From: yywwyy@mixcom.com (Steven Pearson)
Subject: Re: Straight, gay, whatever....
Organization: Milwaukee Internet Xchange BBS, Milwaukee, WI U.S.A.
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 1992 19:44:38 GMT

In article <Bvrv8u.9D5@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> darkmoor@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Darkmoore) writes:
>  People are born heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.  Sexual orientation
>  is something that happens prior to birth.  I am gay as you are straight.
>  As you have no understanding how two people of the same gender could have
>  sex together, I have a difficult time visualizing how a man and a woman
>  could have sex.  Actually, I could visualize it if I rented a porno (ick)
>  but then you could rent a gay porn.  :)

	strong disagreement here.  i've never seen any _convincing_ evidence
	to prove to me that it is not largely the product of environment.  
	there are some weak linkages to things like hypothalamus size, but
	nothing more than correlational evidence.  

	the studies i have seen have not done any general, cross sectional 
	work - studies of a random group of people (or corpses, as the 	
	case may be) of various ages, ethnic groups, and regions.  _and_
	if they can find a molecular basis and validate it beyond saying
	"well, it looks like this _may_ be the case."  come up with
	references froscientific journals that do more than that, and i 
	will at least consider believing the possibility.  i have access to
	hundreds of journal titles at three libraries, so if it's not in
	there, chances are it's not available.  

	this is a question that has often bothered me:  why are gay
	individuals so adamant about it having a genetic basis?  is this
	a way of saying "hey, it's not my fault my signifigant other is 
	of the same sex."  it isn't a terrible thing to be gay - no matter
	what the self rightous right may think (which in and of itself is a
	questionable thing - do they really think.  about anything beyond
	the pocket book?).  

	half the time, i get this impression that the gay community, which 
	declares itself to be fiercely independent, wants to appologize to 
	those of us who are straight.  so sorry, but an appology is not 
	required.  if you're gay, you're gay.  same with being straight.  
	or anything in between.  
	

>> and says be queer or else, do they?!
>
>  No, there is no gun play involved.

	point:  the choice is subtle.  of the cross section of homosexuals 
	i have dealt with in the past, i've noted several trends:  either
	the same sex parent missing (or for all practical purposes
	just not available), or cold.  the other parent seems to often
	be smothering and doting.  i've noted one exception to this: the 
	woman had a manipulative mother and a very cold father.  

	someone doesn't wake up one day and say "hey!  i'm gonna be gay!"  
	i've seen it come about in a miriad of ways:  childhood experience
	(hiding in the camper one day with the boy up the hill and playing
	doctor); bad break-ups with opposite gender signifigant others 
	("i'll show him/her!"); disillusionment over opposite sex relation-	
	ships (these seem to be the people looking for one night stands - 
	the disappointment seems to be largely sexual, and a variety of
	partners seems to keep them interested); and just good old fashioned
	sexual experimentation (a good portion of bisexuals start out like
	this - out of curiosity).  

	this is all based on observations of the gay and bi people i know,
	or.  i am _not_ a psychologist, but i do try to understand people.  
	i'm a molecular biologist that tries to keep pretty current in the
	field of what's new, which is why i'm very skeptical of any
	biological basis for being gay.  

	until i'm convinced differently, i salute you for making the
	_choice_ to be gay.  or bi.  it takes a lot of courage to take 	
	that first step.  nothing wrong with sexual curiosity.  it is 
	a choice to act on it.  

>  Actually, breeding has nothing to do with homosexuality or heterosexuality.
>  I do not think I could make you understand withou;t a mojor debate.

	besides, most of the non-rednecks i know think of it this way:  the
	more gay guys out there, the better the male : female dating ratio
	is.  heh.

	again, before i end this long winded post, if you have _any_
	abstracts or papers from any decent journal (i.e., one that isn't
	pop science like "omni" or "discover," both of which are fun mags
	but not very prone to carrying hard science), i will be happy to
	read them.  i'll just throw it in with the rest of my articles i
	have to read...

-- 
-stevelee- (aka anarchy now)
"psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality
Newsgroups: alt.personals