are fetishes and sexual orientation choices or predetermined from birth?

[darthotaku]

I firmly believe they are ingrained in individuals from birth. As a kid, before I knew how to talk I was facinated by breasts. not for food, I was bottle fed, but my mom always tells stories of how when her friends picked me up my hands always went for her chest. luckily I was about 2 so everybody laughed it off.
after I started highschool my parents weren't surprised when every girl I brought home had huge boobs because of how I behaved as a child.

so escapists, what is your opinion?

 

[Brandon237]

I think it depends, most, yes, from birth. But many can be acquired tastes too, that develop because of an event or person.

I will paraphrase something said by Howard on Big bang theory. He told of one fateful day when his sexual urges got to him, and there was a fish nearby that had been nicely prepared... to the day of that episode he got aroused everytime he smelt said fish.

While that is a little extreme, the message is still there

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Idk really, could be both. Point is we all have fetishes

 

[Johnnyallstar]

I think that some people have a genetic disposition to be more accepting to deviations from the mean, but I also believe that the environment that the person is raised in has the predominant effect.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

[...] As a kid, before I knew how to talk I was facinated by breasts. not for food, I was bottle fed[...]
so escapists, what is your opinion?

My opinion is that you underestimate the human instinct. You dont have to tell a mammal were they might find food, they know it.
And my other opinion is that you should have used the search button for one of the other threads on that topic.
Apart from that i agree

 

[SilentCom]

My answer is simply I don't know. If fetishes and sexual orientation could be compared to nature vs. nurture, then perhaps there is a little of both that affect how a person is.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Now there's a massive false dichotomy if I've ever seen one. They're absolutely not choices, but they're not predetermined from birth. They are, most likely, a combination of innate inborn tendencies and social influences from an entire lifetime which affect one on a subconscious level (subconscious meaning that you don't have a conscious choice).

 

[PettingZOOPONY]

I'll try everything a few times, sometimes you just get bored of the regular.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Sexual Orientation is determined by genetics I think, like hair-color and eye color and whatnot. As for fetishes, I have no idea. It could also be genetic but I doubt genes have much influence over how you like to get freaky. I think fetishes are based more on environmental stimuli.

 

[Julianking93]

I'd think both. They're put into us from either birth or something we experience as a child brings out a facsination with it in our minds, thus causing a sexual fetish or preference.

I was obsessed with anime as a kid from the age of 4 to... well now still but I believe that had a significant impact on my love of Japanese culture.

And Asian girls as well, but that's beside the point >.>

 

[Blue_vision]

Neither. It's something that you're specifically conditioned to. I don't believe that things as specific as fetishes can be genetically predetermined, but you definitely don't choose them. Just like gay people. Likelihood of a gay gene? I'd think rather low. Likelihood of gay being a choice, or at least someone being heterosexual and saying "I'd like to be gay" ? Probably even lower.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Now there's a massive false dichotomy if I've ever seen one. They're absolutely not choices, but they're not predetermined from birth. They are, most likely, a combination of innate inborn tendencies and social influences from an entire lifetime which affect one on a subconscious level (subconscious meaning that you don't have a conscious choice).

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to state the obvious. So thank you! Sexual orientation is determined at birth but fetishes are something you learn throughout life and penetrate into your subconscious. I'm sure as a baby my brain didn't already know that I'd like S&M and hair (on the head). I learned these things.

 

[viranimus]

There are cases for both. It is entirely possible for some of these traits, not ness. ingrained at birth, but hereditary. There has been research done illustrating that there are enough examples of a predilection such as pedophilia effecting multiple generations within the same family.

However, a more commonly accepted notion is that children begin to develop their sexual identity starting at age 3. If that is in fact true, then that sort of kills the notion that people are "just born that way"

Being involved in psychology, I really dont like to make a choice either way as its an area of understanding where there is an almost complete lack thereof. I think some foibles are environmental, while others are optional and its kind of hard to say definitively , this is why this happens one way or another.

 

[Zechnophobe]

I firmly believe they are ingrained in individuals from birth. As a kid, before I knew how to talk I was facinated by breasts. not for food, I was bottle fed, but my mom always tells stories of how when her friends picked me up my hands always went for her chest. luckily I was about 2 so everybody laughed it off.
after I started highschool my parents weren't surprised when every girl I brought home had huge boobs because of how I behaved as a child.

so escapists, what is your opinion?

I have to answer with 'neither.'

I think some fetishes are determined via the exact circumstances of our upbringing, but aren't really something you choose.

For example, if you think chicks in Nurse outfits look especially sexy, realize you have to know that it IS a nurse outfit for that to work.

 

[icame]

How should I know? How should ANYONE know here? Or are you asking us to guess?

 

[Ham_authority95]

I firmly believe they are ingrained in individuals from birth. As a kid, before I knew how to talk I was facinated by breasts. not for food, I was bottle fed, but my mom always tells stories of how when her friends picked me up my hands always went for her chest. luckily I was about 2 so everybody laughed it off.
after I started highschool my parents weren't surprised when every girl I brought home had huge boobs because of how I behaved as a child.

so escapists, what is your opinion?

"Does it fucking matter?" is the real question here.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

There is little research on this.

What research does exist seems to be pointing at a combination of nature and nurture. I suspect the nature part is larger than the nurture part, but both are definately factors for at least some elements of sexuality.

A good question is WHY is there so little research on this? It's a very fundamental question!

We've finally managed to culturally evolve to the point where Homosexuality is, for the first time in Human history, not Ostracized by the majority. We should make the most out of this period of enlightenment lest we fall back into the sweaty pits of basic Human instinctual survival practices. Could happen. You never know....

 

[JoJo]

From my own experience I think they are either predetermined either from birth or from a young age... which doesn't really matter as the important thing is that it isn't a choice, which takes a lot of the respectable ammunition out of heterosexuals-only brigade.