Summary of the latest science on the matter.
While confessing to an academic interest in the matter, the Bigger, Unstated Question (“Is it a choice, or is it a compulsion?”) gets a huge “Who cares?” from me, at least insofar as folks seem so eager to either make it an excusable genetic hardwiring or a voluntary delving into blasphemous sin. Frankly, claiming it’s the way one’s brain is designed seems a feeble justification to righteousness, and I conversely find claims of homosexuality as an evil and debauched choice both unconvincing and more, to my mind, a matter of the “ick” factor than an unassailable theological position, let alone good science.
In other words, I sympathize with those who want to discover the origins of their sexuality for themselves, or for scientific reasons — but not with it being used as the as-yet-ill-informed grist for socio-theo-political posturing.
Thing is, for lots of fundies homosexuality is a terrible sin for which the punishment is death, death, death. (Though most of them realize that openly advocating the liquidation of three to fifteen million American citizens won’t go over too well with any but fellow True Believers) It is absolutely impossible for there to be a physical, Act of God mechanism swaying people towards homosexuality, because God wouldn’t do that.
Oh, I understand the position. It is, sadly, part and parcel of the same belief system that says that God wouldn’t speak in metaphor, or wouldn’t have his greatest creation, Mankind, evolved up from “apes,” and thus, QED, evolution is bunkum.
I just don’t accept the position.
Religion is a choice, and we protect that…so…Even though I have no memory of “choose your gender preference” day, I guess the ultra-religious types did.
It really should be a no brainer…oops sorry…
Yes. Something being a “choice” doesn’t make it intrinsically good or bad. And, alternately, we do not give a free pass to folks whose genetic or prenatal conditions cause them to be wired a certain way. In both cases, we judge it based on the merits of the resulting actions. We may be more sympathetic to those who “cannot help themselves,” or more lauditory to those who make difficult decisions, but the merit of the actions are what matter to society, and rightfully so.