Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack.Kerr
Reading your post, I see that we agree on a lot more than we disagree on, but I both agree and disagree with you on this point. It doesn't make sense (to me) to assume that there is one and only one path to the development of sexual identity/attraction, and there is a large variety of research that is identifying the genetic basis for sexuality. But yes, sexual identiy/attraction is based on exposure to outside influences and experiences AND how a person's genetic endowment gets exposed to them. Most children, of course, grow up to be heterosexual. But I have also seen children who showed evidence of same-sex attraction as pre-adolescents, and who grew up on the express track to being adult homosexuals.
Then there are people who are born intersex, and children who identify as the opposite sex. I've also seen one particular instance of a child who was born male, but who from a very early age identified as female. He is just hitting adolescence now, so I guess we'll know pretty soon which way things are going to go. You're right though, that some people move from one side to the other of the sexual attraction spectrum during the course of their lives (and some people move back and forth).
Ultimately, I think that social influences hold a lot more people back from expressing their innate sexual identity than push people into one of the less numerically frequent categories. Sexuality as social fad just doesn't ring true to me.
Either way, if religion or political affiliation (which are choices and definitely NOT genetically based), or physical handicap (which is not necessarily genetically based) can be legally protected choices, then it makes no sense to exclude sexual identity/attraction, which seems to be at least partially genetically based.
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The United States penal system would disagree with you.
There are a lot of people who go into prison having never been attracted to the same sex and end up having a lot of (consensual) sex with people of their own gender... Some never do it again when they get out, while others are changed for life.
The same could be said about the military (especially in times past).
That's circumstantial, not genetic. And it happens all the time.