Should a benevolent view of homosexuality depend on the assumption that it is innate? Are gays and lesbians to be tolerated only if they are "born that way"? Even gay people disagree about what causes someone to be a homosexual, but I have a very firm belief that it is genetic. The other side of the argument obviously, is that it is due to environment, that there is some event or circumstance in a persons vulnerable years that caused it. I tried desperately to find that link when I first started dating, I grilled the guys I dated in search of some link in our pasts; either (as society says) an absent father, or some form of sexual abuse, but I was left without a common link. Only one of the guys I had dated had experienced sexual abuse, and most of them had had involved fathers that they valued, and wonderful family lives. The problem with the whole "environment" issue in my opinion, is that giving it consideration also suggests that homosexuality is just a learned response, it also makes it out to be a negative thing that parents should guard against by making sure they immerse their children in "straight" environments. That is a frightening thought to me, because I promise you that a straight environment will not prevent a gay child; unacceptance will repress him or her, and that is very hurtful and confusing for the child. All they need is to know that they're not alone, they are not evil, and that their family and friends will not hate them because of it. I remember back when I was six or seven at a construction site my family was visiting, I had a strong feeling about a guy there; obviously it couldn't be categorized as sexual at that age, but it was very powerful, as if I was in awe of that guy… very much how I imagine straight little boys feeling about their attractive new female teacher or something. That little crush, or little 'appreciation for the male,' or whatever you want to call it, is my earliest memory of attraction towards a guy. Scientists can say that homosexuality doesn't run in families, but I don't think they can make that determination because they can't trace it; most gay people have been repressed - there is no way my grandfather or great grandmother would have come out, they would have been certainly killed or sent off to some treatment clinic. So how can we say it doesn't run in families if we can't historically say with any accuracy who was gay and who wasn't? It is in my being, and like I said, it's not something to fight, because you can't win the battle, no matter how religious or strong willed you are. It's us, just like your right arm, or your left ear, it's just another aspect, and it's not going away.

I think that faith is almost compulsory in a civilization, however it is religion, the story behind the faith, which is not compulsory, and lends us to violence because we think we must "perpetuate the nursery rhyme, or die trying". So what are gay people then? Are we put on this earth as a test of strength? Any typical religious individual would retort that God didn’t create people “gay”; it was merely a circumstance in their vulnerable years that caused them to have these fleshy desires for the same sex. Homosexuals are expected to be straight, everyone is, that’s why we’re pressured to experiment with the opposite sex. If, however, culture expected everyone to be gay, you’d bet straight men would be experimenting with other men. ... In summary :) Conversion has been proven impossible, and expecting someone to try and convert is a terrible thing to do; I think self delusion and the desire to be accepted can make one think they can stand experimentation... some people say we all fall somewhere on the homosexual spectrum, however I believe, as I’ve said before, that perhaps gay men get a randomized sprinkling of feminine qualities; some get higher voices, some are more sensitive, some are butch and just like naked guys... but I think it’s the combination of these qualities that determines whether we think we can stand the thought of a naked woman’s inner workings (I sure as hell can’t without nauseating). And different degrees of experimentation result from those combinations, but all of them (mark my words) are still gay, early experimentation or not. Gay is gay, and gay means happier with the same sex, always and forever.