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Gay by choice?

She has now "clarified":

While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship.
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Linky.
 
It's basically what she said in the previous interview, about how she doesn't like the b word.
 
Lisa Simpson said:
Sex and the City co-star Cynthia Nixon has said she's "gay by choice".

Critics are saying she's playing into the hands of conservatives and I agree. Why not just call yourself bisexual? I admit, I'm not gay, so maybe I'm missing out on some idea.
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Sorry if this was already posted.

Cynthia Nixon Says Bisexuality Is Not a ‘Choice’

“While I don’t often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have ‘chosen’ is to be in a gay relationship. As I said in the Times and will say again here, I do, however, believe that most members of our community — as well as the majority of heterosexuals — cannot and do not choose the gender of the persons with whom they seek to have intimate relationships because, unlike me, they are only attracted to one sex.”
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ETA: Yeah, should have taken a moment just to check the last page. Doh!
 
A gay housemate once told me that for women they are not necessarily born gay. I have no idea if that is true or not.
 
Bill Thompson said:
A gay housemate once told me that for women they are not necessarily born gay. I have no idea if that is true or not.
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It's an incredibly ignorant statement that is counter to all sociological data. During the Prop 8 trial the defense, who offered no experts, tried to get the plaintiffs experts to agree with this claim. The experts testified that while sexuality can be fluid (bisexual) the idea that one isn't born gay and becomes gay is flat wrong.
 
Cessna172 said:
The sexual orientation is not a choice. But BTW doesn't mean that is genetical.
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A strong consensus based on empirical data is that it's nature and nurture and that genetics plays a very significant role (see sociobioloby and genetic predisposition).
 
RandFan said:
A strong consensus based on empirical data is that it's nature and nurture and that genetics plays a very significant role (see sociobioloby and genetic predisposition).
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Is there any positive evidence for nurture in the sense of non biological causes? There could well be just random elements as well such that you will never find a biological cause that leads to 100% of the people in the group being gay, but that doesn't mean society effects it.
 
ponderingturtle said:
Is there any positive evidence for nurture in the sense of non biological causes? There could well be just random elements as well such that you will never find a biological cause that leads to 100% of the people in the group being gay, but that doesn't mean society effects it.
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It isn't either/or.

If someone has the genetics found to be associated with 'being gay', and never acts on them because of social pressures, that's nurture.
Likewise if somene does the opposite and overcomes whatever the social setting may dictate.

That's where the idea of choice comes in.
 
crimresearch said:
It isn't either/or.

If someone has the genetics found to be associated with 'being gay', and never acts on them because of social pressures, that's nurture.
Likewise if somene does the opposite and overcomes whatever the social setting may dictate.

That's where the idea of choice comes in.
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That is choice about whether to be active, not whether to be gay.
A celibate straight person is still straight, no matter what the reasons for celibacy.
 
kerikiwi said:
That is choice about whether to be active, not whether to be gay.
A celibate straight person is still straight, no matter what the reasons for celibacy.
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I'm not talking about coming out, or even acting on the self identity.

None of which makes it *not* a component of nurture.

I'm talking about people answering the question 'Who am I?' internally. The answers *can* change, and it isn't anyone else's place to tell them that they aren't really feeling what they feel.

People who identify as heterosexual, fall in love, raise children, and then make a choice later in life to identify as gay (or as bi, kinky, transexual, et al.) should not be fodder for negative speculation and labelling by others.
 
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Mark6 said:
I think your wife is onto something.

I had met a fair number of women who:

a) Preferred hetero sex, but only with a man they really liked
b) If they could not find a really good man, would sleep with each other rather than with some jerk man

What do you call women like that? "Lesbian by necessity"?
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I've heard the term "political lesbians" for women who choose to be with other women on principal rather than out of sexual attraction. Not sure if that's a real distinction or just an outsider's perception.
 
I find the claim that gay people choose to be attracted to members of the same sex to be extremely bizarre. Speaking personally, I could never choose to be sexually and romantically attracted to another man. This makes Cynthia Nixon's claim puzzling. Did she wake-up one day and say "ya know, I am going to be attracted to women"?
 
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