[Redway]

Nature. I'm pretty sure gay teens post a high suicide rate, at least comparatively speaking, so why would they choose that and other stigma because they're so insistent on drifting far away from the majority as possible?

Nurture = total nonsense.

[Nedusa]

I think religious Dogma has a lot to answer for, most mainstream religions quote from Holy scriptures which pretty much frown upon same sex unions. These doctrines have created a default position in which Heterosexuality is considered as normal.

Anything else is abnormal or unnatural as only the "normal" man-woman union can result in procreation etc...

This type of bigotry has been endemic across all Social and religious boundaries for centuries and only now in the 21st Century in most developed countries people can finally feel comfortable in declaring their sexuality without fear of persecution.

Unfortunately in some developing countries or within some extremist religions hatred and hostility is still found towards non heterosexual people.

Hopefully as time moves on and as people become more informed and better educated these bigoted views will disappear....!!!!

[Benjamin]

I must just say I do know a couple of gay people who believe in the nurture theory.

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

I must just say I do know a couple of gay people who believe in the nurture theory.

..would you want to share their theory in more detail, just out of interest..?...

[Chuck]

Don't think this is a debate tbh.

It's nature and that's it. Some people choose to experiment, others have had some bad experiences that were enough to put them off of the opposite sex, there are the ones who have always been gay but only discover that later in life etc etc. I do not believe for a second you can choose your sexuality.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..would you want to share their theory in more detail, just out of interest..?...

Well they believe that triggers and influences throughout upbringing at an early age "teach" them to be gay and that if they had been brought up in different ways/environments then they wouldn't be.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Chuck

Don't think this is a debate tbh.

It's nature and that's it. Some people choose to experiment, others have had some bad experiences that were enough to put them off of the opposite sex, there are the ones who have always been gay but only discover that later in life etc etc. I do not believe for a second you can choose your sexuality.

It makes it a debate because not everyone agrees with the nature theory.

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

It makes it a debate because not everyone agrees with the nature theory.

I know I meant it like on a personal level., like it's not something I've ever had a doubt about.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Well they believe that triggers and influences throughout upbringing at an early age "teach" them to be gay and that if they had been brought up in different ways/environments then they wouldn't be.

What kind of things do they think trigger homosexuality?

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Well they believe that triggers and influences throughout upbringing at an early age "teach" them to be gay and that if they had been brought up in different ways/environments then they wouldn't be.

..I guess that's interesting because they've obviously felt that some of their particular experiences could have been an influence and I think that there are things with all of us that we could pick out certain times/experiences etc of childhood and early years and say..oh, I think that might have been a factor in ******being part of my character/because this happened etc..?...but unless they had a different set of experiences in life..(which would never happen..) they would never maybe be convinced that their sexuality would be the same..I believe 'character' is influenced by environment/nature but I don't think that sexuality is character, it's genetic....but yeah, it's quite interesting that those are their thoughts....

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

What kind of things do they think trigger homosexuality?

The upbringings they have had. They grew up in all female households all their lives.

Up still not sure myself. I believe it's both nature and nurture. I believe many have the tendency to be homosexual/bisexual, but it requires certain triggers for it to develop, and for some people they never encounter those triggers.

There isn't really any difference in the weight of opinion between gay/straight people here. We've all been through the growing up process, and there isn't anything that could have affected my sexuality.

I was attracted to women before I even knew anything about their best bits, or how my bits worked because it was innate. I can still appreciate attractive men, but I just don't believe nurture plays any role in sexuality.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

The upbringings they have had. They grew up in all female households all their lives.

Up still not sure myself. I believe it's both nature and nurture. I believe many have the tendency to be homosexual/bisexual, but it requires certain triggers for it to develop, and for some people they never encounter those triggers.

mmm But it's not like all gay men were raised by only females though either

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

mmm But it's not like all gay men were raised by only females though either

Oh I know that, I don't hold the opinion they do, I was just mentioning it. My opinion is that both play a part in sexuality.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Oh I know that, I don't hold the opinion they do, I was just mentioning it. My opinion is that both play a part in sexuality.

Yeah, i heard that opinion before about being raised by women etc I'm not sure I believe it though by that logic I could have been a lesbian cos I grew in a house with 3 brothers and a dad (my mom was there too) It definitely made me more of a tomboy and less girly but never effected my sexuality

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Yeah, i heard that opinion before about being raised by women etc I'm not sure I believe it though by that logic I could have been a lesbian cos I grew in a house with 3 brothers and a dad (my mom was there too) It definitely made me more of a tomboy and less girly but never effected my sexuality

..yeah, I was just going to make a similar post in that my world was very male dominated and I was a complete tomboy/hung around with my brothers and their friends and only ever had one female friend...but I guess that if I had been gay and felt that my environment was a contributory factor, then whether it's fact or not, then that would be my belief in my head...

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Yeah, i heard that opinion before about being raised by women etc I'm not sure I believe it though by that logic I could have been a lesbian cos I grew in a house with 3 brothers and a dad (my mom was there too) It definitely made me more of a tomboy and less girly but never effected my sexuality

Lol, I try to argue with my friends that believe that but I grew up in a house full of women and I'm gay and they like to point that out.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Lol, I try to argue with my friends that believe that but I grew up in a house full of women and I'm gay and they like to point that out.

By the same token though, there's a guy I went to school with, he grew up with a mother and father and there was 4 children 3 boys and 1 girl, him and one of his brothers are gay and the other brother and the sister are straight. They all grew up in the same house.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

..yeah, I was just going to make a similar post in that my world was very male dominated and I was a complete tomboy/hung around with my brothers and their friends and only ever had one female friend...but I guess that if I had been gay and felt that my environment was a contributory factor, then whether it's fact or not, then that would be my belief in my head...

Yeah, that's true, I think some gay men were raised by women and so think that's the reason but there are plenty gay men who were raised by two parents also, i think single mothered familes are just more common now which is why the percentage of gay men coming from being raised by just a mother is more common

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Yeah, that's true, I think some gay men were raised by women and so think that's the reason but there are plenty gay men who were raised by two parents also, i think single mothered familes are just more common now which is why the percentage of gay men coming from being raised by just a mother is more common

..and maybe for some people if they have just a female influence in their lives, they may find it easier to realise their sexuality and so, that could be interpreted as an 'influence', when it isn't....

[Z]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

I think people are born gay. If it was nurture, then you wouldnt get brothers and sisters that were different sexualities.

Also don't think its a choice. Without offendng gay people (which I probably will do anyway) I dont see why anyone would actually chose to go against the 'norm' so to speak, and put themselves through all of the **** that apparently comes with being gay (ridicule when young, homophobia etc)

I agree with this. Why would anyone make the conscious choice to be subjected to verbal, physical and emotional abuse because of their sexuality? When people say it's a choice, I want to ask those people "so when did you choose to be straight?" - I blame religion for that attitude.

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Well they believe that triggers and influences throughout upbringing at an early age "teach" them to be gay and that if they had been brought up in different ways/environments then they wouldn't be.

I also can see where they are coming from. People develop all sorts of fetishes from experiences they had when they were younger; I can see why people would think they "became" gay because of things that happened to them when they were younger... but ultimately I don't believe that you are nurtured to be gay. It's something you are born as. I think experiences you have when you're young could contribute to how you perceive your own homosexuality and your preferences, just as your experiences as a child can give you phobias and passions...

Racism is taught. Who is teaching homosexuality? Nobody.

[Kizzy]

I believe that there maybe a trigger too for some (maybe not all) that's to say it's latent in some and awoken by experience or event.
I think that theory is being accepted now for psychopaths, that the brain chemistry is there but it takes a trigger to 'switch on' the part of the brain responsible.
Maybe evander in BB could have been trying to explain a similar nature/nurture argument, but the way he was grilled for it... wow, It's really getting scary the way you can't even vocalise anything that doesn't conform to the 'norm' these days is frightening!

[Z]

I wonder if they'll ever figure out why people are homosexual in my lifetime? I'd be interested to know the science behind it. I still think that homosexuality is one of nature's attempts to curb the human population, along with diseases, illnesses and infertility. There are too many people in the world.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Zee

I wonder if they'll ever figure out why people are homosexual in my lifetime? I'd be interested to know the science behind it. I still think that homosexuality is one of nature's attempts to curb the human population, along with diseases, illnesses and infertility. There are too many people in the world.

We were created because women could no longer be trusted to dress themselves.

[BBfan46]

Nature.

I've always been close to both of my parents. My mother was never domineering or a smother mother and I've always been close to my Dad, we're actually very similar but I'm still really close to both of my parents so I do have to rubbish claims that parental relationships shape sexuality.

I always felt attraction to the same gender from birth, it was never a change in me or anything, I was never exposed to anything that made me feel like that, it certainly felt like a natural attraction and a natural progression of sexuality to me.