So I watch and digest the arguments about being gay...

In the blue corner, anti-gay folks believing that gays woke up one morning and said "Hey!...I'll think I'll touch my pee-pee with someone else's!"...

And in the red corner, pro-gay folks believing it's all about a gene that hasn't been found yet...which is like saying you have no evidence of life on other plants, but dammit, you just KNOW there is because of evidence there are other suns...

I have a different theory...I think it's both...and neither...and some of each...

Confused?...That's OK...I am, too...That's why I call it a "theory"...I have no problems being 100% wrong on this, but I DO mind if someone thinks I'm 100% wrong simply because it doesn't "help their cause"...

And it's based purely on linear logic...I'm no scientist, but my theory makes sense once you take the emotional responses out of the equation...

I declare no winner, and when one does that, they usually get treated by crap from both sides...I fully expect this for me, too...

So here we go...my "Theory of Gayativity"...None of it based on actual fact, but none of it has facts against it either, so use your own objective judgement...if you have any...



Is there a "gay gene"?...I don't think so...

But I'm going to use a word here that will pop up a few times in this theory...

"SUSCEPTABILITY"...

Now do I believe there's a gene that makes one susceptable to being gay?...Yup...

There IS evidence that genes exist that doesn't MAKE one become something, but DOES make them susceptable...

Let's take alcoholism as an example...

Studies have shown that it runs in the genetic code of parents who are alcoholics and pass it along to little Johnny and Mary...

Does that mean that little Johnny and Mary WILL BE alcoholics?...Of course not...But it does mean they are more susceptable to it than the kid whose parents aren't on the sauce...

And what it ALSO means is that there is no DIRECT connection...

There are millions of examples where the children of alcoholics avoid the stuff and millions of examples where parents who don't drink gave birth to an eventual slosh...

DISCLAIMER - I'm only comparing alcoholism to being gay in the medical sense...I'm not making a statement on any equivalancy of their place in society, so don't get your panties in a bunch...

So how do these "exceptions" happen?...I have two thoughts on it...

1) A term which I call "the switch"...

2) External influences...

let's take them one by one...

First, as I've said, I believe there's a gene that makes one susceptable to being "something"...It could be gay, a gambling addict, a lover of poetry, a desire to become a pilot...almost anything...

That doesn't mean the gene is turned "on" at birth and they WILL be that "something"...Just that the gene exists in a dormant stage until #2 (external forces) "switch" it on...

So now we come to the second thought on susceptability...external forces...

I don't believe being gay is a choice...But I DO believe being gay is a psychosomatic reaction to an event or events in one's life...In other words, something happened which turned the susceptability gene to the "on" position...

Now here's the fun part...

What that event(s) is could be literally anything...and the age of the event can be different from one person to the next...And still, one event to one person may do nothing for the "switch", but to the next person the event may be lifechanging...Even going further, the switch might get turned on by one big event in one person, but for others, it could be a series of events...Someone could have 15 events that happened to him that could turn the switch on but never did (a tougher gene to switch) while the person next to them was born with a susceptability gene that was easy to switch with one event that could've happened at a very young age...

And here's the kicker...Events can have OPPOSITE reactions to different people!!!! One guy breaks up with his girlfriend and freaks...The gene gets switched on and he disavows women for the rest of his life...On another guy the gene may not come close to switching and he starts making women his conquest...(And, of course, in yet another guy nothing happens)...

That explains why someone whose genetic makeup could point to something like alcoholism but it never happens, and why someone whose genetic makeup gives them a .00001% chance of becoming an alcoholic but the guy ends up in an alley with a bottle of Thunderbird...It also explains why one kid who had shelves and shelves of alcohol in the house with irresponsible parents could grow up not touching the stuff while another kid whose never even seen a bottle of alcohol until he was 24 could end up sitting at the far end of the bar talking to himself by the time he hits 26...

Some susceptability genes are simply tougher to switch on than others...

Now a question on this susceptability gene comes up that I don't have an answer for...

How many people have it?...let's say the population is 5% gay...Does that mean 100% of the population has it but only 5% get switched on?...Or could it be that 80% of the population has no shot at being gay, but the susceptability gene gets switched on in 25% of the remaining 20% of the population that DOES have it?...Got me...I'll wait until someone with a lab coat comes up with that one...


OK...Now we come to part where if I haven't made some angry yet, the floodgates should be open all of the way by the time they're done reading this...

I believe the number of gays are increasing...and it's due to the external forces...

Let's take another group of people first before anyone starts throwing tomatos at me...Gun enthusiests...

Were they BORN loving guns?...Of course not...But the two issues (gene susceptability/external forces) CREATES them...

In areas where guns are prevalent, you're going to find that people have many avenues and events that will turn that susceptability gene on...Of course, you'll also find exceptions to where the gun-toting idea turns some off, but I think we can agree that if you're in an area that has a gun devotion, the manifestation of that will be handed down to the next generation in that area...

And it doesn't even have to be a bloodline...How many kids become an enthusiest of something because the neighbor they look up is a shining example?...Of course, the opposite happens, too...where a kid becomes an alcoholic because their neighbor is always drunk and happy and the kid starts imitating them and by the time they find themselves deep into alcoholism, it's too late...Either way, it wasn't that the kid woke up and said "I love guns!(or alchohol)"...It was their surroundings that turned their susecptability switch on which ultimately made them go that route...

And that's why I believe the number of gays is increasing...

The number of things that represent the gay community have increased in the public the last few decades, so that means the events that are able to turn the susceptability gene to be turned on has also increased...

In a town with no gays, the chances of having that gene switched on is low...In fact, the only people that would end up gay would be very low just like the number of people who avoid alcohol born in an "alcoholic lifestyle" would be low...An exeption to the rule where the gene gets switched based on a repellant reaction...

But in places where being gay has a positive and public reaction, the chances of the susceptability gene being switched on skyrockets...which ends up in the obvious...more people being gay...(Once again, there would also be a very low exception to the rule where people would be turned of because of the positive display of the lifestyle like I mentioned above)...


So lets's review...which should make eveything as confusing as ever...

Those are my beliefs, so take them as you wish...I could be off by a mile or spot on, but either way, digest how you'd like...

* Everything effects everyone differently, so there is no "one cause" for being something...in this case, gay...

* Being gay does not come from a gene that makes one gay, but a gene that can be turned on due to surroundings and events that can happen in that person's life...and just like most other formations in both body and mind, the younger one is, the easier for changes to occur...

* The switch can be turned on due to one event or many events...most likely depending on the individual...Likewise, there could be an opposite reaction where events and surroundings make the gene into a tougher position to switch on...

* Being gay is not a conscious decision (choice)...

* Being in an area that has an increased amount of surroundings and events creates more chances where the gene can switch to the "on" position...

So there you go...

Take it however you want to...It's just what I "think" is happening...

Now excuse me while I put on my kevlar...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

I did the same thing a long while back. My view has changed a bit in the details, but in the absence of any concrete information, that's to be expected.

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Even if you hold the minority opinion, stick to your guns and go against the flow if that's what you truly believe. (CnRedd)

I am curious if that makes the reciprocal true...

Are we all born non-sexual, and some event makes us what we are?

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The unwritten assumption in a lot of the above is that people are "heterosexual" until something makes them "homosexual".

Obviously, theories will abound.
A few points...
1) "Choice" is not a factor. People do not "choose" to be gay.
It doesn't matter how uncertain we are as to whether a red ball or a blue ball lies underneath an overturned cup. Just because we don't know that doesn't mean that "there is an elephant under the cup" is a theory that is competitive.
Likewise, the "choice" alternative has already been shot down.
(This comment is obviously just repeating what cnredd already pointed out in his above post.)

2) A genetic component has been proven to exist.
Mendel did a LOT of experimenting showing hereditary factors of genetics at a time when we had NO IDEA about "genetics".
But he proved that the "offspring" of "parent plants" had certain potentials for attributes.
Without even being able to point to the exact "gene" involved, Mendel PROVED "genetic" characteristics.
Likewise, just because a "gene" for "homosexuality" hasn't been identified doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Like cnredd brought up, alcoholism has a "genetic" component. And we can safely say that even though I believe NOBODY has been able to point to a "alcoholic gene".

3) Gay animals exist.
In trying to determine the cause of homosexuality, it cannot be ignored that homosexuality exists in a variety of other areas with some degree, or possibly a complete absence of a degree, of some of the "factors" that are discussed.
Quite frankly, I think the abundance of gay animals points to the presence of something more fundamental than just "boy-friend dumped her" and similar statements. Homosexuality itself is more fundamental than that...

4) Scientists typically agree that it is not "just" genetics which causes most homosexuality.
The potential interactive cause with another factor is suspected, but no definitive "other" factor has been consistently identified.
Gays come from conservative and liberal house-holds.
Gays exist who never wanted to be gay in the first place. People who deny their sexuality their entire life.

The APA states the following:
Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality

There are numerous theories about the origins of a person's sexual orientation; most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality. In summary, it is important to recognize that there are probably many reasons for a person's sexual orientation and the reasons may be different for different people.

If your theory were true what would the implications be? Would you suggest we limit the external factors increasing the likelihood that the susceptibility switch flips on?

CNREDD: I think the theory you pushed forth is pretty sound, actually. It is very similar to the way I look at it as well.

Something that I think adds to the potential of people "becoming" gay is when parents REFUSE to teach their kids about "the birds and the bees" at an early enough of an age, and when sexual attraction is pushed out as a BAD thing by the parents, or their church or Sunday school. When kids are going through puberty, the WORST thing a parent or church could do is teach them that what they're going through is somehow WRONG and the idea that it's "sinful" to have the curiosity or desire to see the other gender naked or just have major curiosities about the opposite sex. It's even MORE potential for this to happen if said child is one to pay close attention to and follows most or all rules without question--basically, it can happen to the "good" kids more than the ones who rebel because the ones who rebel ARE NOT going to listen to parents or the church tell them that doing what comes to them naturally is BAD.

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The implications would depend on the question I proposed in the theory...

How many people have the "susecptability gene" and how easily or tough it can be switched on...

If 100% of the population have it, who the heck knows?...If 20% of the population has it, then there's a guarantee it could never be over that...

That's an individual's opinion...

Gay activists would want to spread the word and create more events and anti-gay activists would want all events to cease and desist...

Most people with their heads on straight would want it somewhere in between...

__________________
"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Huh? I find it very difficult to believe that sexual hang ups produce gayness or bisexuality.

You're funny redd.

I have a theory that "sheer hotness" leads to an increased susceptibility to promiscuity.

Like homosexuality, there's probably not much anyone can do about it.

You have a point, but only one of a gazillion...

You could turn that around and say that children in the puberty stage living in a household or region where everything sexual goes would turn that kid towards his/her same "rebal" mentality and start believing their must be conformity...

It's really anything and everything depending on the individual...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd