Poll for everyone

[raiders rule]

Do you believe people are born gay, choose to be gay, or some choose,some born that way. I believe some choose, some born that way.

[Gumleaf]

gen puberty - teen sexuality

[Rutherford The Brave]

Born Gay end of story.

[Oblivion]

Some are born gay, but others grow to be and choose to be gay under life's influences

[Techno Monster]

I think both, my guy friend liked guys from age 3.

[byee]

Well, no one knows the correct answer to this. But, if you talk with people of both orientations, what they'll tell you is that they didn't make a 'choice'. They are who they are, they're just being themselves, they're just that way, be it straight or gay. (as an aside, it's always interesting to me that the question is about homosexuality, that somehow heterosexuality isn't in the same category, it's not 'chosen', or a birth right). There was no conscious 'choice', like, 'Oh, I'll be heterosexual'. It just is.

It's unfortunate that people need to somehow force an understanding on this, eventhough there's no real way to tell. It's a sad way of justifying who you are, that somehow if it can be explained it can either be 'fixed', or at least better accepted by the 'others'. I'm not sure how this really helps.

You are who you are, it's important to come to terms with that with yourself, and to learn to accept others for who they are. Even if you don't quite understand why.

[dogman]

i think when you develop, that is when you become gay, but also, some r just born, but i think the majority of gays learn and accept to be gay during their developing years

[Ryandel]

I really don't know especially in my situation. I thought I was bi for all these years... But I might be straight...

-Alex D

[george]

I think your born gay because I remember watching this video about these biologist looking at the differences between gays and straight people. And they found that gay men had the look of a straight woman. I'll see if I can find the video again.

Ah ok I found the article from Time

What makes people gay? Biologists may never get a complete answer to that question, but researchers in Sweden have found one more sign that the answer lies in the structure of the brain.

Scientists at the Karolinska Institute studied brain scans of 90 gay and straight men and women, and found that the size of the two symmetrical halves of the brains of gay men more closely resembled those of straight women than they did straight men. In heterosexual women, the two halves of the brain are more or less the same size. In heterosexual men, the right hemisphere is slightly larger. Scans of the brains of gay men in the study, however, showed that their hemispheres were relatively symmetrical, like those of straight women, while the brains of homosexual women were asymmetrical like those of straight men. The number of nerves connecting the two sides of the brains of gay men were also more like the number in heterosexual women than in straight men.

Just what these brain differences mean is still not clear. Ever since 1991, when Simon LeVay first documented differences in the hypothalamus of gay and straight men, researchers have been struggling to understand what causes these differences to occur. Until now, the brain regions that scientists have come to believe play a role in sexual orientation have been related to either reproduction or sexuality. The Swedish study, however, is the first to find differences in parts of the brain not normally involved in reproduction — the denser network of nerve connections, for example, was found in the amygdala, known as the emotional center of the brain. "The big question has always been, if the brains of gay men are different, or feminized, as earlier research suggests," says Dr. Eric Vilain, professor of human genetics at University of California Los Angeles, "then is it just limited to sexual preference or are there other regions that are gender atypical in gay males? For the first time, in this study it looks like there are regions of the brain not directly involved in sexuality that seem to be feminized in gay males."

Vilain, who studies the genetic factors behind sexuality and sexual orientation, notes that it may turn out that the brains of gay men possess only some 'feminized' structures, while retaining some masculine ones, and this is reflected in how they act on their sexuality. "We know from studies that men, regardless of their sexual orientation, retain masculine characteristics when it comes to their sexual behavior," he says. Both gay and straight men, for example, tend to prefer younger partners, in contrast to women, who gravitate toward older partners. Most men are also more likely than women to engage in casual sex, and to be aroused by visual stimuli. "So I expect that some regions of the brain will remain masculine even in gay men," says Vilain. For something as complex as sexual orientation, it's no surprise that everything from genes to gender to environment may play a role in ultimately determining your perfect partner.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1815538,00.html

[Bryan B]

Some are born gay and others they chose it

[Aηdy]

Choose to be gay.

[BeautifulSilence]

Surely you can't choose which sex you are attracted to, it just comes naturally - if it doesn't then you're not actually attracted to that sex, right?

I chose the option that they are born gay....

[Rawrbaby]

I think that you choose to be gay but your already to be gay by your destiny but you can either choose to accept being gay or not.

[TurboDieselBandit]

It's funny how most of the people who say "you chose to be gay" are not gay and have never had gay feelings. How are you going to comment on something you have never experienced?

[Maverick]

Bumped thread. Locked.