jimc@haddock.UUCP (06/05/85)
I have always felt strongly about homosexuality, and having read this newsgroup for almost a year now, I would like to air some opinions on what I perceive to be the reality of the situation. No one seems to know for sure what causes homosexuality. However, it seems likely that much of what has been classically perceived as the "causes" of homosexuality are not truly such. To begin, homosexuality is not is not a voluntary condition. I don't think anyone knows for certain why his or her sexuality is a certain way; all that is known is that it is just part of one's character. I cannot remember a time when I was not heterosexual; most admitted homosexuals say the same thing about their sexuality. There is no "preference"; it just is. It also behaves like a hereditary physical condition in that no one is cured of it. Just as my hair is brown or that my skin is white, I am attracted to women and not men. Just as my uncle's hair is black and his eyes are blue, he is attracted to men and not women. Beyond its indelibility, other characteristics stand out. Certainly, homosexuality is an emotional as well as physical orientation, just as heterosexuality is. One feels more excitement, more wonder, more fascination in the sex one is attracted to than to the other. For these reasons, the homosexual seeks out close relationships with members of the same sex. Often, these relationships become sexual, but not always. Bigoted heterosexuals have often said that homosexuality is simply a matter of "lust", when in truth, homosexuals are known to fall in love with members of their own sex and not ever have sex with them, just as heterosexuals do. Of course, some homosexuals treat their sexuality as only a means of physical gratification, but to say this is a tendency intrinsic to the homosexual community alone would be an obvious mistake. On the other extreme, a form of feminism known as separatism claims that women as a whole would profit from attempting to form their own societies, free of male influence and seeking sexual gratification from only other women. I have also heard militant homosexuals claim that everyone has the potential to be at least bisexual. In that vein, some sociologists claim that the future holds a time of complete sexual freedom in which everyone will have sexual relationships with members of both sexes. These opinions seem just as incorrect as the opinions held by those who believe homosexuality is "imagined" or "curable." I do not feel that the permissiveness of the society in which we live will prompt any truly heterosexual people to adopt a bisexual or homosexual lifestyle, or vice versa. To say that heterosexuals would become bisexual under more permissive circumstance seems to be a commission of exactly the same error homosexuals often accuse of heterosexuals: sexuality is not a matter of decision. In my case, I have never had a sexual experience with a man, nor would I ever want to because that is not my orientation. It would not matter how satisfying such experience is to others; it just is not part of me. I guess the most interesting aspect of sexuality is its profound effect on the personality. What could cause sexual preference, something so deep in the human character that it seems inaccessible to all psychological or biological inquiry? It is certainly not only the need for the human race to perpetuate itself, or there would be no homosexuality. Homosexuality does not seem to be a direct reaction to overpopulation, either, or I do not feel homosexuality would exist in this country to the degree it does. It is certainly not created through the biddings of the culture in which we live. I am interested in the theory that homosexuality tends to form in individuals whose mothers have gone through great stress while they were still *in utero*, or that it has genetic cause and emerges as an atavistic condition. The real test of either theory would come in the case of identical twins. Is it possible for one of them to be gay, while the other is not? Also, one has to realize that many mammals exhibit homosexual behavior. Would homosexuality occur in other species for same reasons? Also, I wonder if lesbianism has the same causes as male homosexuality. They might be very different. Finally, if the causes of homosexuality are ever identified, what could be said about the causes of heterosexuality? I am very interested in seeing what science produces in this field. Until then, I hope society continues to mature as it has been, slowly disallowing the healthy, immutable traits of the individual to be any longer a reason for discrimination. Jim Campbell ...!ihnp4!ima!haddock!jimc
sophie@mnetor.UUCP (Sophie Quigley) (06/13/85)
> > I have always felt strongly about homosexuality, and having read > this newsgroup for almost a year now, I would like to air some > opinions on what I perceive to be the reality of the situation. > Why do I get the impression that this guy is only interested in lecturing others about his "theories" about sexuality so as to show how open-minded he is? -- Sophie Quigley {allegra|decvax|ihnp4|linus|watmath}!utzoo!mnetor!sophie
ck@ima.UUCP (06/18/85)
>Why do I get the impression that this guy is only interested in >lecturing others about his "theories" about sexuality so as to >show how open-minded he is? >-- >Sophie Quigley Perhaps because you're too close-minded to recognize someone in his attempt to understand something that, by nature, is foreigh n to him. If he had posted a hostile article, would you have accepted it then? So, he's damned if he tries to understand, and he's damned if he doesn't try? You may feel lectured to and you may have heard all he wrote before his posting, but your cynicism is misplaced here. ck. ihnp4!ima!ck