please explain to me where you think I may be wrong and why you think that way. I'm genuinely interested in your position as in spite of my experiences with lesbian women I haven't met anyone who labels himself or herself as bisexual.


Thank you for asking such an open textured question.

For my part, I self-identify as gay, and have done since the age of 12. There was never a point at which I was in any doubt about my sexual orientation. Peer pressure and social pressure strongly incentivized a heterosexual orientation. My life would have been considerably easier had I been straight. But all that this incentive managed to do was to cause me to stay "in the closet" as a teen. There was never any doubt that my sexual attraction was exclusively oriented towards men. I may have been unhappy about it--but I was in no doubt about it.


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