Culture does not Determine if a Person is Gay

Negro, black, African-American
homosexual, gay

These are the same people. They feel empowered by choosing a name for themselves from within their own culture, rather than having one imposed on them from the outside. The name is derived from the culture, but the underlying sexual orientation is not.

The culture does not determine if a person is gay or not. This is the finding that came out of research in the period following WWII. As I previously stated here:

Imagine the surprise then, when study after study came back showing not even a correlation, let alone a hint of causation between any of the upbringing factors which Freud had suggested lead to a person ending up gay. No "distant father." No "overbearing mother." No this, no that, no anything whatsoever. Being gay is an all but random happenstance like left-handedness. Environment can modify its expression, but it cannot change its intrinsic nature.

Culture can influence homosexual behavior, as it did with the Greeks and the Romans, but it cannot effect homosexual orientation itself.

The physiological test for sexual orientation I describe here was around long before I was a graduate student. I have stated that the government not be allowed to require this test, any more than it can require a lie detector test. Both would be an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. However, persons could always volunteer for this test if they wish. That's how we get subjects for these clinical studies.

Where large scale testing is impractical, self-reporting by men and women who say they are gay has been shown to be highly reliable. There is no confusion in the scientific community regarding how to identify people who are gay.

Ex-Governor McGreevey had sex with his wife the way that men can have sex with a blow-up doll. All it takes in fantasy and friction. This does not mean that he was straight at the time. It only means that his fantasies were sufficient to overcome his repugnance. His obligation as a gay was not to marry someone of the opposite sex in the first place. In order to prevent these tragedies and encourage gays to do the right thing and commit to someone of the same sex, we should make same sex marriage legal everywhere.


Also posted at Family Scholar's Blog Comment # 330.