For those who believe homosexuals can change their orientation....

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So many issues have been raised in this thread. So much food for thought!

The idea that grabbed my attention was the notion that the Church advocates those experiencing homosexual attraction to seek out therapy.

I’m not going to ask for citations to support that suggestion as it feels too close to proof-texting to me. (And I think may generate less debate and more scission.) However I am curious as to the reasoning behind it. What is the reason that homosexual Catholics - whether chaste or not - should seek therapy?

I think the idea has merit on an individual basis, but I’m dubious about applying it unilaterally.
 
The similarity compared by density of nerves,

hermaphrodite: a person or animal having both male and female sex organs or other sexual characteristics, either abnormally or (in the case of some organisms) as the natural condition.
The brain is sexually dimorphic, thus the term hermaphroditic can be used.
Some disordered condition may cause some people appear to have both genital. This condition does not make them hermaphrodite sexually. Nobody in this world can function both as male and female in reproduction system. Snails reproductive system however can function in such way, because snails are hermaphrodites. Humans can’t because there is no hermaphroditic structure in in our reproduction system: our body physiolgy will function following our hormones, and this system is extremely decisive. In the case of hormonal imbalance, then the system would not function normally therefore we call it disordered condition. Some sicknesses can cause some infants to appear to have both genitals. Even this will not automatically causes them to grow to become homosexuals. Many of these infants, after they recover from their sickness, their hormones become normal, and so they grow normal sexually as well.
 
So many issues have been raised in this thread. So much food for thought!

The idea that grabbed my attention was the notion that the Church advocates those experiencing homosexual attraction to seek out therapy.

I’m not going to ask for citations to support that suggestion as it feels too close to proof-texting to me. (And I think may generate less debate and more scission.) However I am curious as to the reasoning behind it. What is the reason that homosexual Catholics - whether chaste or not - should seek therapy?

I think the idea has merit on an individual basis, but I’m dubious about applying it unilaterally.
The church define homosexuality as a disordered condition. Just like any other disordered condition, a person reserve the right to seek therapy if they feel they need to.

Supposedly I’ve got an influenza. My condition was so bad that I feel I need to go to a doctor. However, after I have arrived at the clinic, I was told that I should not seek any cure because some “medical ethic” define my influenza as “a healthy” condition, and therefore I should not received any medical treatment whatsoever, because it will be “unethical” for the doctors to try to treat me of my influenza.

APA has unilaterally apply such thinking/ ethic in the area of psychology regarding “sexual orientation”.

I would agree that it will be unethical for a therapist to try to change a heterosexual to become a homosexual. Of course such thinking is sourced from church teaching that say that homosexuality is a disordered condition, thus it is unethical to try to change a healthy condition to a disordered one. However, if the case is otherwise, then it will become unethical to prevent therapy when the person is seeking for it.
 
Some disordered condition may cause some people appear to have both genital. This condition does not make them hermaphrodite sexually. Nobody in this world can function both as male and female in reproduction system. Snails reproductive system however can function in such way, because snails are hermaphrodites. Humans can’t because there is no hermaphroditic structure in in our reproduction system: our body physiolgy will function following our hormones, and this system is extremely decisive. In the case of hormonal imbalance, then the system would not function normally therefore we call it disordered condition. Some sicknesses can cause some infants to appear to have both genitals. Even this will not automatically causes them to grow to become homosexuals. Many of these infants, after they recover from their sickness, their hormones become normal, and so they grow normal sexually as well.
What in blazes are you going on about? I’m not talking about genitals which should easily be discerned by what I bolded. I am talking about other sexual dimorphic things specifically brain structure. In the womb the waves of chemicals that masculinize or feminize the body come at different times, one result could be that a person has a female brain structure and a male body or vice versa resulting in someone who feels they are the wrong sex. Or in another case the brain is only partly feminized for a male fetus causing attraction to other males.
The church define homosexuality as a disordered condition. Just like any other disordered condition, a person reserve the right to seek therapy if they feel they need to.

Supposedly I’ve got an influenza. My condition was so bad that I feel I need to go to a doctor. However, after I have arrived at the clinic, I was told that I should not seek any cure because some “medical ethic” define my influenza as “a healthy” condition, and therefore I should not received any medical treatment whatsoever, because it will be “unethical” for the doctors to try to treat me of my influenza.

APA has unilaterally apply such thinking/ ethic in the area of psychology regarding “sexual orientation”.

I would agree that it will be unethical for a therapist to try to change a heterosexual to become a homosexual. Of course such thinking is sourced from church teaching that say that homosexuality is a disordered condition, thus it is unethical to try to change a healthy condition to a disordered one. However, if the case is otherwise, then it will become unethical to prevent therapy when the person is seeking for it.
The analogy fails because influenza is inherently a temporary condition, you get it from other people and it can directly kill you.
 
Hi, Hadrianus,

Bear with me as I try to follow along here… 🙂

Unlike diabetes, hypertension and obesity - there is no objective test for homosexuality. And, while there are tests that detect someone who is not genetically a ‘XX’ or an ‘XY’ - this is not too helpful for the majority of those who claim to be ‘gay’. As a general rule, there is only self-disclosure (like reporting this on a form for a study) or observable behavior of two people of the same sex. (But, this is complex because of the ‘bisexuality’ issues.

So, assuming that most studies have gone with the self-disclosure avenue for gathering data - is it at least possible that some who have reported that they are ‘gay’ have reported this in error. They may be sympathetic to minority positions and in order to be supportive, have claimed to be one - sort of a modified ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ applied to a social issue?

While I am inclined to think that a real homosexual will remain a homosexual - this does not mean that they will not be chaste. Just like a real hetersexual will remain that way - but can still lead a chaste life. Acting out one’s desires is an act of the will - it is not like taking your next breath. This means that the diabetic can resist candy, the hypertensive can take medication and be normotensive and the obese can get on a weight loss program. These people can do something to change the direction of their lives to a more healthy manner.

God bless
The actual study presents its conclusions with caution. Essentially, it concludes that some people can change their orientation, some cannot. This makes perfect sense because each person is different The two extreme positions which hold that either all those with SSA cannot change, or that all those with SSA can, are more ideological than scientific or theological, properly speaking.
 
What in blazes are you going on about? I’m not talking about genitals which should easily be discerned by what I bolded. I am talking about other sexual dimorphic things specifically brain structure.
Well you mentinoned “hermaphroditic structure”, so 🤷

I know this is how you try to “go around and around” again.
In the womb the waves of chemicals that masculinize or feminize the body come at different times, one result could be that a person has a female brain structure and a male body or vice versa resulting in someone who feels they are the wrong sex. Or in another case the brain is only partly feminized for a male fetus causing attraction to other males.
If somebody is a male, his body will be male from head to toe, from brain to genital, from skin to internal organs, from cells to systems.

If someobdy is a female she will be female from head to toe, from brain to genital, from skin to internal organs, from cells to systems.

If something is wrong just a little bit, it will show vividly. There is no possibility that a completely healthy balance biological body has only a certain organ (for example brain) as male and then the rest of the systems is otherwise. Even if the person do have unbalanced hormones, this problem will not only affect his brain but the whole body systems.

The only possibility of your skenario above is “subjectivity of ones intepretation of how he/ she feels about his/ her body”. Peoples behaviors are caused by motivation. If the motivation is strong enough, their may leaarn to change their voice, the way they walk, the way they laugh. If all of my friends are chinese, I may get motivated to speak their language, otherwise I have difficulty to socialize. After I speak a little of chinese, if good things come to my way because of it, I will be more motivated to continue learning. I may decide to marry a chinese because I get positive reward for it. None of these comes from my logical thinking, rather it just “naturally” happens this way because I happens to live among chinese people.

In the case of trasvestite for example, we can’t assume that they are born that way, if their medical report shows there is no hormonal imbalance. Of course in some cases, these people may inject themselves with hormones to make themselves look like the prefered gender. My previous sentence is refering to their biological body before they ever injected any external hormones into their body.

If a person feel that they get positive reward for a certain behavior, they will be motivated to behave that way. Normally people would not be motivated to change their voice, their facial expression, etc. However, in transvestite cases, these people were motivated (could be since childhood, could be after adulthood) for some reasons. One of the reasons they will say is “I feel like being trapped in the wrong body”. Such remark, if without any medical prove, such remark means “I WISH I am the other gender”

Some people decides to change their gender AFTER they have bocome a mother/ a father. Their ability to reproduce in their past shows that they didn’t have problem with their biological body, yet they decide that they are trapped in the worng body. This decision (that they are trapped in the worng body), this decision is actually their motivation to become transvestite. I have seen a person who is a transvestite who later got AIDS. On his death bed he told his mother that he wanted to be burried as his original gender because he felt guilty that he had lived his life opposing what God has given him.
 
Hi, Dakota,

I really am having some difficulties in following your logic. Most of the time, I just don’t hear or see people address ‘other sexual dimorphic things’… obviously a short-coming of mine that I hope to over-come… 😃
What in blazes are you going on about? I’m not talking about genitals which should easily be discerned by what I bolded. I am talking about other sexual dimorphic things specifically brain structure. In the womb the waves of chemicals that masculinize or feminize the body come at different times, one result could be that a person has a female brain structure and a male body or vice versa resulting in someone who feels they are the wrong sex. Or in another case the brain is only partly feminized for a male fetus causing attraction to other males.

The analogy fails because influenza is inherently a temporary condition, you get it from other people and it can directly kill you.
Actually, I found your criticism of Francisca’s analogy rather pedantic. So, instead of a communicable disease how about certain birth defects that lend themselves to surgical correction, such as a: cleft palate, patent ductus arteriosus or gastroschisis. Admittedly, not all birth defects are surgically correctable - but, maybe this is going into excessive detail.

In my opinion, Francisca’s idea is solid … so, if I may offer these medical conditions … would you kindly answer the real question rather than using dismissive remarks about an analogy. Thanks. 🙂

God bless
 
Well you mentinoned “hermaphroditic structure”, so 🤷

I know this is how you try to “go around and around” again.

If somebody is a male, his body will be male from head to toe, from brain to genital, from skin to internal organs, from cells to systems.

If someobdy is a female she will be female from head to toe, from brain to genital, from skin to internal organs, from cells to systems.

If something is wrong just a little bit, it will show vividly. There is no possibility that a completely healthy balance biological body has only a certain organ (for example brain) as male and then the rest of the systems is otherwise. Even if the person do have unbalanced hormones, this problem will not only affect his brain but the whole body systems.

The only possibility of your scenario above is “subjectivity of ones intepretation of how he/ she feels about his/ her body”. Peoples behaviors are caused by motivation. If the motivation is strong enough, their may learn to change their voice, the way they walk, the way they laugh. If all of my friends are chinese, I may get motivated to speak their language, otherwise I have difficulty to socialize. After I speak a little of chinese, if good things come to my way because of it, I will be more motivated to continue learning. I may decide to marry a chinese because I get positive reward for it. None of these comes from my logical thinking, rather it just “naturally” happens this way because I happens to live among chinese people.

In the case of trasvestite for example, we can’t assume that they are born that way, if their medical report shows there is no hormonal imbalance. Of course in some cases, these people may inject themselves with hormones to make themselves look like the prefered gender. My previous sentence is refering to their biological body before they ever injected any external hormones into their body.

If a person feel that they get positive reward for a certain behavior, they will be motivated to behave that way. Normally people would not be motivated to change their voice, their facial expression, etc. However, in transvestite cases, these people were motivated (could be since childhood, could be after adulthood) for some reasons. One of the reasons they will say is “I feel like being trapped in the wrong body”. Such remark, if without any medical prove, such remark means “I WISH I am the other gender”

Some people decides to change their gender AFTER they have become a mother/ a father. Their ability to reproduce in their past shows that they didn’t have problem with their biological body, yet they decide that they are trapped in the worng body. This decision (that they are trapped in the worng body), this decision is actually their motivation to become transvestite. I have seen a person who is a transvestite who later got AIDS. On his death bed he told his mother that he wanted to be burried as his original gender because he felt guilty that he had lived his life opposing what God has given him.
The “gay brain” so to speak is a hermaphroditic structure in that parts of the structure are masculine and others are feminine.

Actually it has been shown that the brain and genital differentiations occur at different times with the genital differentiations happening first.

I am talking about fetal hormones not post natal as can be evinced by the fact that I said “In the womb…”

I’m confused, a transvestite is someone who enjoys wearing clothes of the opposite sex, what does that have to do with changing people changing their sex?
:confused:
Hi, Dakota,

I really am having some difficulties in following your logic. Most of the time, I just don’t hear or see people address ‘other sexual dimorphic things’… obviously a short-coming of mine that I hope to over-come… 😃

Actually, I found your criticism of Francisca’s analogy rather pedantic. So, instead of a communicable disease how certain birth defects that lend themselves to surgical correction, such as a: cleft palate, patent ductus arteriosus or gastroschisis. Francisca’s idea is solid … so, if I may offer these medical conditions … would you kindly answer the real question rather dismissive remark about an analogy. Thanks.

God bless
Sexual Dimorphism:
Differences between males and females include all the features related to reproductive role, notably the endocrine (hormonal) systems and their physiological and behavioural effects, including gonadal differentiation, internal and external genital and breast differentiation, and differentiation of muscle mass, height, and hair distribution.
francisca is mixing up disordered in the sense that the Church uses it and disordered in the sense of a mental disorder, they are not the same.
 
Such study is far from conclusive, especially the part that “gay may be born that way”

If your samples are grown men and women, you can’t suddenly conclude their state as infants.

You can draw direct conclusion about infants state if your samples are infants. Evenso, sampling methods and environment and all other factors may still be checked and rechecked.

If such study is realiable, then it can be used to predict with good accuracy whether an infant will be a homosexual when it grows up. If this can’t be established then such study is still far far far away from conclusion.

Now about brain measurement.

Brain measurement is only one thing. Brain measurement can be different even the shape of the skull of each individual is unique. There are more things to argue about with this kind of studies.

To “hurry-up a conclusion because of a certain motivation in order to prove something”, rather than to seek the truth, will mislead science into falsehood.

Fyi,

There are many sturdies about homosexuality. Up to today, none of them can satisfactorily prove that homosexuals with balance male/ female healthy body actually have something in their brain to cause them a homosexual predisposition since birth.
 
Such study is far from conclusive, especially the part that “gay may be born that way”

If your samples are grown men and women, you can’t suddenly conclude their state as infants.

You can draw direct conclusion about infants state if your samples are infants. Evenso, sampling methods and environment and all other factors may still be checked and rechecked.

If such study is realiable, then it can be used to predict with good accuracy whether an infant will be a homosexual when it grows up. If this can’t be established then such study is still far far far away from conclusion.

Now about brain measurement.

Brain measurement is only one thing. Brain measurement can be different even the shape of the skull of each individual is unique. There are more things to argue about with this kind of studies.

To “hurry-up a conclusion because of a certain motivation in order to prove something”, rather than to seek the truth, will mislead science into falsehood.

Fyi,

There are many sturdies about homosexuality. Up to today, none of them can satisfactorily prove that homosexuals with balance male/ female healthy body actually have something in their brain to cause them a homosexual predisposition since birth.
:banghead:
 
Hi, Hadrianus,

Bear with me as I try to follow along here… 🙂

Unlike diabetes, hypertension and obesity - there is no objective test for homosexuality. And, while there are tests that detect someone who is not genetically a ‘XX’ or an ‘XY’ - this is not too helpful for the majority of those who claim to be ‘gay’. As a general rule, there is only self-disclosure (like reporting this on a form for a study) or observable behavior of two people of the same sex. (But, this is complex because of the ‘bisexuality’ issues.

So, assuming that most studies have gone with the self-disclosure avenue for gathering data - is it at least possible that some who have reported that they are ‘gay’ have reported this in error. They may be sympathetic to minority positions and in order to be supportive, have claimed to be one - sort of a modified ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ applied to a social issue?

While I am inclined to think that a real homosexual will remain a homosexual - this does not mean that they will not be chaste. Just like a real hetersexual will remain that way - but can still lead a chaste life. Acting out one’s desires is an act of the will - it is not like taking your next breath. This means that the diabetic can resist candy, the hypertensive can take medication and be normotensive and the obese can get on a weight loss program. These people can do something to change the direction of their lives to a more healthy manner.

God bless
What you suggest is of course possible. The “Stockholm Syndrome” is interesting, but I’d guess that in something as dominant as sexual attraction fairly unlikely.There are no objective tests for any number of human feelings, but there is equally little doubt that such exist. The simple reality is that we don’t know a great deal about the origins of sexual orientation, and all theories are based upon probabilities. There is such a thing as situational homosexuality–in prisons, or boarding schools–but this needs to be distinguished form the real variety such as you’ve described. Morality or conduct is another matter, and is founded upon free will and individual choice. Hence anyone who desires to can lead with God’s grace a life of chastity.
 
Hi, Dakota,

I read the material on the link … and maybe there is something here (maybe a grain of truth instead of a field of it … :D) but something that deserves to be examined.

What we can probably all agree in is that there is a difference in the brains of some homosexuals contrasted with the brains of other-wise normal hetersexuals. There is no evidence, as Francisca pointed out, that this change is from birth and concluding or implying such is quite unfounded. But, when it comes to actually changing the physical brain - there are two examples, one positive and the other negative, of this actually taking place to my knowledge:

1.) London cab drivers: video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/science/health-human-body-sci/human-body/london-taxi-sci.html

2.) Alcoholics:brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/105/3/497.abstract

I think there is a stong possibility of at least some homosexuals demonstrating a change in their physical brain structure contrasted with a control group. What this means, however, is probably no more significant than, for example, smokers demonstrating nicotine stains on their fingers and lips, or those who directly watched a solar eclipse suffering a reduction in visual acuity. Beginning with unstained skin or normal visual acuity, you can do things that can change your skin or vision, either on a temporary or a permanent basis. But, the stain did not bring about the smoking - and that is the take home message… it resulted from previous behaviors.

After reading the article you provided, there is an abundance of suspicion that these brain changes were brought about by the behaviors and beliefs of the homosexuals being tested. This would be analogus to the London cabbies having larger brain areas than non-cab drivers.

The mental image I would leave you with after reading your link is a small pea being hidden by one of three walnut halves. There is a lot of movement around by those who would have the world believe that homosexuality is just another harmless expression of normal - but, like the ‘shell game’ identified above the truth pops up eventually. When it does it is time for a new set of shells (another scientific study, another set of testimonials about how ‘doing one’s thing’ is great or ‘if it is not hurting anyone, leave me alone.’

God bless
 
Hi, Dakota,

I read the material on the link … and maybe there is something here (maybe a grain of truth instead of a field of it … :D) but something that deserves to be examined.

What we can probably all agree in is that there is a difference in the brains of some homosexuals contrasted with the brains of other-wise normal hetersexuals. There is no evidence, as Francisca pointed out, that this change is from birth and concluding or implying such is quite unfounded. But, when it comes to actually changing the physical brain - there are two examples, one positive and the other negative, of this actually taking place to my knowledge:

1.) London cab drivers: video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/science/health-human-body-sci/human-body/london-taxi-sci.html

2.) Alcoholics:brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/105/3/497.abstract

I think there is a stong possibility of at least some homosexuals demonstrating a change in their physical brain structure contrasted with a control group. What this means, however, is probably no more significant than, for example, smokers demonstrating nicotine stains on their fingers and lips, or those who directly watched a solar eclipse suffering a reduction in visual acuity. Beginning with unstained skin or normal visual acuity, you can do things that can change your skin or vision, either on a temporary or a permanent basis. But, the stain did not bring about the smoking - and that is the take home message… it resulted from previous behaviors.

After reading the article you provided, there is an abundance of suspicion that these brain changes were brought about by the behaviors and beliefs of the homosexuals being tested. This would be analogus to the London cabbies having larger brain areas than non-cab drivers.

The mental image I would leave you with after reading your link is a small pea being hidden by one of three walnut halves. There is a lot of movement around by those who would have the world believe that homosexuality is just another harmless expression of normal - but, like the ‘shell game’ identified above the truth pops up eventually. When it does it is time for a new set of shells (another scientific study, another set of testimonials about how ‘doing one’s thing’ is great or ‘if it is not hurting anyone, leave me alone.’

God bless
Sex differences in the brain are noticeable by age two, what exactly are they doing that causes this?

Sexual differentiation of the genitals happens in the first two months of pregnancy and the differentiation of the brain happens in the latter half of the pregnancy. In puberty the neurological pathways formed during brain differentiation are turned on.

If it is caused by incorrect hormone levels in the womb how does it bolster their case?
 
Hi, Dakota,

In the field of embryology, it is rather risky to make a definitive statement and expect it to last by the following day… 😃 New developments are always popping up - and some research findings contradict previous ones … so still more research is needed.

Just because some thing is, “…noticable by age two…” does not mean it was not present at conception and is just now being ‘noticed’. In reality, as a group, we tend to need to be told where to look before we actually see what was there all the time! 🙂 Just because we do not ‘notice’ a human at conception does not mean the fertilized egg is not human - and this is a very important point that our Supreme Court has yet to grasp.

Now, there really are serious genetic problems and some of them relate to sexuality. Here is a link: kumc.edu/gec/support/ Make no mistake about it - these people suffer greatly. Here is a link addressing just genetic sexual problems: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1288342/

But, back to what I was saying … the brains of adult homosexuals that demonstrate physical change - may have been changed by the individual themselves through their disordered life style. No doubt about the chronic alcoholic changing their physical brains.
Identifying this change, however, does not also provide the conclusive evidence to make an effect-cause statement. Maybe they did MRI and CAT scans on the brains of London cab driver ‘wannabe’s’ to provide a base line and then see how the brain changes as the cabbies ply their trade year after year. There was nothing in the material I gave that would indicate that these people studying to be cabbies had different brain structures contrasted with the general adult population of drivers.

In short: homosexual brain changes prove nothing except there was a change that took place. All one can really say is that this is an area for further study.

God bless
Sex differences in the brain are noticeable by age two, what exactly are they doing that causes this?

Sexual differentiation of the genitals happens in the first two months of pregnancy and the differentiation of the brain happens in the latter half of the pregnancy. In puberty the neurological pathways formed during brain differentiation are turned on.

If it is caused by incorrect hormone levels in the womb how does it bolster their case?
 
Hi, Dakota,

In the field of embryology, it is rather risky to make a definitive statement and expect it to last by the following day… 😃 New developments are always popping up - and some research findings contradict previous ones … so still more research is needed.

Just because some thing is, “…noticable by age two…” does not mean it was not present at conception and is just now being ‘noticed’. In reality, as a group, we tend to need to be told where to look before we actually see what was there all the time! 🙂 Just because we do not ‘notice’ a human at conception does not mean the fertilized egg is not human - and this is a very important point that our Supreme Court has yet to grasp.

Now, there really are serious genetic problems and some of them relate to sexuality. Here is a link: kumc.edu/gec/support/ Make no mistake about it - these people suffer greatly. Here is a link addressing just genetic sexual problems: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1288342/

But, back to what I was saying … the brains of adult homosexuals that demonstrate physical change - may have been changed by the individual themselves through their disordered life style. No doubt about the chronic alcoholic changing their physical brains.
Identifying this change, however, does not also provide the conclusive evidence to make an effect-cause statement. Maybe they did MRI and CAT scans on the brains of London cab driver ‘wannabe’s’ to provide a base line and then see how the brain changes as the cabbies ply their trade year after year. There was nothing in the material I gave that would indicate that these people studying to be cabbies had different brain structures contrasted with the general adult population of drivers.

In short: homosexual brain changes prove nothing except there was a change that took place. All one can really say is that this is an area for further study.

God bless
Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome actually bolsters claims that fetal hormones have a major impact on sexuality. Complete Androgen Insensitivity results in people who are XY genotype yet phenotypically female. Indeed in the case of CAIS nearly all of them have “heterosexual” attraction and fantasies,

the results shown from the studies of cabbies is actually a case of science confirming the obvious, when you rely heavily on memory the parts of your brain involved in that forge more connections. In what I’ve been talking about the cells are smaller and more numerous just like in women. If this were caused by actions scientists would be overjoyed because that means they could reverse engineer it to create a cure for Alzheimer’s…
 
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