Homosexuality is learned.

[Dakota_Roberts]

Dakota,

You inferred that the ability to marry was dependent on a preconcieved notion of the ability to love someone…

If you don’t like the archetypical personality traits in women of which a number are solidly rooted in biology than it can be hard to do so.

A) Thus homosexuality COULD be a learned behavior
B) Agreed that small children do not understand the nuances of sex and marriage but they do understand what they see…that is normal husband and wife pair bonds. Puberty changes their secondary sex characteristics and brain chemistry but there is no evidence that the seeds of homosexualty were sown genetially prior to its onset
C) Yes Afghanistan but other tribal areas with Islamic values reign as well
D) So you don’t believe that society, the media, culture or other stimuli have a strong impact on sexual practices? REALLY?
E) Sure that is one reason. But I know enough homosexuals intimately enough to hear about their progression from hetero to homosexuality. As I said, of the homosexual friends I’ve known well, only one said he had NO interest in women ever. In fact he said he found female bodies repulsive even during puberty and adolescence. The others said they had very normal attraction to females, normal dating life, normal sexual activity with females. They also became sexually interested in men and those who were in the position to experiment did so. Some continued to maintain their marriages and families with occasional forays into the homosexual culture. Others left their families, churches, and former lives to enter into a relationship with a man.

As I said, sexuality is a continuum. People have tendencies one way or the other. Some because of certain experiences change. I do think modern culture with its freakish devotion to “authenticity” encourages deviant behavior of many kinds. Once the brain becomes trained to respond to certain stimuli and with society’s agreement it is not that difficult to transition into a different mode whether it’s homosexuality, adultery, porn or self stimulation.

Lisa

There are brain differences that have been found, specifically the hypothalamus (linked to reproductive behaviour) and degree of cerebral asymmetry (hetero-males and lesbians are asymmetrical, hetero-females and gays are symmetrical).

As to your experiences, to paraphrase “that was you.” However if you are around small children you would easily observe that at early ages they basically have friendships with their own sex. Just look at any book on child development and there are well established patterns of same sex friendships and identification. There are periods of development where the child finds the opposite sex totally unattractive…“boys are dirty and have germs” “girls are icky.” So using hindsight, such normal patterns of development could be construed as a preview of a homosexual adulthood? Really?

As to having a “crush” at age 6…at that age you were aware of male and female sexuality and saw your “crush” as a sexual partner? Really? You were VERY precocious! I didn’t even know about sex until a few years later. As to having a “boyfriend” I was age four and my “boyfriend’s” name was Ricky Richards and he had curly red hair. Again it was child’s play, imitating adults. We used to pretend to smoke candy cigarettes too (yes this was a while ago) or put on our parents’ clothes and shoes and walk around. Children are great imitators but I suspect a six year old with an opposite sex “crush” has no idea about adult sexual activity.

As to parents failing their children, clearly they are with respect to failing to model the self giving love of marriage. With the divorces, shack ups, hook ups and screw ups of adults these days, it’s a wonder more of them don’t end up completely confused about relationships. Further there ARE studies that children of homosexual parents ARE influenced by their parents’ behavior and sexuality. As to learning homosexuality, I suspect that the availability of internet porn has a lot more influence than do parents.

Lisa

Boys think girls have cooties because parents and society tells them that, in places without parents telling them stuff like that the boys and girls tend to get together a lot faster, the initial segregation is because of how society segregates them.

 

[Jessie5000]

Fora psychologist, I find your opinion ill informed and am saddened for your clients who are dealing with their sexual orientation.

Firstly, the issues of orientation are not yet clearly understood. The debate and relationship between nurture and nature are just not understood. Science has found some interesting things which are leaning towards a view that homosexuality is innate. These include: the cases of identical twins with homosexual orientations; differences in the hypothalamus between straight and gay persons, a correlation between birth order and homosexuality - the fact that with each successive pregnancy where the developing child is male the chance of a homosexual child increases. Also, once the scientific community looked for a gay gene but it appears there are a series of genes, when aligned in certain combinations result in a gay male.

The church also teaches it is not wrong to be homosexual and they do not claim it is a choice and recognize this condition is rarely, if ever, modified. They just ask homosexual persons to remain single and not be sexually active.

Additionally, there are many gay priests who have been models of virtue, adhered to their vows and served the church well such the Priest of 911. Also, our church runs a program called courage for those struggling with orientation and the goal is not to change their orientation but to assist them as living as gay men or women in a manner that is in accord with our faith.

Finally, whatever the cause of homosexuality or whatever we learn in the future… we are all called to love others, even gays. If the church and the scientific community do not yet understand the causes it amazes me that you er the authority with the answer which alludes everyone else. I hope you do not utilize reparative therapies in your practice as these have been demonstrated to be abusive and harmful and even The American Pyschological Association, of which you hopefully are a member, is opposed to.

In essence, I hope you are loving, tolerant, accepting and inclusive of gay persons - this is what all Christians are called to be regardless of the unknown causes of homosexuality. Lets be truthful, your opinion is a theory which has not been tested or reviewed by peer study. As such, I believe you must tread carefully and just follow the commandment to love others, even the leper, the sick, the infirm,…and gays for they too are loved by God. If we are ambassadors for Christ, we will love all persons.

 

[fix]

If the church and the scientific community do not yet understand the causes it amazes me that you er the authority with the answer which alludes everyone else. I hope you do not utilize reparative therapies in your practice as these have been demonstrated to be abusive and harmful and even The American Pyschological Association, of which you hopefully are a member, is opposed to.

Do you really think that organization is interested in the complete truth regarding homosexual persons?

 

[buffalo]

Fora psychologist, I find your opinion ill informed and am saddened for your clients who are dealing with their sexual orientation.

Firstly, the issues of orientation are not yet clearly understood. The debate and relationship between nurture and nature are just not understood. Science has found some interesting things which are leaning towards a view that homosexuality is innate. These include: the cases of identical twins with homosexual orientations; differences in the hypothalamus between straight and gay persons, a correlation between birth order and homosexuality - the fact that with each successive pregnancy where the developing child is male the chance of a homosexual child increases. Also, once the scientific community looked for a gay gene but it appears there are a series of genes, when aligned in certain combinations result in a gay male.

The church also teaches it is not wrong to be homosexual and they do not claim it is a choice and recognize this condition is rarely, if ever, modified. They just ask homosexual persons to remain single and not be sexually active.

Additionally, there are many gay priests who have been models of virtue, adhered to their vows and served the church well such the Priest of 911. Also, our church runs a program called courage for those struggling with orientation and the goal is not to change their orientation but to assist them as living as gay men or women in a manner that is in accord with our faith.

Finally, whatever the cause of homosexuality or whatever we learn in the future… we are all called to love others, even gays. If the church and the scientific community do not yet understand the causes it amazes me that you er the authority with the answer which alludes everyone else. I hope you do not utilize reparative therapies in your practice as these have been demonstrated to be abusive and harmful and even The American Pyschological Association, of which you hopefully are a member, is opposed to.

In essence, I hope you are loving, tolerant, accepting and inclusive of gay persons - this is what all Christians are called to be regardless of the unknown causes of homosexuality. Lets be truthful, your opinion is a theory which has not been tested or reviewed by peer study. As such, I believe you must tread carefully and just follow the commandment to love others, even the leper, the sick, the infirm,…and gays for they too are loved by God. If we are ambassadors for Christ, we will love all persons.

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