Nature vs. Nurture

[JohnK]

I've always enjoyed discussing this and hearing other peoples opinion on this topic...
Are we born gay/straight?
Do you believe that being gay is something that you're born with or do you believe that it's a result of your environment and how you're raised?

Discuss.

 

[Guineapigcal]

I think that people are born gay due to certain chemical balances, as you can see that many children are more effeminate or masculine than is normal. What I mean is people can seem gay before they're actually developed which means that they are gay from a young age.

 

[Shin]

Was this not a theory by Jean Piaget? I think I remember studying this before.

Also, I don't see exactly why you are relating such an important theory to sexual orientation.

However, I feel that being gay is not so much a choice, but that you are born into it. I don't really think that people can choose to be, but I suppose it is a possibility. Without being a Psychologist, I cannot give proper reasoning, so my opinions are not as useful.

 

[jCash]

A better example; are criminals born or made?


Personable i am lead to belive they turn to crime because of something that happened in ther life, crime inflicted on them, upbringing or any number of outher factors.

 

[Killer Mantis]

I beleive sexual orientation is a choice, as one choose whether or not they like someone. Being attracted to females doesnt mean i like every girl i see, and im sure it's the same with females, and those with other sexual preferences.

 

[µBOTNETµ]

Turn Gay? Imbalance In male/female hormones? Idk

 

I beleive sexual orientation is a choice, as one choose whether or not they like someone. Being attracted to females doesnt mean i like every girl i see, and im sure it's the same with females, and those with other sexual preferences.

so if you wanted to, right now, you could fantasize about a dick in your ass and be sexually turned on?

 

[HeavenLord]

moved to SFA.

 

[tipsytoto]

I don't know, I think that if someone was sexually repressed, and exposed to gay parents, gay media, and a gay welcoming society, they might be gay. Can hormonal imbalances be invoked by the influence and stress society places on you? I am sure many gay people have spent their lives living as straight people to fit in. As a result, they became straight?

 

[FreedomFight]

I used to disagree, but the more I familiarize with it, the more I am in agreement with the Kinsey scale, which suggests that homosexuality is range of traits, and not seriously defined.

By this suggestion, it seems quite possible to be me that both nature and nuture had effects on ones sexual orientation.

 

[unknown guest]

I personally think its peoples choice.
Same as criminals.

But i have no idea, NEVER thought of being gay.

 

[FreedomFight]

I agree, sexuality is a gradient, but I think that it has much more to do with genetics than it does with one's environment. People's sexual preferences rarely change after physical maturation is complete.

Well. It seems a lot of people separate the debate into two distinct categories: genetics and a narrowly-defined physical environment. The reality is probably that your body functions and psychological mindset are influenced by more than these two factors.

A good case study is identical twins. If one twin is gay, the other has a 50% liklihood of sharing this same sexual orientation. This is really a pretty mediocre number regardless of what side you are advocating for.

 

[Fa1lBoat]

I think It's due to your enviroment. You see other gays? You want to be like them.

 

[SatanCapes]

I think that people are born gay due to certain chemical balances, as you can see that many children are more effeminate or masculine than is normal. What I mean is people can seem gay before they're actually developed which means that they are gay from a young age.

This makes sense, but until they find the actual chemical reaction for lack of better phrase, I will think it is a life choice.

 

[Evan Wears Prada]

you are born gay, you just don't turn gay outta the blue.

 

[Schnell]

you are born gay, you just don't turn gay outta the blue.

No proof, no reasoning, just an opinion. Worthless comment.

 

[megaman 2006]

It can't be nature. If it was in one's genetics, he or she wouldn't be able to reproduce; therefore, his or her genes that determine him or her becoming gay would be destroyed.

I suppose that it could be hiding in genes, and just have a very low chance of becoming dominant. But if that were true I doubt we'd see as many homosexual people as we do.

BUT, after having said that, here is a perfectly reasonable explanation as to how homosexuality could be due to our genes.
Maybe homosexuality is natures way of keeping population low. Perhaps we go through cycles, and every one hundred years or so, the vast majority of the population becomes gay and stops reproducing. The population becomes low and those homosexuality genes die off; which is due to the gay population(who were the carriers of the gay gene) being unable to reproduce. Then in a few hundred years, the gay genes pop back up(as there would be gay genes in the heterosexual population also, just not dominant; therefore that gene would not die off completely).

Of course, thats all theoretical; however it sounds completely possible to me.

I suspect we'll find an answer to this question when we learn more about the genome. No one can really answer this question without more information.

 

[megaman 2006]

I think that people are born gay due to certain chemical balances,

How are they born gay because of this?

Everything we do is because of a chemical reaction in our brains. If I crave macaroni and cheese my entire life, does that mean when I was born, I was GOING to crave macaroni and cheese no matter what? What if I never tasted it before, would I still crave it? The more I think about this, the clearer it becomes that its unlikely that someone will become gay from the day they were born.

Heres a better example, someone commits suicide, that is due to a chemical balance in his or her brain. It is impossible to tell whether they were going to commit suicide from the chemicals in their brain when they were born alone. The decision to commit suicide no doubt had environmental factors in it.

I know these are straw-men, but I think they satisfy my point without going too far from the actual topic.

 

[FreedomFight]

I know these are straw-men, but I think they satisfy my point without going too far from the actual topic.

Actually, the problem isn't the staw-man aspect, it's the inherent logical fallacy. This is how you arrived at your conclusion.

"x" is a chemical imbalance caused by environemental factors.
"x" causes someone to make certain choices.
Conclusion:
All choices are chemical imbalances that may be caused by environmental factors.

Clearly a misguided extrapolation, as people indeed, can be born with chemical imbalances. Someone with Kleinfelter's syndrome may be born with a low amount of testerone,etc,etc.

The idea that something can exist is no proof that the reality is true.[/

 

[xi momo xi]

Personally i believe the upbringing are the cause. Many people who turn out gay later in life have been abused as a child. Bullying, physical abuse, mental abuse, neglect, whatever.

(I have nothing against gays, if you got that impression, im very sorry)