Poll: Is Sexual Orientation Nurture or Nature?

[partyguy]

Just to bring something in from the Origin of Inequality. Rousseau states that natural man aka savage man aka man influenced PURELY by nature and not society has 2 basic instincts. One of them is self-preservation which refers both to himself AND the species. Instinct (nature) dictates that heterosexuality is instinctual. I took this to mean that homosexuality arose from the development of society (nurture).

I also contribute Plato's symposium. These men didn't sleep with men because they were homosexual. They just thought men were superior and were chauvinistic. They understood the natural means of heterosexuality. Their preference of men was based on society standards.

But of course many of us have been told that their lover was a farce or some kind of bad influence. We just respond "I love her/him and can't control that."

I also attend a Jesuit college so I assume they want to influence me to be this way.

Personally I think it is a choice.

 

[edinflames]

The 'gay gene' has been identified. It is not always active since your cells select which genes they intend to use according to environmental and random factors. So the definitive answer is primarily nature with a little nurture on the side.

The notion that people are nurtured into homosexuality or that is just a choice is completely false.

 

[Kiutu]

According to one woman, it is nuture and that actually if people were more openminded and such, most people would be bisexual and not gay or straight, which after reading about it made sense to me. In ancient cultures where sex was not so taboo, it was not uncommon for people to have sex with both males and females. Rome and Japan are two such cultures.

 

[edinflames]

Then why weren't there any gay people 20 hunderd years ago, when being with the same sex was unthinkable?

Because there were...? The "anti-gay" movement is actually relatively new to human history.

Wow, I missed that one.

There have been recorded incidents of gay people reaching as far back as the Egyptians. The mindset doesn't change the fact that people were essentially having the urges or developing homosexual behavior. It may have been that in cultures where it was more repressed and frowned upon that it was hidden from prying eyes better. But in fairly open societies - like someone mentioned the Romans and the Greeks - there were many cases of accepted homosexual behavior.

Note that it wasn't homosexual behavior that was the downfall of either of these civilizations, either. There were several economic, political, religious and militaristic issues that destroyed both ancient Greece and Rome. Homosexuality, if anything, was so insignificant an issue with these people and the people around them at times.

Homosexuality has only become a 'big deal' since the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) forbade sodomy. Incidentally there is no passage in the bible that I am aware of that states homosexuality is wrong...they just don't want you doing it in the naughty place.

 

[Whelp]

I think the point that sexual orientation is determined by nature (i.e. you're born with it) has been proven to death already.

Also, everyone who thinks that sexual orientation matters in any way is a bloody ******.

 

[TMAN10112]

I heard one of the theories was that in the womb babies are exposed to different hormones which can determin which sex it will be. They believe that homosexuality is caused when enough of one hormone gets to the body to determin it's sex, but not enough reach the brain. This can cause the baby to be, for example, a boy but have (to a varying degree) the sexual preference of girl (or the other way around).


It sounds like a pretty solid theory to me so yea, I believe that it is biological but can be slighty influenced bye the eviorment someone grows up in.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I would say nurture, it's probably something that came from early childhood experiences. That's not to say it's a choice. I couldn't make myself like dudes, even if I wanted to, so i dont think homos could do the alternative.

 

[Ramthundar]

But it's more nuanced than an on/off switch for who you want to mate with. The very cues that determine whether you find a particular body type sexually attractive are both biological and culture-bound, for example. I think there's a strong biological component to how we recognize secondary sexual characteristics, but it gets filtered through learned behaviors before getting fully realized as aggression or fear or revulsion or friendly interest or sexual desire.

-- Alex

Nurture can effect on who you prefer to mate with, yes, but can it be profound enough to change your actual sexual orientation? After all, I have my preferences for women, but if a guy had every litte thing that turned me on, I still wouldn't have sex with him.

Now, you could be trained not to like the same sex, but of you are Natured to like them, then you'll get negative consequences. Plus it would have to be serious training, like beatings or brain-washing or something.

 

[sleeperhit79]

It is extremely difficult for people to determine nature or nurture. I personally lean towards the nurture side of things because A) all the gay people I know seem to have some sort of parental issues and b)bisexual people. To me It is very difficult to argue that you're born gay without first wondering if being bi is a choice, and it seems to me that it is. And thus when I consider that there are people that can "choose" to be with either men or women then I immediately see gay people as simply people that prefer to be with those of the same sex. Throw in the fact that lifestyles aside, being gay actually makes a lot of sense and all of a sudden being born gay goes out the window.
When a man and a woman get together on a biological level they will never have as much in common as two guys or 2 women. Women will never understand why a marine who has been through 2 wars and killed men and seen unspeakable horrors will collapse and cry like a little girl with a medium force kick between the legs. Any other man will not only understand but almost feel it, and the same with women and childbirth. It is actually a wonder that with the relative acceptance of homosexuality nowadays more people are not gay, cause it actually makes sense. So overall I would say that it works both ways, most people don't know that we're not the only species that is "gay." There's a lot of animals that have sex with the same gender so in that way it's as natural as can be.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

I had a longer post..But is disappeared.. sO here it is in a nutshell.

Your science fails.

Physical traits are inherited. Until scientists can blame your sexuality on a gene.. (Which I doubt at this point, seeing as all are mapped out)

That said, the only animals that you see whom have relationships with the same sex are primates and such.. Who have the capacity to think, to CHOOSE.

 

[Agayek]

I haven't read the thread in its entirety, but I remember a study being done a while back that showed gay men, on average, have a larger right lobe of the brain than straight males, while lesbians have a larger left lobe than straight women.

Basically, gay men have more extensive sensual abilities (aka, they think more like women), while gay women are better at language and logic (think more like men).

If I remember correctly, the study wasn't conclusive on the differences being the cause of homosexuality, but it is a noticeable trend I'd put money on.

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

90% to 95% nature. You are who you are and you like who you like, that's about it. The nurture part may come in unconsciously or something if you are raised a certain way. There may also be a possibility that something that happens you you can make you realize your orientation, so that's a bit gray whether it's really nurture or not. I'm not totally sure about how the nurture part comes in, but I refuse to say that it's all nature.

 

[mokes310]

It's nature. If Downs-syndrome, MS, Cerebal Paulsy (spelling?), physical attributes, hair/eye color are all genetic, then why can't sexual orientation be as well?

 

[hehehuh]

I always assumed it was mostly nature and a little bit of the way you were brought up. I never gave it much thought to be honest.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

It's nature. If Downs-syndrome, MS, Cerebal Paulsy (spelling?), physical attributes, hair/eye color are all genetic, then why can't sexual orientation be as well?

It is a state of mind is why. (You may argue the hormones and such suggest procreating.. that is the obvious part. PROCREATING.)

 

[Thewolfman]

Behaviorism is a part of your sexual preference, but so is biology. Let me say this right up front to avoid the one statement that pisses me off more than anything -

Homosexuality is not a "disease" or a "mental disorder." After nearly thirty years of researching the homosexual phenomenon - as some people call it - the APA, with a majority of worldly psychological research associations, has declared that homosexuality is neither caused by a foreign element, or a particular deviant behavior. It is not typically considered deviant behavior in the scientific community (although the religious community thinks otherwise), because in many cases, most gay people are not harming themselves or others physically or mentally. There is no solid proof that gay behavior is directly attributed to being exposed to gay behavior.

Now, having gotten that out of the way, we can confidently say that it's a case-by-case basis of how each individual copes with the biological and social urges present. It's a combination of those two factors, as well as personal preference, that drive homosexual tendencies in various persons, and the culture that they grow up in can either lead to unlocking or suppressing these tendencies. In the end, it is the level of acceptance that a person has with the truth about their emotions and physical desires that decides whether they choose to engage in the act of homosexuality with other people.

How's that? Did that put you to sleep?

I throughly applaud you. Seriously, being someone with gay family members its nice to hear intelligence on the nature vs nurture debate. I was actually going to type out a long similar message but i think you just summed up my arguement.

Heres more evidence that it is case by case and not just one or the other.

MY brother in a blatant homosexual (seriously its funny as hell to see him hit on some of my fiends.) And he hasn't had any tramatic experiences, or any events that could have possibly made him change his sexual preference. He was just born that way.
I also have friends who are identical twins. one is gay the other isn't. The one who is gay was mollested and the other wasn't. I decided to look in on the issue and found that people who suffer severe sexual trama are much more likely to be gay.

 

[Eldritch Warlord]

Almost definitely nurture, I just can't conceive homosexuality evolving (bisexuality might but that also seems unlikely, it certainly isn't advantageous). It certainly explains how people can change sexual orientation.

Nurture would also explain why homo/bisexuality was rather common in places like feudal Japan and imperial Rome and has since become more rare.

(But I suspect that the GLBT community would be against such a theory, if proven correct it would make non-heterosexuality a mental disorder by definition)

 

[Thewolfman]

It's nature. If Downs-syndrome, MS, Cerebal Paulsy (spelling?), physical attributes, hair/eye color are all genetic, then why can't sexual orientation be as well?

It is a state of mind is why. (You may argue the hormones and such suggest procreating.. that is the obvious part. PROCREATING.)

........... ok first of all their are certian syndromes that have the wonderful effect of STOPING PEOPLE FROM BEING ABLE TO REPRODUCE and yet they keep appearing. Maybe you skipped all of you biology classes, in which case i pity you. If there is a gene for homosexuality it would probably be a recessive gene or a common gene mutation, similar to other genetic mutations.

Secondly i would bet money that you have never really had any friends that were gay. Because if you did you might see the flaw in your arguement. Its not a state of mind. People don't just wake up one day and go "you know what i'm tired of women im gonna go sleep with dudes." or "I wanna make my parents cry and people i don't even know hate me. I KNOW!! I'll be gay!"

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

It's nature. If Downs-syndrome, MS, Cerebal Paulsy (spelling?), physical attributes, hair/eye color are all genetic, then why can't sexual orientation be as well?

It is a state of mind is why. (You may argue the hormones and such suggest procreating.. that is the obvious part. PROCREATING.)

........... ok first of all their are certian syndromes that have the wonderful effect of STOPING PEOPLE FROM BEING ABLE TO REPRODUCE and yet they keep appearing. Maybe you skipped all of you biology classes, in which case i pity you. If there is a gene for homosexuality it would probably be a recessive gene or a common gene mutation, similar to other genetic mutations.

Secondly i would bet money that you have never really had any friends that were gay. Because if you did you might see the flaw in your arguement. Its not a state of mind. People don't just wake up one day and go "you know what i'm tired of women im gonna go sleep with dudes." or "I wanna make my parents cry and people i don't even know hate me. I KNOW!! I'll be gay!"

Lol.. You failed biology then.. I am going to use Turners syndrome for reference. It is a muck up on the part of the DNA, it has nothing to do with a disease or anything of that nature.. You just sorta end up without a second sex-linked chromosome.

That said, I never said that is was a disease.. I said it was a state of mind that you put yourself into..

What? Lol, save your pity for yourself.. I would say I am bisexual myself, not from wanting to piss off people or to stand out. I classify myself in that way because, I think I could handle a relationship on a extremely personal level with a guy..

 

[ekkaman]

Well, this question was brought up during my Psychology class.


sure it was buddy your gay hahaha get over it or take a left of the next bridge