west20th Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I don't believe you to be a homophobe or a bigot at all, but your statements are very confusing.(Sorry west20th, I know being on-topic is important to you, but tangents are more or less inevitable when we discuss issues like this. Republican politician who didn't support gay rights gets outed, issues of hypocrisy get brought up, Republican stances toward homosexuality are discussed, homosexuality (and its origins) are discussed. We're not being rude, or at least we're not trying to be. We are discussing things that are certainly relevant to the greater issue (of which this event is a part) and at least for myself, I am trying to change attitudes in ways that I feel will elevate the level of discourse with respect to gay rights in this country and help to bring about changes which will result in true equal rights for homosexuals.)Don't be sorry. My responses Sunday probably had as much to do with being in a bad mood as they did with wanting to stay on topic. Sorry if I came across as being rude or angry. I guess, in some remote way, this issue is on topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 I don't have a specific circumstance, but an obvious one would be sexual trauma as a child. I don't believe it to be any ONE event or circumstance either. I believe it is a collective of circumstances and events that condition one to such a lifestyle.As far as the animals, a matter of convenience does not equate sexual attraction. Two men who might otherwise be regular straight folk imprisoned for life might end up performing sex acts with each other as a matter of convenience. Just one example. Wow... that's all I am saying... Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rps324 Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I don't have a specific circumstance, but an obvious one would be sexual trauma as a child.Oh...yes...."obvious." Do go on Dr. GWilson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hmmm.... wasn't abused as a child. Had great parents, who are still together and love each other very much after nearly 40 years of marriage. Not major traumatic experiences as a child. Wasn't exposed to any openly gay people or any examples of adults living in a same-sex relationship in my rural small town. Pretty normal childhood in every way imaginable.Yet I still turned out gay.And, I knew I was somehow fundamentally different from other kids, especially other boys, by age 5, and by age 7 I was fantasizing about growing up and sharing a townhouse in a big city with another man... and in this childhood fantasy, we shared a bedroom, and a bed. Yet at age 7, I had no idea what the words "gay", "homosexual", or even "sex" meant, nor did I have any examples in my community or family of men living in this type of arrangement. And considering that TV and movies in the late 1970s and early 1980s didn't really show gay people, and my parents limited what I saw at that age on TV, and there was no Internet, I seriously doubt I could have come up with this by seeing it someplace.I'm sorry, I don't buy the argument that I somehow had a series of experiences or circumstances that determined my sexual orientation. The signs were there years before I knew what sexual orientation was, or before I was exposed to anything that could have put those ideas in my head. And with the scientific evidence that indicates sexual orientation is set before birth, or shortly after birth, and that there are genetic and hormonal factors involved, I don't see things like abuse or bad parenting as being the primary reason for someone being gay. All of my friends who are gay agree with me on this point, and most of them knew well before the onset of puberty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojeaux131 Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Exactly. Exactly. Word. Would you care to respond to any of this, gwilson? Or do you have more research to conduct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hmmm.... wasn't abused as a child. Had great parents, who are still together and love each other very much after nearly 40 years of marriage. Not major traumatic experiences as a child. Wasn't exposed to any openly gay people or any examples of adults living in a same-sex relationship in my rural small town. Pretty normal childhood in every way imaginable.Yet I still turned out gay. Ditto!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Hmmm.... wasn't abused as a child.Yet I still turned out gay.Perhaps we're making assumptions about gwilson's vague claims. Perhaps a lack of abuse in childhood can make people gay.Please clarify for us, gwilson. Which circumstances make people gay, and which circumstances make people straight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 What's funny to me is that not only do most GLBTs know they're somehow different at a very early age (I clued in around 9 although I didn't exactly know what it meant) but many of our straight cohorts did as well.I was called "gay" well before I knew that I was. Many of those kids that called me gay in the 4th grade have grown up to be the same types that now tell me that I learned to be gay.I spent most of my high school days trying to ward off the rumors. I was constantly being called "gay" or "fag" despite the fact that I played 3 sports and had never had a gay sexual experience. That's why I think being "gay" is much more than just same sex hanky panky. It's why I don't consider these fellas gay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 I was called "gay" well before I knew that I was. Many of those kids that called me gay in the 4th grade have grown up to be the same types that now tell me that I learned to be gay.Same thing happened to me. Other kids seemed to know long before I really figured out what was up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Same thing happened to me. Other kids seemed to know long before I really figured out what was up.When I was a kid (the 70s), I think every boy called every other boy "gay", "queer" and "fag" at some point. We also called each other "retard" a lot. I wouldn't assume any of us had highly developed gay-dar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojeaux131 Posted November 13, 2007 Share Posted November 13, 2007 When I was a kid (the 70s), I think every boy called every other boy "gay", "queer" and "fag" at some point. We also called each other "retard" a lot. I wouldn't assume any of us had highly developed gay-dar.Wow, I just learned that kids in the 70s and kids in the 90s are very similar to each other. Good point, by the way, about the gaydar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojeaux131 Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 gwilson, did you start that wild and wacky "anything goes" thread so you could get out of answering our questions? As much as I enjoyed that thread, and as good an idea as it was, I think we'd appreciate it if you came back and explained why you think the things you've said on this thread. I'm not trying to be snarky, but come on...if you're still conducting research just tell us and we'll wait for your findings to be published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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