OP: "Causes" of Homosexuality?

Ah... the deep mysteries of life, including the age-old argument of whether sexual preference is a behaviorial of physical (genetic) result.

I'll bet the answer is "yes."

As far as I know there is no scientific evidence to either absolutely prove or "debunk" either theory. I put debunk in quotes because most people set out to prove what they believe in the first place.

I say the answer is "yes," because there's a great deal of logic and "evidence" that suggests sexual preference is the result of psychological factors such as role models. That's not been disproven.

I say the answer is "yes," because I suspect that someone has put together a strong argument that it's genetic, etc. That's not been disproven either.

You know, it's possible that both are true! It's also possible that both are false.

Tolerate ambiguity, because given the lack of scientific evidence what's "true" is going to depend on who is making the claim.

WallyLlama

Posted: 02 Oct 23:48

Well, of course, I'm going to post in this topic...

I find it somewhat interesting that no one ever asks, "What "causes" heterosexuality?" But then, I suppose, when you are in the majority, you don't have to justify your existence. Anyway...

My personal leaning is toward a biological explanation. Of the ones that I've heard, the one that makes the most sense to me is the hormonal wash that determines a fetus' sex. I don't think it takes a big jump to hypothesize that the "wash" could also determine sexual orientation as well.

oberon

Posted: 02 Oct 23:48

Thank YOU, Moose_hd.

I hope you understood that I wasn't upset with you over the "causes" remark?? I didn't mean for that to sound like I was directing anything pointed toward you. I just bugs me, sometimes.

Anyway, thanks again. It wouldn't matter if ALL gay people became activists for gay rights, without straight allies like yourself we wouldn't get very far.

oberon

Posted: 02 Oct 23:49

Over the past fifty years, scientific data has been accumulating that sexual orientation is genetic and pretty well determined by the time we are born. This does not cause all sexual behavior but determines our primary orientation. We women, especially bi- women such as I, have no answers yet. Almost all the reseach has uncovered factors in male homosexuality and we women are still wondering. As genetic research progresses, most of us in the scientific/medical community expect that similar causes will be discovered in women.

The double Y chromosome most common in gay men and occurring in about one man in a thousand was discovered almost fifty years ago. Research, in other species, has shown that adjusting one gene can cause females to act like ales and vice versa. Matched twin studies show a greater common incidence between identical twins that fraternal twins. Genetic researchers are getting closer to an explanation every month.

Certainly, this is not entirely deterministic - homesexuals of both genders are parents. Some remain married and heterosexually active for long periods - even their entire lives. Most gay men can and have responded to a women's wiles. Few lesbians are virgins. In my generation, none of us wanted to be "that way" because of the social stigma. Today, no responsible person has any excuse for not accepting homosexuality as a natural condition. Bi-sexuality may or may not have a genetic basis; we each may have a predilection but have learned the "other way" has advantages, too.

Brandye

Posted: 02 Oct 23:49

Hence the reason why I put "causes" in quotation marks.

To acknowledge that homosexuality is "caused" indicates that heterosexuality is the more normal and natural state of being. I have no concrete evidence to indidate that this is true.

And thanks for this link, this looks quite insightful. I'm quite interested in this topic because I need better ways to debunk what I believe to be highly incorrect statements from homophobes. It makes me very angry, particularly in the US where it's often acceptable to treat gays as subhuman. That's why I need more information.

moose_hd

Posted: 31 Dec 23:48

My sex life started early on and of course it was with masturbation. I've tried to figure out why i am so turn on by the cock and after long hard, no pun intended, look back on my sex life I think I may have figured it out. From almost my very first sexual encounters it was male centered, even though it wasn't even sex, it was just a short conversation. One of my childhood friends just ask me one day how I stroked my very tiny dick and until then I never had even thought about it, but instantly I knew that I would stroke it from the base toward the head and naturally that very night I did. His name is John and he told me that he stroked his in the opposite direction, but that just didn't feel right for me and that was the very first time I had ever even thought about sex in my life.
From there it was on, I was stoking my tiny dick everyday and here is where I think for me the homosexual part got in my head. I watched myself stoking it in my mirror and I had a big enough mirror that I could see all of me as I sat on the floor in front of it and made myself cum. Of course as everything else we want more and so did I, so next thing i know and for no reason at all I started to play with my nipples,and mind you, I had as of yet never even seen a woman's nipple or had any idea that they were considered an area of sexual arousal, but there I was playing with them and stroking my tiny dick all as i watched in the mirror and they were and still are to this day very hard and sensitive. I was making my own porn decades before I even knew porn existed and I loved seeing myself all hard and playing with my dick and nipples in that mirror.
Before I knew what was happening I began to ooze precum and almost like it was instinct, I had to taste it and I loved it and of course it was no time at all and I was eating every drop of my own cum as it erupted all over the mirror and loved it some much that I started masturbating even more just so I could eat more cum. I couldn't get enough.
Next thing I know I'm sticking something up my butt and as I watched that the first time and saw my little dick instantly start dripping cum I realized that now I had a way to eat as much cum as i wanted and still play with my nipples. I no longer had to touch myself except to scoop up every drop of me and I could grind on that spot for hours and milk all of the cum I wanted.
After several years of this practice, I did have a girlfriend one time in my late teens but that only lasted for like a couple of weeks until we had sex once and it was such a let down for me I've never done it again, so for me, I don't know, maybe the homosexual thing came from the mirror. All I do know is that I can't seem to milk myself or suck enough cock even to this day to satisfy my craving for cum.

Posted: 12 Oct 00:15