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gay: genetic or behavioral?
StoreTags: gay, homosexual, sociology
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lately i've been studying various surveys and experiments and articles about human sexuality. Before Kinsey's studies, this topic was generally regarded as trivial by most social scientists ... but it seems like we (as a society) are still just as confused on the topic as we were 100 years ago. i recently had a discussion with someone about this and it led to nowhere but insults. so i figure i'll try it with smarter people at EM411. the person (he was gay) mistook me for an "ignorant homphobe" because i was straight and I disagreed with him, ugh. i don't hate gay people, and the sad thing was i was on his side until that whole business of me being ignorant ...
so the question is: do you guys think that being gay is (a)genetic or instinctual - inherited through our parents from birth or (b)social - inherited from our social interactions with people and culture?
basically, is it nature or nurture? what's your thoughts?
i'll save my answer for a little later, i'd like to hear y'alls opinion on this. | |
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edited: Sep 29 2006
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TecknoMan
I can only speak for myself here -- but to paraphrase Pulp Fiction, it would have to be a pretty goddamn charming guy to make me swing.
In other words, I'm not likely to fall in love with somebody who I'm not physically attracted to, to begin with.
09/29/06
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Zanf
see.....exactly what I mean: you cannot even contemplate platonic love. It has to always have the promise [or potential] of physical consumation attached.
bsr said: "well, some people just want to fuck."
if youre asking, im dancing. ;)
09/29/06
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RogerRoger
bsr said: "well, some people just want to fuck."
Some people just want to fuck zebras.
If the light was off and the other person did not speak while performing fellatio on you would it at all matter which dangly bits they possess?
Or are you talking about what conditions it takes to trigger involuntary reflexes associated with sexual behavior? That's like asking why the smell of weed makes me wretch and others want to have an ice cream sandwhich.
What if you get insomnia or some other serious brain trauma? I'm curious about that myself.
It's pretty clear this particular involuntary reflex has evolved to the point of not being used just for the perpetuation of the species. It has other uses in the biological role you play within a social network. ie. it's a bit of both datathinner
09/29/06
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flies
anybody else care to guess? does anybody have any evidence to support either case? i think i saw mlbot come up with some. (mlbot, did that identical twin study show that if my twin is gay then i have a 50% chance of being gay? if so this points to genetic correlation since 50% is way above the a priori probability - of course unless the twins are brought up separately the genetic root of te correlation is shaky)
i think the important thing is that regardless of whether it's nature or nurture, it's not a conscious choice.
I'll render my own guess: there is definitely nurture in there, to a lesser or greater extent i can't say. Early childhood experiences have been shown again and again to have a strong impact on adult sexuality in general (easily proven in extreme cases such as abuse), and i don't see why gender-sex preferences would be excluded from that general tendency.
09/29/06
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license
Mostly I think it doesn't matter either way. Just remember to treat people like people, as Roshi said.
For what it's worth, I used to identify as bisexual, and now I feel kind of the same way about it as bsr does. I have a girlfriend now and I find myself attracted primarily to women. My past ratio of male to female intimate (not necessarily sexual) partners is about 1:5.
I would have to say, though, looking back on my childhood I'm kind of surprised that I'm primarily attracted to women. I think that, until the age of probably 10 or so, all of those kinds of thoughts were directed at males. Then when I was 12 I watched True Lies and something about the awkward scene with Jamie Lee Curtis stripping confirmed for me beyond a doubt my attraction to females.
So I guess I'd also have to say it's a combination of the two.
09/29/06
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mlbot
flies-- there have been many twin studies, and the trend is this:
genetics plays a role in sexuality, but there's a lot more to it than genes.
Some twin studies have concluded, yes, that if your identical twin is gay, you have a 50% chance of being gay.
The numbers drop by half if you are only fraternal twins (same womb, different genes).
(note: there are a number of identical twins rasied seperately, which can rule out effects from nuture AFTER birth)
but these studies have problems, and many people argue over the results.
Conclusions: genes likely play a role, but a lot of other stuff does too.
09/29/06
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mlbot
license said: " Then when I was 12 I watched True Lies and something about the awkward scene with Jamie Lee Curtis stripping confirmed for me beyond a doubt my attraction to females."
Interestingly, the rumor is that jamie Lee Curtis has a Y chromosome... i.e. a genetically she's a man.
09/29/06
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kidko
She is rather mannish
09/29/06
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djugel
I really think it's 50/50. Genetic and outside influence .. .. and pinch of repression. I usually hate wishy/washy answers but that's really what I believe.
I wondered if I was gay ... not because I was attracted to men.. but because I felt more comfortable being feminine..and the only sport I like to play is Volleyball. I was always attracted to girls.. but I just never talked much. Most of the time in school I was labeled gay ... I guess if you're good looking(I didn't think so) and aren't dating you must be gay ... wish all these girls would've talked to me .. (I heard later that I seemed very content and stand-offish).
I respect certain men and do have a certain attraction to them .. especially when it involves authority or discipline. But the one thing I can't shake is that I just can't snuggle/pillow talk with a guy. I mean .. sex is sex .. but the thought of looking into a man's eyes ..forehead to forehead kissing .. just doesn't turn me on .. and I think it should if I was gay.
09/29/06
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license
mlbot said: " license said: " Then when I was 12 I watched True Lies and something about the awkward scene with Jamie Lee Curtis stripping confirmed for me beyond a doubt my attraction to females."
Interestingly, the rumor is that jamie Lee Curtis has a Y chromosome... i.e. a genetically she's a man."
LOL. Well that complicates things even further, doesn't it.
09/29/06
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license
I've often thought I was more attracted to androgyny than anything. On a philsophical level too, ambiguity.
09/29/06
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Zanf
flies said: "Early childhood experiences have been shown again and again to have a strong impact on adult sexuality in general (easily proven in extreme cases such as abuse), ......"
This has intrigued me...care to explain further?
09/29/06
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jdg
homo gay?
or
sunshine gay?
its all meat to me.
09/29/06
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kidko
JayDG said: "I'll fuck anything that moves!"
09/29/06
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jdg
kidko said: " JayDG said: "I'll fuck anything that moves!" "
thats a baseless lie!
it doesn't have to be moving.
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