Nurture versus Nature debate: Is it possible that sexuality is?

Question

a combination of nurture and nature? Typically there is a clear divide between the opinions - either you are born with a certain sexual preference or you are influenced into it.

Can it be possible that there is some elements of both - more like a spectrum from one extreme to the next?

Answer 1

Anything's /possible/, but when one attempts to trace causes, one tends to think chronologically. For example, if War A causes Starvation B which leads to Crime C, do we blame the starvation or the war? The war, of course, because that came first, making it the /root/ cause.



So if Genetics A allows Childhood Experience B to equal Gay C (hehehe, gay C, that makes me think of some pink bouncy musical note), then that pretty much proves definitively that homosexuality is inherent in the genetic code.



The only reason anyone ever has this argument is because they're hoping to say that if Genetics A + Childhood Experience B = Gay C, then Genetics A + Childhood Experience D could lead to Straight E, meaning therefore that Experience B must be bad and wrong and avoided at all costs. This is an affront to us gay folk, because we've not only accepted our sexuality, we've defined ourselves by it, and the concept that someone might "cure" it someday is terrifying to us. Terrifying in that way that makes us feel like our culture is being wiped out of existence, terrifying in that way where a world without gay people would drive up the population considerably and exhaust our resources that much faster, and yes, if I'm totally honest, terrifying in that way that we can't stare at the hot teen pop stars in our old age and speculate about them being gay like us in a world where no one under 30 is gay anymore.



Childhood Experience B is what it is. Leave it alone, and don't try to discover what the hell it is, because the human genome knows what it's doing and tampering with it is a BAD idea.

Answer 2

No. And there is no debate. A couple years ago, in the 70's the American Psychiatric Assotian almost randomly declassified homosexuality as a psychological disorder, despite that there is NO evidance that suggests it is something people are born with: a hormonal disorder, or a brain tissue disorder. Why? Simple, the 60's and 70's were the era of "its okay to be gay.", its no wonder that in the same decade homosexuality was ruled as natural. I want you to put your thinking cap on:



Hormonal- Your hormones affect mood, growth, and metabolism, not descision making. As far as "they" are concerned, it doesnt matter what the gender of the lips you kiss are, and they cant tell the differance. Its your brain that releases sex hormones when it believe intimacy is imenant, theres a rumour going on that says homosexual men carry the condition because they have more estrogen then usual. Wirh all due respect to believers, its the stupidest thing Ive ever heard. Look at the leader of Hitler's S.A. back in the day, he was gay, and I can tell you one thing: I highly doubt he lacked testoscerone. Prison rapists that pounce on those that drop the sope, yeah, they sure have a lot of room for estrogen under those tattoos.



Brain- The part of the brain that controls sex can be twisted into thinking anything is intimacy, including flatulance. But you see, your brain learns, you have to teach it to read, write, walk, talk, everything. If it is possible that the sex part of the brain can be born into seeing the same sex as sexual (say THAT three times fast), then it would also be possible for one drop a baby into the amazon rainforest, let it grow up, and at a certain age it would know perfect English and the theory of relativity. When you become sexually active, what happens is the hormones in your body make the brain long for a feeling (no need to be more detailed), what you want that feeling to come from is where the brain comes in to play. That, my freind, is where things get screwed up, and one can be influenced into homosexuality.



Your combination theory- I dont see how it would work.



Arguers against all this would simply say that doctors ruled that it is not a psychological disorder, and that I am not one. But they could not look at those doctors, and tell me, "Oh look! It turns out hormones actually completely dictate what someone does and thinks! They proved it!" (they havent...) and they cant tell me, "Oh look at that! A study shows your brain is completely influenced by genes, and that baby they dropped in the amazon rainforest is eventually going to talk in the English language and write the theory of relativity in a trees bark."

Answer 3

i personally think it can be both. :)



im sure some men are born instantly attracted to men and some women were born to just like women.



and im a also pretty sure lots of people who were straight for a while turned gay because they just started later on in life having feelings for the same sex through experimenting and such.



nothing wrong with either one.



i wouldnt really know as i am straight but anything is possible.

Answer 4

It's a pretty big jump from hetero to homo. I've talked this very thing over with my gay friends, and frankly, they're not interested in girls. Nature has chosen that path for them. And Nature has chosen a hetero path for me - and I would have not the slightest interest in "being with" a man.



However.... when boys are younger, Nature builds a sort of "homosexuality" into all of us - that's how we end up in the Army together - and through 99.9% of our history - hunting parties. Young males "love" each other - not physically perhaps - but they do "bond". You've got Marines going out into fire to retrieve the body of their friend. You can't order anybody to do that - that has to come from "love".



But this is another thing Nature has built into us - to also be slightly "homosexual". Freud postulated a "homosexual stage" very common in young males - and then the lion's share become hetero later on.



I don't see much 'Nurture' here. We do like to think we make up our own minds.... that's a conceit that we enjoy. But as you get older, you begin to realize that your paths have been chosen for you by Nature most of the time - even your thoughts.

Answer 5

There's no way to influence a sexuality on someone.

It's like me telling a dog to be more feline by having multiple cats living in the same house. (This would be "nurture")

It's a dumb theory.



You're just born that way, which means it's natural.

Answer 6

Sexuality is a combination of sexual orientation and sexual behaviour.

Sexual orientation is decided by nature only.

Sexual behaviour is decided by nurture only.

Answer 7

yeah, it's possible. Just about anything's possible, but it's pretty damned clear that it's not just a choice.