Natural/Genetic Sexual Preferences

• hengsheng120 wrote on 2010-09-18 17:33
  Research suggests sexual orientation is determined by developmental changes during the fetal growth period. The genes tells the body to produce hormones that determine the gender that we are from the start of birth. The hormones also permanently change brain development and the determine hormones that will be produced during puberty. If somewhere in there, the hormones levels change due to environmental or genetic factors, then the sexual orientation may change too. So in a sense there is something "wrong" with the person, in the sense that everything did not go perfectly right. But it is not possible to fix so it's like calling a short or tall person "wrong".
• Kueh wrote on 2010-09-18 18:00
  ^ That's an interesting idea, and a subject of much debate. The two big problems with your assertion are that there is no proof, and that explanation says that sexual orientation is determined by factors other than the choice of the person.
  
  Some people can choose to be gay or not gay.
• Chiri wrote on 2010-09-18 18:07
  I don't think sexuality is a choice, per say. I'm sure many people would chose not to be gay, if they could, because of all the negative stigma. Coming out to parents can be one of the more traumatizing experiences.
  
  I don't feel straight or gay though.
  
  In my case, I wasn't attracted to anyone until I got into my second year of college. No one really sparked anything but the interest of friendship. So, I assumed I was asexual. Eventually I got to know someone, was intrigued by their personality, and they admitted they had feelings for me. After some experimentation, we started dating. We're still dating.
  
  But that person? Female. I don't think it even mattered to me though. Male or female wasn't a barrier-- it was just meeting someone with the right personality.
  
  Could I have a relationship with a guy? Possibly, he had the right kind of something. But I've wanted and been in love with one person so far.
• hengsheng120 wrote on 2010-09-18 18:14

  Quote from Whyrainfalls;159462:

  ^ That's an interesting idea, and a subject of much debate. The two big problems with your assertion are that there is no proof, and that explanation says that sexual orientation is determined by factors other than the choice of the person.
  
  Some people can choose to be gay or not gay.

  
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_sexual_orientation
  
  actually i just repeated what is accepted by mainstream scientists. there are studies that point to it if you are willing to look for them.
  
  If it were really determined by choice, why do some animals show chronic homosexual behavior?
  
  I do not doubt that humans have free will can choose to be gay, but that does not explain the majority of the homosexual behavior.
  
  Would you really choose to be gay and remain that way and despite social rejection and negative reproductive traits? How about if i gave you $500,000 dollars?
• Chiri wrote on 2010-09-18 18:47
  $500K, get!
  I never wanted kids anyway.
• Kueh wrote on 2010-09-18 18:49

  Quote from hengsheng120;159471:

  Biology and sexual orientation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  
  actually i just repeated what is accepted by mainstream scientists. there are studies that point to it if you are willing to look for them.
  
  If it were really determined by choice, why do some animals show chronic homosexual behavior?
  
  I do not doubt that humans have free will can choose to be gay, but that does not explain the majority of the homosexual behavior.
  
  Would you really choose to be gay and remain that way and despite social rejection and negative reproductive traits? How about if i gave you $500,000 dollars?

  
  
  From the first paragraph of the link you gave:
  

  Biology and sexual orientation is the subject of research into the role of biology in the development of human sexual orientation. No simple, single cause for sexual orientation has been conclusively demonstrated, but research suggests that it is by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences,[1] with biological factors involving a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment.[2] Biological factors which may be related to the development of a heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual orientation include genes, prenatal hormones, and brain structure.

  
  
  As I said, It's still the subject of much debate as there hasn't been anything highly conclusive yet, only suggestive results.
  
  Which mainstream scientists are you talking about? What is a mainstream scientist anyway? There are so many highly different theories, and many studies that point to each of them.
  
  I'm not sure what you're saying about the animals. Are you saying that animals are unable to make choices, and thus, their homosexual tendencies must therefore come from something unrelated? Of the animals that display homosexual tendencies, it is almost always a display of dominance between social animals. That in and of itself implies that the animal chose to have sex with a male rather than just beat him up. Besides, animals having gay sex is different than animals being homosexual.
  
  And I didn't say all people make a conscious decision to be straight or gay. I only said that the person themself is a factor when determining sexual preference.
  
  And about the last comment, how do you know I'm not already gay? Can I have those dollars?
• hengsheng120 wrote on 2010-09-18 19:06

  Quote from Whyrainfalls;159498:

  From the first paragraph of the link you gave:
  
  
  As I said, It's still the subject of much debate as there hasn't been anything highly conclusive yet, only suggestive results.
  
  Which mainstream scientists are you talking about? What is a mainstream scientist anyway? There are so many highly different theories, and many studies that point to each of them.
  
  I'm not sure what you're saying about the animals. Are you saying that animals are unable to make choices, and thus, their homosexual tendencies must therefore come from something unrelated? Of the animals that display homosexual tendencies, it is almost always a display of dominance between social animals. That in and of itself implies that the animal chose to have sex with a male rather than just beat him up. Besides, animals having gay sex is different than animals being homosexual.
  
  And I didn't say all people make a conscious decision to be straight or gay. I only said that the person themself is a factor when determining sexual preference.
  
  And about the last comment, how do you know I'm not already gay? Can I have those dollars?

  
  
  isn't that what i said? I never gave a specific theory at all.
• Kueh wrote on 2010-09-18 19:09
  No, you gave a rather specific theory.
  
  /goestoquote
  
  OhIseewhatyoudidthar
• hengsheng120 wrote on 2010-09-18 19:14

  Quote from Whyrainfalls;159526:

  No, you gave a rather specific theory.
  
  /goestoquote
  
  OhIseewhatyoudidthar

  
  
  Unless you are trying to say that hormones and genes are not responsible for gender development and that gender does not correlate with (male/female) sexual preference given that the majority of the world is heterosexual and that the population is growing. Then yea, the theory might be specific.
  
  you did see how vague i was right? it's not specific, only bits of general facts lined together so that it suggests something. I didn't go into what hormones or genes, development stages, etc...
• Kueh wrote on 2010-09-18 19:23

  Quote from hengsheng120;159536:

  you did see how vague i was right?

  
  
  No, I see how you edited your post to change what you said from, "Sexual orientation is determined by..." to "Research suggests sexual orientation is determined by..."
  
  Even so, what you said is a specific theory. It's actually called the Early Fixation Theory. (In other words, it's so specific, that it has a name.)
  
  And what about my $500,000?
• Cannibal wrote on 2010-09-18 19:24
  ...can I have 500k for being straight?
• hengsheng120 wrote on 2010-09-18 19:33

  Quote from Whyrainfalls;159548:

  No, I see how you edited your post to change what you said from, "Sexual orientation is determined by..." to "Research suggests sexual orientation is determined by..."
  
  Even so, what you said is a specific theory. It's actually called the Early Fixation Theory. (In other words, it's so specific, that it has a name.)
  
  And what about my $500,000?

  
  
  only if you chose to be or not to be gay (must be a different orientation from your current one) and can prove that you stayed that way for the rest of your life :)
  
  " The consensus among most contemporary scholars in the field is that one's sexual orientation is not a choice."
  
  oh and if you disagree with the theory, please come up with another plausible one so we can make sense out of the research, other than "choice only", i'd like to hear it.
  
  

  Quote from hengsheng120:

  If somewhere in there, the hormones levels change due to environmental or genetic factors, then the sexual orientation may change too.

  
  the enviromental factor was meant to apply to the entire lifespan between birth and around puberty, so it's not just fixed at birth
• Kueh wrote on 2010-09-18 19:35
  lolnty
  
  I like being purposefully ambiguous about my gender, so I can't divulge my sexual preferences or else people will know what I am.