Are people born with a certain sexuality, or do they choose it?

Question

I personally believe that we are born with our sexualities, but we can be influenced to change it in situations (like jail)

Answer 1

I believe it's something one is born with.
I also don't think that anything can change that.

Answer 2

we know we are born with our sexualities- this is proven, fact/evidence based.

some believe we are all born bisexual and society makes us conform. Kinsey felt that sexuality always changes and never gave people a set orientation only a # from 0-6 (or 7?)
0= only opposite sex, 3=equally both sexes, last # onlt same sex

maybe he was right and wrong at the same time- maybe we are all bisexual or have the capabilities to like both and perfer one or are forced to choose one. but our preferences change with experience.
it's hard to tell, why do people in jail sleep with the same sex if they used to call themselves str8?
why do victims of sexual assult like the gender that did not* assult them?

sexuality is complicated, the way I think of it is by this quote:
"sexuality is liquid, let it flow"

Answer 3

I think we are born that way. I think our minds are wired up a certain way that we cannot change. See most people figure out at a young age that they prefer one sex or the other, some hide until they have had enough, because society has made them feel like it's wrong to like the same sex. I am sure some people would have liked to of liked the opposite sex so that life is easier, but it's something that they can't change.

Answer 4

well i can't speak for everyone, but i know that i've always been straight, and this hasn't been influenced by whether i'm a bachelor or not (i've gone without sex for many years). i've also known other people who have gone without sex many years and stayed being heterosexual. i don't think i would become gay if i were in jail or anything else... i've never been attracted to men and can't picture a situation where i would be.

of course, there are a lot of people out there who "swing both ways." i knew someone who always had straight relationships, and then had a lesbian relationship.

there were gay people back in the roman times too.. i think it's something you're born with if you're totally straight or totally gay.. i don't know about bisexual people. maybe they have issues. ;)

i mean, what do you make of the scores of "lesbian" girls in porn and on girls gone wild? obviously they're "straight," yet there they are, having sex with women to turn guys on. do they do it just to attract men? are they really attracted to women? is it because women are so attractive that even *they* are attracted to their own sex??? i don't know.

Answer 5

I think the overwhelming majority of people are born heterosexual, as is the way humans have developed over the millenia. Of people who claim to be gay, around about 2% will probably have what may be described as a gay 'gene'. Of the rest, most are attention seeking / confused / misguided. Years ago, unpopular men used just to be bachelors - now they 'become' gay. So, my answer is that the vast majority are heterosexual, although many may confuse some life situation to make them otherwise, and yes people can be changed by circumstance. In the example cited as jail, this change will probably only be temporary - assuming the prisoner is released.

Answer 6

Most researchers believe sexual orientation exists on a spectrum - from total heterosexuality to total homosexuality, and lots of places in between. Scientists have found brain differences between gay and straight men (the corpus collosum is bigger in gay men). I think if some people have a "middle of the road" orientation then experiences, good and bad, can shift them to one side or the other. Usually, when people are acting out aggresively in a sexual manner, i.e. jail, rape, it's about power and control, not sex.

Answer 7

I am sure you are born with it. When I was 6 I remember being on a train with my father when this woman stepped on the train. I smiled at her for the entire trip. I can still see her face, she was beautiful. I was attracted to her although at that age I do not think it was sexual but I was definitely attracted to her. I have felt this attraction albeit in a more adult sense of the word hundreds of thousands of times for women. I have yet to feel this way about a male. I was not taught how to want women, I always have. But I do think with pedophilia and other forms of sexual abuse you can teach a straight person to think they are gay. Much in the same way that emotional and physical abuse can make a person behave in ways that are not representative of who they are naturally.

Answer 8

Of course we are born with our sexualities, and no, I don't think you can change. but you can choose to act and dress and have the personalities of a sex not our own.

Answer 9

i think of that, for despite reason or with the aid of despite ability, individuals are born with a undeniable sexual orientation. Sexual charm is with the aid of and massive a made of reaction to pheromones. human beings provide off those pheromones and others are attracted with the aid of them. while you're attracted to male pheromones and are woman then you definately are right now. while you're attracted to male pheromones and are male then you definately would be gay. So in essence no count while you're gay or right now or probably bi-sexual is a made of despite set of genes you get carry of that make you respond to the two male of woman pheromones. as a result, it variety of feels that your sexual orientation is a classic reaction and is not one which you will substitute with the aid of will. of path you could refrain from touch with the two men or women human beings in choose of the different yet this would possibly not substitute your charm.

Answer 10

Ah, the age-old "nature vs. nurture" debate...

There is no definitive answer. Scientific studies indicate that who and what we are attracted to is largely influenced by our genetic makeup, but there is almost certainly a learned, socially-influenced aspect to it as well.

What we do know for sure is that attempts to "deprogram" people who identify themselves as homosexual have been complete failures -- indicating that once a person's sexuality is established, it's there to stay and is nearly impossible to alter.

Answer 11

By "sexuality", do you mean sexual preference? If so, it is certain that we are born with our sexual preferences. It is ordained by God, and we have little or no control over it.

Nor can external infulences change it... not even incarceration or other adverse conditions.