Is homosexuality a genetic or cultural phenomenon?

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I was having a discussion about this topic in another thread and figured it's interesting enough to have its own thread.






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Yes it is a choice. I choose to be with a woman because I find women more attractive and because sex with a woman is far more appealing to me, however considering I feel far more comfortable in the company of men than the company of women I could have made a different choice as well.



I've actually met quite a few lesbians in my life. This includes my first girlfriend, one of my best friends whom I've had a "one-day-stand" with and a few others. I'm a man, by the way...

My first girlfriend had something of a tomboy appearance but you wouldn't really say she was gay. She'd had a few boyfriends before me and had never really been with a man. After she broke up with me she fell in love with a guy who was her best friend as a child and he turned out to be gay. Somehow this made her think and conclude she was gay as well, although several years and several ex-girlfriends later she nevertheless managed to hook up with some loser she got a child with. Not they've broken up as well and she's officially lesbian again.

The best friend I was talking about mentioned a few times that she was sexually abused by a guy. She's been with a few guys and a lot of girls and told me she just uses men for pleasure but she can only fall in love with a woman. When I asked her how she found out she was gay she pointed out that she never had really fallen in love with a guy but never really questioned that until she learned about the concept of lesbianism. She then started wondering whether she might be lesbian and her tomboy appearance and somewhat boyish attitude confirmed her that she was indeed lesbian. I really wonder whether she might not be confusing her own discomfort around men as a consequence of sexual abuse and in contrast her comfort around women with lesbianism.

Then there's the girl who introduced me to my first girlfriend. When I met her, she was still heterosexual. When she broke up with her last boyfriend, she pointed out that all men were poor in bed and that she was curious to "try" a woman. Ever since then she has (to my knowledge) only had female partners and she is now officially gay.

These are but a few examples of the many lesbians I met in my life and none made my convinced that either of them were born as lesbians. In the cases when I know their personal history, I in fact have quite a lot of reasons to believe that it's at least partially because of Western culture promoting homosexuality that they are now lesbians. Now, I haven't met many male homosexuals but I do know at least one case where his homosexuality seems to have originated from bad experiences with women.



I suppose you're referring to the Kinsey Reports and later studies inspired by them, but those are as pseudo-scientific as Freud's psychoanalysis and strongly biased by the "gay rights" agenda.



First of all, gay couples often include one individual with strong feminine traits and one individual with strong masculine traits, each taking the gender role these traits belong to. You can't just say that homosexual men tend to be more feminine and lesbians tend to be more masculine. This simply isn't the case when looking at the phenomenon at large.

Further, the masculinisation of women and the feminisation of men is also a largely cultural phenomenon.

It's not cultural, but I cannot say if it's genetic or not.

I was born and raised in a highly religious environment. I was taught very early on that homosexuality was wrong and sinful. Guess what?

I knew I wasn't straight in KINDERGARTEN.

Fill us in, please. What made you think you weren't straight at that age and how did you even realise that not being straight was an option? I'm not saying you're talking BS here, but I'm just curious about the details because people have quite a strong tendency to fool themselves and understanding the details would make it easier to figure out if this could have been the case here or not.

Are you really interested in learning, or are you going to wait until I tell my story and then conclude I'm lying to myself?

I need to know this because if it's the latter, I won't waste my time with my long story.

It was only a choice if you felt equal sexual attraction for men. Otherwise, this is just an illusion of choice.

@Salonfilosoof 

That's interesting,  and your theory does seem plausible,  for some,  at least.  But how would you fit gay men into that picture? It seems that there is a stronger case there for a biological argument.  It's as if it's a different phenomenon.  Women seem less 'focused' orientation-wise,  generally, whereas gay men seem about as rigid as straight men.

Finding women to be more attractive comes naturally to you. Therefore, you choose to be with women. The same applies to homosexuals. One could choose to indulge in or abstain from sexual activity, but people generally do not choose whom they are attracted to.

I'm genuinely interested in learning about it and I'm sure that there are others reading this thread who're interested in your story as well. Anyway, I can't predict my reaction to your story since I don't know anything about you or it besides what you just told me in your previous post but I promise to keep an open mind.

I'm repulsed by the typical female mind just like I'm repulsed by the idea of having sex with a man. On the other hand, I'm not repulsed by the male body itself although I do find women more attractive and more pleasing to look at. It's not really as black and write as you make it seem it is.

In your last post, that's kinda my view too.

Exposure to a lot of hardcore porn can decrease a man's sensitivity to his normal instinct of repulsion with regards to the idea of having sex with a man. Then there's the fact that men usually get along better with other men. Add that to the fact that men growing up with a very dominant mother, especially without a male role model present, tend to become more effeminised and in need for a male role model. These seem plausible reasons for why men can and do turn gay, although I have to admit the issue seems more complex than it is for lesbians.

I think it could be a bit of both

In that case, I will come back and explain. Right now, though, I have to take my kids to the park. lol

Just one more thing before going...

Sexual orientation is fluid and there is no clear line drawn anywhere. Especially for those that fall under the umbrella of bisexual like I do.

One cannot assume sex is the only thing that has to do with attraction, because it's not. Not by a long shot.

Clearly the real reason is all the phallic shaped food in society these days. Hot dogs? Baby carrots? They're making your kids gay!

"Baby carrots are trying to turn me gay"
-Stephen Colbert