SykoSilver
I tend to think a lot, and this is just a bunch of stuff I wonder about when thinking about how homosexual people tick.
Have you ever met a homosexual individual who tried to be religious? How did they cope with believing in a faith that was anti-gay?
-and-
Have you ever met someone you believed to be a homosexual, but they swore to the grave that they were straight, when they felt someone was implying them to be homosexual, because of the religioius beliefs and fear of rejection?
-also-
How do you identify the sexuality of a person? Are there certain characteristics that homosexual individual carry that seperates them from heterosexuals? And no, I don't mean stereotypes. And, if you can't identify whether they're homosexual, have you ever taken leaps and tried to start a more intimate relationship with them (if you were attracted to them)? If you have had such an experience, did it turn out well?
razz And this one I just want to get your opinion on.
In my Psychology class we've done studies on homosexuality before. In a video we watched, studies found that homosexual men produced noticeable amounts of estrogen, and that it might be caused by genetics or high stress levels in the mother before the birth of the individual. There have also been other studies portraying that homosexuality may actually be naturally occurring rather than the result of childhood influences & etc. What do you think, and how do you think this could effect the gay-rights movement?
BTW, for the Psychology class part, I might be off, as it was a while ago, but I'm pretty sure it was estrogen that the homosexual individuals produced, I'm just not sure if only the homosexual men produced it (in more significant levels), or if the heterosexual men also produced it (in less significant levels).
Have you ever met a homosexual individual who tried to be religious? How did they cope with believing in a faith that was anti-gay?
-and-
Have you ever met someone you believed to be a homosexual, but they swore to the grave that they were straight, when they felt someone was implying them to be homosexual, because of the religioius beliefs and fear of rejection?
-also-
How do you identify the sexuality of a person? Are there certain characteristics that homosexual individual carry that seperates them from heterosexuals? And no, I don't mean stereotypes. And, if you can't identify whether they're homosexual, have you ever taken leaps and tried to start a more intimate relationship with them (if you were attracted to them)? If you have had such an experience, did it turn out well?
razz And this one I just want to get your opinion on.
In my Psychology class we've done studies on homosexuality before. In a video we watched, studies found that homosexual men produced noticeable amounts of estrogen, and that it might be caused by genetics or high stress levels in the mother before the birth of the individual. There have also been other studies portraying that homosexuality may actually be naturally occurring rather than the result of childhood influences & etc. What do you think, and how do you think this could effect the gay-rights movement?
BTW, for the Psychology class part, I might be off, as it was a while ago, but I'm pretty sure it was estrogen that the homosexual individuals produced, I'm just not sure if only the homosexual men produced it (in more significant levels), or if the heterosexual men also produced it (in less significant levels).
I live in an area that is predominantly LDS (Mormon) in faith. One might jokingly refer to it as a Mormon bubble, though it wouldn't be far off from the truth. For those who are not familiar with this religion, it virtually has a zero tolerance for homosexual behavior. I attend at the local college which happens to be one of the Brigham Young Universities. With that in mind, one's chances of finding a gay individual are minimal. I have, however, stumbled across a few closeted people in the online realm and managed to meet them at some point.
-Person1 had been raised in the church as I have been. He was trying desperately to change who he was and suppress homosexual inclinations. Being fairly religious himself, he believed that being gay was a sin which might damn him for all eternity, should he fail in altering his sexual orientation. We had chatted online for months prior to our one and only meeting. He was nervous the entire time and continually looked around as if fearful. Later on, online, he confessed his fear of someone seeing us together and surmising that we were gay. Though neither of us have any effeminate mannerisms, he could not shake the feeling and felt hopelessly anxious. The last time I heard from him, he had written me an email, detailing some of the recent goings on in his life. Of which, he mentioned his current girlfriend. (Two years ago, he was engaged to another girl, but backed out because he didn't want to put a wife through the frustrations of his gay inclinations.)
-Person2 was possibly more religious than Person1. Person2, though, had no anxiety about hanging out with me or anyone else. He was a social butterfly with definite feminine mannerisms and a sincere heart. He had converted to the church when he was younger and embraced it completely with every fiber of his being. It troubled him greatly to admit to himself that he was actually gay because it was in contradiction to every principle taught by the church. 'It isn't a sin to have gay inclinations, but it is a sin to act on them', he said. 'It is wrong to be gay.' He yearned for the affection of one of his straight dorm buddies, but honestly believed that guy was clueless about him being gay. (When I hung out at the apartment, I sensed that they all knew about him though.) Person2 also expressed concerns to me on many occasions and wanted to write a letter to the president of the church, confessing his homosexuality and asking what the consequences were for being such. The last time I heard from Person2, he was leaving to serve a two-year, LDS mission for the church.
As for me, I am not highly religious, though I am not without my values and morals. I believe the church has very good intent, but may have become misguided in latter days. My church would, in fact, welcome me with open arms, but somehow I cannot shake the feeling that they would view me as a broken toy that they might "fix." I realize how harsh that analogy might sound. Nevertheless, I do not believe I am broken... at least in that aspect. Short of getting into an in-depth theological discussion of rights and wrongs, I will keep things somewhat simple. If being gay sets me apart from my faith in others' eyes, then they may view me as such. That is one area where I am not as concerned how others perceive me. My faith cannot be taken away. My biggest fear is complete and utter rejection by those I know and love.
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-names in the following paragraph have been modified for safety reasons-
In regards to your second question, I have never met someone who had been through an experience like that' however, I was once in that situation myself. In January of this year, 'G' (a co-worker) came over to me and laughingly said, "That is funny! 'J' just told me in the back that a friend of her's found your picture on hotornot.com in the GAY SECTION!!!" 'G' thought that 'J' was just joking around... I didn't know what to say and was trying to evaluate in my mind whether it would be better to act nonchalant or be offended. If anything, I suddenly felt exposed and vulnerable. All of these thoughts occurred in a split second and without even thinking, I said, "What the hell?!" Where I don't swear, it probably wasn't the best thing for me to say, but it slipped out. I elected the un-offended denial approach. A little later that night, 'J' asked me (loud enough for anyone to hear), "So, is it true?" I told her that it wasn't me and I didn't know whether I should be more disturbed that I had a look alike or that there might be someone putting my picture up on that site. She then said, "Okay... okay... But I know it's true.' The ripples of that night carried on for another two weeks before dying down.
There are several reasons why it would be very detrimental to me right now to be outed... Probably the most important of these reasons being that I'm not prepared for it yet. Also, if I were to be exposed as being gay, I would be excommunicated from my church (big whoop *eye roll*), BUT... if I am excommunicated from my church, I might be kicked out of this college. (My reasons for staying here are equally complicated.)
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How does one identify the sexuality of another person? The answer to that question is sought by nearly every gay individual in existence. Sadly, short of the person saying that they are gay, there is no definite way to determine the truth. From experience, I have found that even if a person frequently flirts with you in ways that seem indicative of homosexual behavior, it isn't necessarily a sign that they are. After subtly seeking to find out J's sexuality for a long time, I gave up. When the topic came up in a late-night discussion after work, I asked him if he was gay. He answered with a sincere 'no.'
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I have never heard of these studies you mentioned, but that is a very interesting hypothesis which I would like to read in further detail. As for homosexuality being a naturally occurring thing, I have mixed feelings on this. I sincerely believe that some men are born with gay tendencies which happen regardless of outside influences. However, I also believe that there are instances where, as a result of surrounding environmental influences, homosexuality may be given more suitable chance for stimulation than it might have received if all variables were constant. Until something is definitively proven, I highly doubt it will have a substantial impact upon the gay-rights movement.
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