Are gays really abused or exposed to gay behavior as a child?

Question

My friend informed me the reason people are gay is that they are exposed to sexual abuse as a child or exposed to gay behavior as a child. Gays - is there any truth to this? My friend is muslim but not sure if this means anything.

Answer 1

ok, well, we pretty much get this kind of question every day, sometimes several times a day. some people think this is true of all of us, but it's not. it doesn't happen to gay people any more than straight. I was not abused as a child, nor was I exposed to "gay behavior." in fact, not only did I not know anyone openly gay growing up, I never met anyone gay until long after I realized I was lesbian. so those that think it's "nurture" or "gay influences" or abuse/molestation/rape....no, sorry. we are all born predisposed to one sexuality or the other. nothing "turns" us gay. it's not a choice. when did you "choose" to be straight? you didn't, did you?

Answer 2

First I must say people are not born gay. They have done all sorts of studies, and never could prove this. Though the psychiatry field voted not to recognize it as a mental disorder either.
Each person is different. Often children have experiences when they are small and forget the incident but was effected by it. This happens with forming attractions as well. Point is often children forget innocent issues.
Even when a child can be molested and the child does not know it is wrong , a child can form an attraction. Often in these cases the child learns after the facts that it was wrong and it happened. Most of them block this out even, but there attractions on situations or persons or objects was formed.
Even today people are learning that gender nonconformity is not the same as forming attractions on the same gender or acts or organs, but often children do not know these thing because the parents are not aware. Most studies of these type children lead people to believe it is a pre requisite to being gay. That is not the case, but rather it does play a major role in many children's life with childhood gender nonconformity to believe they are gay, and even being taught this by name calling or worse recent studies saying this even.
There will always be gay people. Best to do is understand the causes so we can help a child understand what is going on so they can possibly make better informed decisions, which often is not the case. Who is at fault? Perhaps ignorance can be blamed for a high percentage.

Answer 3

I think your friend is quite uninformed. Personally, I do not believe being gay is a learned behavior. I believe it's hard-wired into you before birth. I was never abused in any way (sexual, verbal, physical, etc.) as a child or teen, nor did watching Paul Lynde, or "Corp. Klinger", or Jody on "Soap" turn me into a homosexual. I was aware from a VERY early age that I felt differently towards guys than other boys did. Your friend needs to do some reading up on the subject, because ignorance is how the bad things happen to people of all races, ages, and sexual orientations.

Answer 4

I never saw, met, or had any contact with a gay person until I was 18 years old.

I honestly believed I was the only one... or at least that gay people were so rare that I might as well be the only one.

I didn't even believe there were actually "gay" people. I was taught that homosexuality was caused by the complete rejection of God and God's principals. I couldn't figure out how or why I had gay feelings when I never even considered rejecting god or god's principals. Being a preacher's kid, I didn't even consider the possibility that my parents and pastor could be wrong about any of this until I was 18.

It turned out that they were wrong about a lot of things.

Your friend is wrong.

Answer 5

I am certain there are some in the LGBT community that have been abused and it causes them to struggle in relationships just as there are some in the straight community.
I, however, am not one of them and have many friends that are LGBT who have had mentally and physically healthy childhoods.
I didn't know anyone that was a lesbian until college and there were no tv characters or public images that I could have learned from or emulated until long after I was in my 30's. I was raised in a religous home that taught homosexuality was wrong, so it certainly wasn't encouraged there.
So I am definitly not gay because of abuse or exposure.

Answer 6

NO NO NO NO DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU ARE TOLD. Some people have been abused and go on to have normal healthy adult lives- gay or straight. Being abused has nothing to do with whether or not you'll be gay.

Answer 7

I have heard of cases where this is true, especially with boys. But I don't think it is the norm. Ofentimes when it does happen, the perp (perpetrator) is an older male relative, like a cousin or even a brother.

Answer 8

I think something traumatic has happened to some people who are gay or lesbian. But some gay or lesbian people have an abnormal gene in there DNA that makes them attracted to the opposite sex. The gene may not be abnormal, but just different. I doubt that there would be such a high amount of abnormal genes as there are gay people in the world, so it makes sense for the DNA to just be different than that of a heterosexual person.

Answer 9

Your friend is misinformed. Gay people do not have horrible childhood experiences that cause them to become gay. They are born that way just like you are born the way you are.

Answer 10

Absolutely not....How many straight people are molested or endure abuse as a child, are they gay?