Young Americans More Likely to See Being Gay as a "Choice"

Comments

Existence is a choice.

NotSean on June 7, 2013 at 6:34 AM

oh, thats it- they just don't get the question.

because young folks today are so fucking brilliant that they totally are cool with the homo and the homo "marriage" but are so fucking stupid that they are unable to understand and answer the question 'is gay a choice'.

Right?

or maybe they ARE so fucking brilliant that they see what Danny won't admit or can't see with his head up his ass.

that sex is what you do and not what you are.

all humans are biologically heterosexual beings.

what they choose to do, and what tastes they choose to cultivate, and what proclivities they nurture; its all choice.

on June 7, 2013 at 6:43 AM

With the gradual easing of the stigma of homosexuality, perhaps people who are more toward the middle of the gay/straight spectrum do see a "homosexual lifestyle" as a choice?

Banna on June 7, 2013 at 6:59 AM

Or, #2, the evidence also shows that they aren't clutching their pearls over it the way you are.

Sabotage on June 7, 2013 at 7:05 AM

Although I certainly have been gay all my life there have been plenty of choices about how to present myself, whether to come out to friends and family, whether to participate in LGBT clubs or activities, go to gay bars, etc. While I don't really believe people can choose to be gay or not, being gay in our society requires a series of choices that everyone must navigate for themselves.

Though of course being straight does as well.

fletc3her on June 7, 2013 at 7:29 AM

poor troll @2.

poor, poor noble troll.

it must take so long for you to fap or make love to your wife, whipping your proclivities into line in your "heterosexual" "marriage"

you see, REAL straight people don't obsessively follow gay people's blogs, questioning their homosexuality.

they're much too busy doing what comes naturally.

as spring turns into summer, we'd like to offer you a tall cold draught of The Truth—

you may be the last homosexual on earth to come out.

on June 7, 2013 at 7:30 AM

Ehh. I just can't bring myself to get that worked up about what people do with their naughty bits outside of the very small population of people whose naughty bits I'd like to do things with.

In my head it is around the same level as liking cheesecake. Liking cheesecake might be genetic or a choice. Some people might construct their identity around their food of choice while for others it is no big deal. Either way it does not matter. Just as I am not affected by what people eat for dessert I'm not affected by who people are being sexual with.

GhostDog on June 7, 2013 at 7:31 AM

@2 there's a huge difference between an person's sexuality and an person's individual sex acts with either a man/ woman.

Biologically we are not all heterosexual. If anything we are all bisexual.

Regardless, your side has lost and gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transexuals and polyamorous folks will never go back into the closet.

Get over it.

passionate_jus on June 7, 2013 at 7:32 AM

#3 exactly what I first thought. Times they are a changin'

#2 keep hoping your language and attitude moves people further than you suspect.

Chef Thunder on June 7, 2013 at 7:32 AM

My attitude has always been, who cares if it's a choice, since it's a perfectly valid choice and there's nothing wrong with it. But I understand the political usefulness of the "born this way" slogan when the gay movement's main enemy has been Christians who insist that "choosing the homosexual lifestyle" is a sinful moral decision.

Now that the Christian doctrine about homosexuality is becoming almost completely irrelevant, I'm OK with young people muddying up the "choice" waters a bit.

john t on June 7, 2013 at 7:38 AM

Perhaps they know that being Gay is not really a choice, but being "Fabulous" is?

I was attending a graduation party a few weekends ago. There were kids of all races, religions and sexual preferences. Nobody cared! It was very refreshing to see teenagers completely unconcerned about all that stuff. The gay couple dressed a little better, but just hung with everybody else. It was so different than when I was in HS. And this is in Georgia, granted Atlanta ITP.

Cycling buddies with kids have discussed how their kids just do not care about race, religion or sexuality among their peers. It is not an issue for them. Of course these are pretty good kids who tend to excel in academics and sports, but they are still in public schools. I am sure there are exceptions, but they wouldn't be hanging with these others kids. Maybe they only go to church functions?

gttim on June 7, 2013 at 7:46 AM

The troll makes me laugh. I mean... you can't even get annoyed at him, his anger at the way society is leaving him behind is just too damned funny.

But anyway... Although the science is wrong behind it, as long as people who think it's a choice don't CARE that other people make that particular choice, it still sounds fine to me.

NateMan on June 7, 2013 at 7:55 AM

Like that space dude would say, fascinating. And @3Banna's succinct footnote is probably bang-on, too.

And you know, it's weird to see progress unfold in this global warmingy, teabaggy, rapey and rapey-jokey, government surveillancey, bike not-enough-helmety world. I like it! it's swell! Let's have more! Whee!

Puty on June 7, 2013 at 8:18 AM

@ 2 So when did you choose to be straight?

Seattle14 on June 7, 2013 at 8:38 AM

Perhaps young people are sophisticated enough to understand that the whole "Is it a choice?" argument is based on the idea that the only way to accept gay people and their "disgusting lifestyle" is if they have no choice in it. Maybe young people understand that there's nothing wrong with being gay, so who cares if it's a choice?

NotYourStrawMan on June 7, 2013 at 8:59 AM

I was thinking about just this a couple days ago. Colbert interviewed Michigan congressman Mark Pocan and jousted with him in some convoluted word-play about his 'choice' to be gay, while the congressman repeated that it wasn't a choice. It struck me that both of them were tangling themselves in knots trying to not use "choice". I was like "So what if it's a choice? Nothing wrong with making that decision. Shine on you crazy diamond." I find the argument that it's not a choice removes any kind of agency from that person. Like "I am a gay robot, programmed for this. DESTROY!!!" (Actually, I would totally watch that show.)

The better argument always seemed to me "Yes I made this choice. This choice to be happy, to find love, to live the life I want to live, instead of choosing to suppress my feelings, succumb to bigotry and religious pressure, and submit to constant shame, doubt and unhappiness. So yeah I chose this. And your point is???"

I think that's what many younger people now feel. Like it's a valid choice, and who cares if someone makes it or not. Good for them, now let's go back to watching cats on Youtube.

Foghorn Leghorn on June 7, 2013 at 10:23 AM

Bound up into @3 and @11 is what I think the younger generation realizes: a "lifestyle" is how you live your life, not who you have sex with.

The older generation got caught up in the "homosexual lifestyle" as the most visible example - perhaps flamboyant and promiscuous and "fabulous" - and could only see the naughty bits bumping, while younger folks see "lifestyle" in things like vegan and sporty and urban and country and goth and on and on... what people DO with their lives, not the sex part.

And, as pointed out, that truly is a choice. Good job, younger folks.

Jaymz on June 7, 2013 at 10:27 AM

Perhaps it's older people who don't properly understand the question.

Sure, the question can be interpreted to be about attraction, which could be understood in terms of nature vs. nurture, but it may be better understood in terms of identification or activities.

As the "costs" of being homosexual go down, it becomes available to people closer to straight on the Kinsey scale.

In short, it is acceptance that is making homosexuality a choice.

on June 7, 2013 at 10:35 AM

If I'm interpreting Dimock's explanation correctly, there is no "nature vs. choice" argument in these young people's minds. The only "choice" is whether to live your life openly, and for those respondents, that answer seems to be in the affirmative.

Game over, homophobes? You've lost the war of semantics.

Brooklyn Reader on June 7, 2013 at 10:41 AM

I don't think the interesting question is "When did you choose to be straight?" but "When did you choose to fall in love with your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend?" As far as I can tell, nobody chooses who they fall in love with. People deduce their sexual orientation based on who they are attracted to and who they fall in love with. And sure, you can always argue that just because you've never been attracted to someone of one particular sex doesn't mean you never will be and just because you've never fallen in love with someone of one particular sex doesn't mean you never will. Nobody can be 100% certain they are straight or gay. But it doesn't matter. Because you have to deal with the attractions you have, and if you fall in love with somebody, then you have to deal with having fallen in love with somebody of whatever sex that person is. That isn't a choice. And if that person is of the same sex, then loving someone of the same sex isn't a choice. So, regardless of what orientation you are, even if you're bi and theoretically might have fallen for someone of the opposite sex, if you love someone of the same sex then you didn't choose that and it sucks if society discriminates against your love just because it arbitrarily prefers mixed-sex pairings.

on June 7, 2013 at 11:06 AM

I don't think it's a choice, but even if it was, who gives a shit? Following a particular religion is a choice, and yet free expression of religion is protected. Gay men and lesbians aren't harming anyone with their sexual and relationship "choices", so it's no one's fucking business but their own.

keshmeshi on June 7, 2013 at 11:18 AM

I think this is likely because being pro-gay is kinda "hip" these days in American pop culture. Therefore, you've probably got a lot of experimenting straight teens who *are* choosing to try it out. Coz, ya know, it's like, cool these days. Lady Gaga and all.

Confluence on June 7, 2013 at 11:29 AM

This is the Christian Right's worst nightmare: Kids don't care if you're gay, and they might just have sex with someone of their own gender if it seems like a good idea. There's no ever-lasting shame in the idea.

dwightmoodyforgetsthings on June 7, 2013 at 11:36 AM

22
23

and the next thing you know the percentage of people claiming to be homosexual goes up.

shrewd marketing will sell anything....

currently less than 2% of people over 55 identify homosexual.

over 6% of people under 24 do.

marketing.

homoliberals take it for granted that SOMEONE will have and raise the kids who will change their diapers when they are in the nursing home.

silly silly homosexuals

on June 7, 2013 at 3:13 PM

21

because society isn't obligated to grant you your 'choices'.

you can choose to join a religion that practices polygamy but it is still illegal.

you can choose to be a homosexual but that doesn't mean everyone has to recognize your homosexual "marriage"....

on June 7, 2013 at 3:17 PM

@24

You're worried about recruitment but, actually, the lifestyle, to stick with it for life, doesn't exactly sell itself. Increased diseases, difficulties creating families, rejection by some family/friends, etc. Only the really 'hardcore' would be willing to sign up for life. And that's kinda how it works now. No idea what you're so scared of. The "problem" solves itself. Straight sex doesn't need to marketed to most people. They're in.

Confluence on June 7, 2013 at 4:20 PM

As soon as you say "either this is a choice, or it is genetic," you just open up a whole can of stupid.

Is there some genetic difference between men who prefer red sports cars and men who prefer station wagons? A genetic basis for why a person chooses a salty snack over a sweet one? Genetic reasons one kid joins the math team while another joins the football team?

We make decisions based on what's best for our unique bodies and minds, in other words based on our genetic make up. But they're still decisions, still choices. Genes inform our choices, they don't subvert them. And so we choose the sex life that suits our bodies. The difference now is that either choice is OK.

More or less what @16 said.

tacky on June 7, 2013 at 11:08 PM

I don't understand something. If it's genetic, isn't it also criminality genetic for sociopaths and psychopaths? Does this mean that it's ok to be a psychopath? Isn't our society defined around the ability to control our urges, sexual or criminal? Isn't that what separates us from the dominant monkeys who buttfcku themselves to show dominance? Have we become a society of weaklings who just give into our pleasures in order to have a better life? So, is cheating ok if makes you feel better? How about eating cake when you've had 5 meals a day? I swear this has been documented at least once in our history where two cities were burned down to the ground because of this sort of "pleasure" fad. Sodom and Gomorrah anyone? I just feel that the more we give into our pleasures, the less of a civilization we are.

gbutiri on June 29, 2013 at 1:57 PM

@28 I think you are overlooking the fact that in every analogy you cited, there is someone being harmed. When one person cheats there is another being hurt by that act. If someone eats cake when they have had 5 meals, they are presumably hurting only themselves.
When someone chooses to be gay, nobody is being harmed. If you think that homosexuality is wrong you could argue that society is being harmed but I don't believe that to be true and besides, you have to apply a moral filter to make that true whereas the other examples do not need this filter to be applied to be true.
If it does not harm you or anyone, let it be. Keep your beliefs but don't expect that everyone else should live by them.

dariella on August 5, 2013 at 4:38 AM

So you are ok with them teaching your kids at schools in 5th grade how gay guys or lesbians have sex ? Because that is next step. To me, that's teaching them porn, because gay sex is for pleasure only. What they supposed to teach at school is reproduction. Why teach kids how to have sex for fun? They can figure that our naturally. But this is what gay community is pushing for. Why? Just do what you need to do without making everyone else believe it's natural. I do believe there are people born gay, but I believe it's an psycological thing and it happens in a very tiny percent of population. For others who claim to be gay, it's a choice or upbringing. And the kids they adopt, that kid will forever loose it's chance at having both mom and dad because some gay couple adopted them. I feel sorry for those kids, most of them grow up with lots of psycological problems. What if they don't want to be gay! Are his parents going to support that? They will always try to sway him/ her to be gay how could they not? This whole thing is out of control. Stop painting everything in rainbow colors that doesn't make things right. This is just not anatomically correct.

Leedn on August 9, 2013 at 11:49 AM

A person who is gay does NOT have to act on it. A person who "chooses" to be with the same sex would by that definition be a choice. However if person is attracted to the same sex but never acts on them they would still be by definition gay making it not a choice

You can choose who you want to be with but you can NOT choose what you do and don't like. I never understood how anyone could possibly think liking something (or being attracted to someone) could possibly be choice. Like "Hey you know what today I'm going to be gay. I'm sure it'll be way easier go through life than living straight." Really people?

on August 15, 2013 at 7:03 PM

At 30

"So you are ok with them teaching your kids at schools in 5th grade how gay guys or lesbians have sex?"

They teach sex in 5th grade? What school did you go to?

"Why teach kids how to have sex for fun?"

They are teaching the process of what happens during and after it. Kids today still have sex "for fun."

"They can figure that our naturally. But this is what gay community is pushing for. Why?"

Acceptance is what they are pushing for. Don't get it twisted

"And the kids they adopt, that kid will forever loose it's chance at having both mom and dad because some gay couple adopted them."

So a kid who never got adopted was better off than being a adopted by a gay couple? That's kind of messed up.

"I feel sorry for those kids, most of them grow up with lots of psycological problems. What if they don't want to be gay! Are his parents going to support that? They will 'always'

For the record, labeling something in the always category is never a good idea. moving on

"try to sway him/ her to be gay how could they not?"

There are plenty of moms and dads who disown their kids because they are gay. Just like there are plenty of gay parents who love their kids no matter what life they choose. Your statement is as biased as saying all (insert nationality) does this. YOU CANNOT SPEAK FOR EVERYONE!

Now... nothing you said was even a valid fact. You were either speaking from experience or opinion. Which is fine we are all entitled to our opinions but if you were trying to make a "valid" point, try harder.

on August 17, 2013 at 10:39 AM

Young Americans More Likely to See Being Gay as a "Choice"

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