Debating Society

Raymond · Debating Society

On Facebook I've started a debating society so all my facebook friends can debate a topic I put to them.
It seems to be taking off quite well. It gives people a chance to air their views and opinions on a wide range of subjects.

As many of you aren't on my 'facebook friends' list I thought I'd bring the debating society here too.

So, as I posted the question on there I'll post it here. Please feel free to add your opinions.

The first question for the debating society is:

IS HOMOSEXUALITY A CHOICE?

Discuss:

Bravo

Bit of a dodgy starter topic. Only homosexuals would have any valid points as anything else is from a viewpoint of not knowing the material nor ever being able to know the material.

Raymond

You must have an opinion though, and that's what all this is about.

There are loads of things I've never experienced personally but still have an opinion on.

As it's my question though, I suppose I'd better kick it all off with my thoughts.

To my mind being gay is definately not a choice. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word 'choice' as;

choice .n 1. an act of choosing. 2. the right or ability to choose. 3. a range from which to choose. 4. a person or thing that is chosen.

By that we can assume that by using the word 'choice' there has been a decision made. A concious decision has been made from a selection of options.
I am not aware of any homosexual person who made a choice regardling their sexual orinentation.

Of course, if a person is gay they may choose not to act upon it. They may choose to deny their natural inclinations and pretend they aren't there, but their homosexual preference will always be present and it's that natural preference that was born with them and will remain constant - regardless of how they 'choose' to lead their lives.

Being gay is like your eye colour or hair colour. You can dye your hair or wear coloured contact lenses if you wish, but the true nature of those things are in your DNA and that cannot be changed.

Bravo

Well throughout history there have always been homosexuals. One would think that the inability to breed would eradicate that nature, so it must therefore be a mixture of both natural inclination and societal influence.

In the past, people have been treated very harshly for being homosexual, yet they still existed, so therefore it must be the case that they could not help themselves, which would answer your question as a 'no'.

Raymond

You touch upon an interesting point actually Bravo. In fact, you could say the question really answers itself.

If homosexuality were a choice - and let's remember, by choice we're presuming an informed decicion has been taken - then there probably wouldn't be any homosexuals at all.
Even in these 'enlightened' times gay people still have to put up with plenty of hatred and bigotry almost on a daily basis.
Gay people are still treated like second class citizens in most areas of the world (including our own) and even worse than animals in all the rest.

Why would anybody with an ounce of intelligence or self worth choose that???

billy nomates

how many friends have you got on facebook raymond?

is it the worlds smallest group?

personally i have only known one gay man- a friend at school-
it caused him quite a bit of anguish between the years 16-18........

none of us cared.........we took the mickey a bit.........
there have probably always been gay people so is it a 'choice'?

i dont think so- we all do crazy things like fall in love or feel hate for someone for no reason at all..........so perhaps it's just all part of the madness of being human?

i wouldnt imagine anyone on ghe would care at all about others being gay.........

just dont ram it down our throats!!!!!!!!!!! Big Grin

david hobbs

Is being straight a choice?

The problem is that gay people can't seem to forget their gayness, as Jewish people just can't seem to get over the fact that they are Jewish and with Moslem's etc etc etc.

No there is no choice, and frankly no one give a toss.

We are people.

Just people living our lives in the only way we can.

Living as what we.

So let's hope we can get on with it and not make to many mistakes along the way.

evergreen

I'd say its something that comes naturally to a person as I can't imagine myself being attracted to women so their is n choice its just men for me

one things I can't say I understand totally is being bi ... to me that blurs the argument that it is perhaps a choice which gender you are attracted to.. then sometimes i think maybe these people have lost the significant differences between the genders and are the least gender biased of us all

personally I think being gay is the way you are full stop.. as is my straightness

Raymond

Actually EG I never understood the whole 'bi' thing until last year when I met an incredibly intelligent bisexual woman.

In a way more clever than I could do it justice she explained to me that they are looking for a person to connect with - gender be damned.

I like that. By being Bi you've got more chances than straights or gays at finding your soul mate (if such a thing exists).

david hobbs

Yes a 50% better chance.

I wonder if bisexuals are the ultimate in sexualy balanced persons

Raymond

I don't think I've ever met a true Bisexual. By that I mean someone who actually makes a choice in settling down with a person of their own sex.

Bisexuality seems to be an issue when the person is single. They can shag around with either sex, best of both worlds you might say, but all the bisexuals I've known always choose to make their life partners of the opposite sex.

It seems when the time for playing around comes to an end they decide to go 'normal'.

Just once I'd like to meet a bisexual who lives with his boyfreind and sneaks out to see his girlfriend on the sly.

evergreen

evergreen

where my rent my office the owner is a gay woman.. who thought she may be able to turn me lol as a gay she should honestly know better hahaha

that is my experience with Bi's too Raymond I have found they appear to be sexual risk takers and up for anything but settle down with hetro relationships

david hobbs

There was a gay man from Khartoum

Met up with a lesbian from Frome

They spent the whole night involved in a fight

About with which to do what to whom

wackyjacky

We are who we are so therefore whether you're gay or not, its not a choice, just who you are.

david hobbs

In the good old days a course of electric shock treatment would have been prescribed for anyone who was attracted to a member of the same sex as themselves.

We have moved on from there because science has come to realise that you cannot alter someones sexual persuasion.

Having said that I wonder if hypnosis would convince a person that they fancied someone of the same sex or in the case of homosexuals someone of the opposite sex.

Bravo

Raymond

Yeah I would.

And as with all my posts I can only comment on my own personal experiences, and every bisexual I have ever known has been a big time whore.

Fair play to them. Why not?