Why do gay and lesbian people want this to be something their born with rather than something their taught?

Question

When there are other less socially accpetable sexual behaviours, that using this argument gives them no more tolerance.

This is a question, directed at those who believe this. It is not an opinion.
Is this too difficult to understand?

Answer 1

First off, your question has a few layers, and i'm not sure I can do justice to all of them, but I'll try:
1. It is a medical fact that true homosexuality is something a person is born with, kind of like being left-handed or being blue-eyed - what homosexuals want or don't want has nothing to do with that fact.
2. Socially acceptable is a fickle thing. A mere century ago, left-handed people were not socially acceptable! Lump in people who were born with black skin - ditto. "Socially acceptable" varies with the message that preachers and 'leaders' impose upon a flock of sheep.
3. Gays do not 'want' this to be something they are born with. Rather, homophobics want it to be something they are taught and therefore something that could be construed as a threatening enough reason to wage war upon homosexuals.
Examine your sources: were you born with an agression towards gays, or was it something you were taught?

Answer 2

I think this point of view is something that both straight, gay and others do accept. There is no proof and scientific studies have not been conclusive. It's not perhaps that they 'want this to be something their born with rather than something their taught', just their best guess, based on their personal lives and intuition. I can't knock anyone for trying to work themselves out.

However, gay and lesbian's have their own personal experiences to base their thoughts on - which is probably more reliable than an outsider's, such as someone who is straight. If I asked someone how long they had been straight, and they answered, 'since birth' would it be fair to argue with that? Think about it!

I think sometimes we just have to listen to others and accept their viewpoints, even if differing from our own.

You mention 'less socially acceptable sexual behaviours', and this might be a give away - perhaps you just have trouble when people are giving you their best honest answer, or accepting differences in others lifestyles. Such people are typically being genuine and very open, not to mention trusting of others. I respect them for this, I don't think we're talking about excuses for themselves, which no-one is due to get anyway.

There still is no definitive answer and maybe sexuality has more than just 1 cause, such as a collection of genes, and not 1, or even 1 bit of experience. I'm not a genetic expert, though I am a psychologist and have thought long and hard about 'nature versus nurture', if it interests you alot, you could consider getting involved in research programmes, as well as researching all the papers relating to the work that has been undertaken over many years.

Good luck! Rob

Answer 3

We don't WANT it to be such, it just is.

I didn't pick this, it picked me. I have no say. My life growing up is great, I had no gay role models, no sexual interference by male adults, nothing. I had beautiful females all around me, so it wasn't because I grew up in an all male environment. I wasn't dropped, my mom's pregnancy was solid, no complications.

There's nothing else I can see to explain it. I don't see where it would've been "taught". So I come to the conclusion that I was born with it. Whether it is a developmental anomaly or genetics at work I don't think anyone knows yet, though the science is leaning to genetics.

So yeah, I don't say it for tolerance, I say it because I know it.

Seriously, if you're purely heterosexual, try teaching yourself to be gay for a while. I very much doubt it's possible. Even if you do you'll be terribly unhappy.

So yeah, it's in my nature, I get no say, I do know it wasn't taught, and I'm going with science on this one, so it's probably genetic, but it's all still vague.

Answer 4

"When there are other less socially acceptable sexual behaviours, that using this argument gives them no more tolerance".

What? That doesn't make any grammatical sense whatsoever.

In any case, I have never met a gay person that "wanted" homosexuality to be something they were born with. Every gay person I've talked to has told me that, if it were a choice, they damn sure wouldn't have made the one to be gay. It's a terribly hard thing to come to terms with, unless you are extremely fortunate, and are born into an exceptionally open family. Realizing that you are, in fact, different from almost everyone you know, in some undefinable way, can be psychologically devastating to a child. In teen-agers, it can be terribly traumatic, and the emotional effects can last a lifetime. This is why drug abuse and suicide rates are disproportionately high among homosexuals.

You would probably have a little more compassion if you grew up a little. Please do the world a favor, and educate yourself. If you can't do that, then please just try and be quiet.

Answer 5

If people believe they are born with a tendency to be homosexual, they shouldn't abandon that belief because other people claim to be born with other less acceptable sexual behaviours.
I am confident that ones early life experiences can affect our later sexual feelings, but as we have no control over those experiences we don't know for sure where our sexual desires came from. But siblings can grow up together and develop with different sexual desires.
Your argument could also suggest that heterosexual feelings were taught, rather than something they were born with.

Answer 6

Gay isnt just a way of life that a person chooses, its something which you are born with and have no option other than to be, i am not personally gay myself but my mother is, she supressed her feelings for years in order to conform to what society deemed to be normal, and since she "came out" in the early 90's she is a much happier and fulfilled person. We are what we are regardless of what the world would like us to be, some people are just too small minded to see the bigger picture, do you honestly think anyone would choose to be something which in a lot of areas in life is still socially unacceptable!!

Answer 7

Shame on you! Become informed. Start going to gay bars and talk to the people; go to a gay community centers and talk to the people. Immerse yourself in Gay literature, Gay culture and attend a Gay Pride Parade at least once. Your question is like asking someone who has a hidden disability to 'stop acting, there's nothing wrong with you'. I have many gay friends who have always felt 'different' and I'm very happy that people, gay, straight, etc. are able to express themselves anyway they wish.

Answer 8

Are you saying people are TAUGHT to be gay?
By whom- other gays?

But who taught THEM?
In the end, there MUST have been someone who was "born" gay, and didn't have a teacher. Probably multiple people, to account for this behaviour in different societies and tribes.

So your argument is flawed from the start.

Answer 9

What's difficult to understand is that you believe it is a "sexual behavior". You definitely need to educate yourself and use some logic, or at least be like us heterosexuals who although we don't understand it completely, we can respect others who don't affect us in any way. I would care less what you do in your private life...or who you do for that matter.

This is an answer directed to those who use rationale. It is not an opinion--it's a fact.

Answer 10

Gay and Lesbian people ARE born gay. Why would someone choose to live their life ostracized for falling in love?