Do you think you choose your sexual orientation?

[A]

Do you think gay people choose to be gay? Do you think straight people choose to be straight?

do not give a yes or no blunt answer u boring people.

[-:Undertaker:-]

No you don't choose it but it is entirely your choice whether or not you act upon it and often people confuse the two.

[Kyle]

There are both biological and social influences but the choice is ultimately down to the individual.


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[Brad]

I think there's a deeper meaning to why someone chooses to be gay. Whether it be from past experience, or from personal desire. All cases that I've heard (and yes this does change from person to person) all had traumatic experiences as a child/young teenager that was resulted in the decision to do so.
Personally, no matter what a person's sexual orientation may be - they are just humans. Just like everyone else.

[Kyle]

I think there's a deeper meaning to why someone chooses to be gay. Whether it be from past experience, or from personal desire. All cases that I've heard (and yes this does change from person to person) all had traumatic experiences as a child/young teenager that was resulted in the decision to do so.

What kind of trauma


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[Brad]

What kind of trauma


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Traumas that may include sexual or physical abuse. It could possibly stem from parental neglect as well. Those types of traumas.

[Empired]

I think probably a very small amount of people are born definitely gay or straight. But like I said it's likely to be a really small amount of people, like just occasionally a genius or a natural dancer is born. But most people have to choose to work hard to be smart/amazing at dancing just like most people make choices throughout their life that will influence their sexuality.
I don't remember making a conscious decision to work hard at school, it was the decisions I made (and the decisions I was encouraged to make by adults around me) to value education. It's probably the same with sexuality: you don't wake up and think "I am suddenly straight", but there might be a day- it might take a lot longer- when you realise that you are gay and have been for some time.

I don't really know that much about it particularly as I'm unsure of my sexuality myself. But at the end of the day I don't really think it matters. IMO I can change my mind about my sexuality at any point I like throughout my life if I realise I want to.

[buttons]

no i didn't choose my sexuality. if i look back, i know i fancied girls when i was already too young to know that it wasn't "normal" or to know what sexuality was.

there's evidence for genetic predispositions, environmental influences, a combination between the two, prenatal stress and hormones.

if you ask a gay person they will most likely say no. unless they're political lesbians, who choose to date women only, despite being attracted to males. choosing to date only one gender is different to actual attraction. i don't think you can force it but then again i don't know what it's like to be only attracted to one gender.

but really @bikini; you've heard people say "i went through ____, so i chose to be gay"?

if a woman told me she'd chosen to be bisexual/lesbian or a man told me he'd chosen to be bisexual/straight then i wouldn't want to date them. afterall, the woman could choose to be straight the next month, or the man choose to be gay after, right?
@Empired; what do you mean you can change your mind about your sexuality if you want to?

[Empired]

@Empired; what do you mean you can change your mind about your sexuality if you want to?

No I said it wrong but like

I can think I'm bisexual now but realise I'm a lesbian in the future and that would be ok. If your life experiences are what decides your sexuality, surely they can go on changing it for the rest of your life?

[buttons]

yeah plenty people do that, i understand.
i've known that i like both genders for a long time but in the past i've been solely attracted to men and solely attracted to women. i think it depends what gender i'm around more at the time but it's never a "i'm going to choose to only fancy men/women today".
i suppose sexuality can be fluid in that you never know what will happen in future. my friend thought she was straight she had kids with a man, had only dated men in the past blahblah, we would go out to the gay bar with another friend and she met a girl and they fell in love and she was late 20's at the time and that was the first time she'd ever experienced attraction to a woman. that's how it is for me, it's just simply the person i'm attracted to, so in my head being straight makes no sense, but clearly in the real world it does if the majority of people are. i still don't think that is a choice though, she didn't go to the gay bar, meet a woman and decide to be bisexual or fall in love with her but *realized* she could have attraction to women.