At 02:05 PM 03/06/2000 -0600, Susan Brassfield wrote:
> >At 11:47 AM 03/06/2000 -0600, Susan Brassfield wrote:
> >
> >>I agree. This, of course, is an excellent illustration of the fact that
> >>people don't choose their sexual orientation. You are born one way and you
> >>are stuck with it! Religious moralizing only causes psychological damage.
> >>Suicide rates among homosexual teens is much higher than among "normal"
> >>adolescents.
> >
>
>Steve Clark:
>
> >This is an example of the phenomenon that if something is said often enough
> >it becomes "truth". To say that people are born with a certain type of
> >sexual orientation is to make a socio/political statement rather than a
> >statement of biological fact. There is NOTHING that proves this
> >proposition. On the other hand, there may be things consistent with the
> >proposition, as well as things inconsistent with it. Neither of these
> >represents proof of it.
>
>the story Steve Jones posted certainly provided compelling evidence.
>Someone tried to make a boy into a girl and failed miserably. Stories have
>begun to surface all other the place where some little boy was turned into
>a girl surgically during infancy and it backfired.
Since I filter Jones' contributions, I did not see his original post. But
I am familiar with the stories you mention. There is a big difference
between sex conversion and sexual conversion. There are too many variables
in anecdotes to make meaningful conclusions from them.
>So what sexual orientation were you when you were born? And at what age did
>you make your choice?
Your point is well taken and I appreciate the chance to clarify my
thoughts. Such is the nature of the cryptic form of communication afforded
by email.
I should have said that there is no evidence that an alternative sexual
orientation is biologically derived. Scientific experiments have tried to
address this point but, like Simon Levay's (sp?) study, are seriously
flawed, or require more information to be conclusive. In very small
studies, some genetic linkage has been associated with male homosexuality,
but the nature and consequence of the linkage is not yet known. In fact I
seem to recall that the data may not be readily repeatable.
So, I stand by my original point, that if something is said often enough,
it tents to become "truth". In this case, when someone says that people do
not chose there sexual orientation, it may be true to an extent. However,
what is usually meant is that people are born with and do not chose
homosexuality. That is not a known biological fact--rather it is a
socio/political statement of belief.
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