Unable to Change?
Submitted by Cat Daddy on September 10 2001 06:03:40
In reply to Re: Special Interest Groups submitted by John Doe on September 6 2001 10:16:16
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A.I. Watcher pointed out that what I was describing as "special interest group" was actually "protected class". I will agree with that. I stand corrected. Semantics sometimes becomes our biggest enemy by making our differences (or similarities) seem farther apart than they actually are. You make a very good point about the NRA etal. I understand that many of the ex-gay organizations have experienced less than stellar results. And frankly, I'm not sure that they will ever have great success. On one hand the whole idea of someone claiming to be able to change who you are attracted to makes me a little uneasy. On the other hand, I think of people who have a fetish some really bizarre things like cow paddies or vacuum cleaners or whatever. They were definitely not born that way. Thank you for the info about the genetic predisposition. I will check it out. One point I would like to keep in mind is that even being born with a genetic predisposition in and of itself does not make one gay. The word "predisposition" refers to "susceptibility". There are many cultural or social factors that influence whether or not a young boy becomes gay. And if that x chromosome predisposes him toward homosexuality, it still doesn't mean he will become gay. It only means that the likelihood of him becoming gay is greater than another boy without that chromosome. So I still don't believe that people are born gay. Some guys at some point in their lives may decide to experiment with the gay lifestyle, but that doesn't mean that they are acting on their sexual attraction toward men. In that case it is definitely a choice. They may enjoy the sex without having the attraction. Dennis Rodman could be an example of this. This is definitely different from the guy who looks at another guy and says, "Ooh, that guy is cute!", or "He has a body to die for." In this case, he may have had that predisposition when he was born, but it took cultural or environmental factors to "tip the scale" in that direction. Whereas if he had not encountered those cultural or environmental factors, he might not have become gay. I agree with what you had to say about behavior. That is a choice. I will agree that a man does not have to act on his attraction. |
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