Hi,
I am 18, male, and straight. I'm very interested in sexuality and I was wondering if someone could help me out with a dilemma. I'm very sympathetic to homosexuals though I don't often show it through activism or participation in the GLBT club at my school. I have a roommate who does however. He's straight as well. Recently, he participated in a program (I think it's called 'alliance' or something) where he learned a lot about homosexuality and he's been spouting off statistics and facts and what not ever since. The one that really gets to me, that he seems to repeat most often, is that one out of every ten people are gay.
Now, I don't mean to sound like I know anything about this, but where the hell does that come from? Is one out of every ten people born with a 'gay gene?' I mean, historically, homosexuality has been a very emotional thing, and wasn't always even connected with love or relationships, such as the Greek philosophers who had homosexual relations or Greek and Egyptian armies that would have relations before battle (I heard that somewhere, not sure of its validity). Not to mention that this stat doesn't account for bisexuals or people who might not actually be gay. Also, doesn't this defy the whole 'Kinsey Scale' thing, since each person falls on a different point of the scale at different times?
I have heard this statistic before, but I thought it had been falsified in favor of the theory that people experience different levels of homosexuality. But if the statistic were to say that 1/10 people experience any homosexual feelings, I wouldn't believe it then either! I would think the number would be much greater! Still, we can't label these people as gay!
My interest in this isn't entirely coincidental. I have had a few homosexual thoguhts in my life, but I still am far more attracted to women than men. In fact, I almost have to try to have sexual thoughts involving men. The thing is, however, that it's become easier over the years as I do it more, as though I'm training myself to be bisexual. That's why I'm skeptical of this whole 'gay gene' stuff. If I'm born with it, then why do I have to train myself? Here's my personal opinion, and anyone is welcome to try to change it: Everyone is a little more gay or a little less gay than everyone else, but no one is barred from being straight or gay based on genetics alone, and society plays a much more important role.
Thank you for your time, and I would appreciate any responses.
