Why does homosexuality exist?

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Well... for birds and dozen of other creatures that aren't human, including monkeys, homosexuality seems to be something to do between actual mating seasons. Both monkeys and humans seems to have the issue of this elusive "mating cycle" (us chicks being fertile for baby making) being at many points in the year and never the same times repeatedly. At first it seems these said monkeys or people are just confused then, but lab science tests have revealed that right from the start, some monkeys/birds/etc were always same sex preference and only doing the other gender once every other month. They just seemed "happier" with whatever they regularily had sex with. The ironic part about this age old debate is in any species, there is no absolute homo- or hetero- preference either way. In theory every living creature is capable of going either way depending on the situation. We all have the potential to be bisexual, straight, or gay/lesbian. We just picked the one state we felt most comfortable with on some hidden level in our brains. For example, I'm straight, but I know many Aspies and NT's who are a little bit of anything for different reasons, known or unknown.

And thanks to adoption and sperm banks we can just go shopping for the ideal gene pool LOL. "What about that gene pool kathy?" "Uh no, someone peed in it." LOL

Genetics probably cause the brain to be wired differently.

If sexuality is on a spectrum in the same way autism is, then we need to ask what benefits someone would get from the middle.

In autism, there is a 10% rate of special 'abilities' vs. 1% for normal individuals. Math and science graduates have a significantly higher number of autistic family members. If that doesn't explain how the autism genes could be spreading and multiplying so quickly, I don't know what will.

It's the same with homosexuality. We need to look at the potential advantages of being bisexual, such as increased survival rates for offspring, and the potential for greater reproductive success.

As for how homosexuality got a bad reputation, I can't believe people ask that question. Even today, in the era of condoms and blood tests, sexually transmitted diseases STILL pose a threat to our civilization. How do you expect an unprepared clergy to respond to a syphilis epidemic? You tell people to wait until marriage, kill anyone who cheats, or has homosexual relations. It's brutal, but it kept STDs from wiping our civilizations off the map.

Even when it came to the insane laws about pork, or a woman's period, those were primitive health codes that protected us until we figured out that micro-organisms actually exist. Modern technology has slowly rendered a lot of biblical laws irrelevant, yet people keep trying to apply them without considering the context.

I always figured it was a biological population control safeguard and backup parents system. The only way to get children would be through adoption or artificial means. Afterall, homosexuality seems to provide more prospective adoptive parents then sterility. That's why I don't get why so many states either make it really hard or impossible for gay couples to adopt. There are tons of loving parents just waiting for the chance to shower a kid with affection that really needs it and their denied the chance because their equipment matches. Makes no sense.

I read an interesting explanation regarding reincarnation: One's soul has a memory of past lifes regardless of whether the incarnate person has conscious knowledge of it. So if ones soul has been reincarnated numerous times as one sex in a row (say 10 or more), then incarnates as the opposite sex, the build of of the memory of the souls sexual identity can become confused resulting in some cases as homosexuality.

Diversity beats efficiency in the long run.

I can't imagine living in a world without sexual and neuro diversity.

Ah... your San Francisco comment toward my adopted hometown makes a lot more sense now. Please, allow me to disabuse you of some of your notions. You don't sound old-fashioned. That would imply that all people from the baby boomers era or earlier were all pious, hypocritical brain slaved Jesus freak bigots. And that is simply not true. It's just you.

But then, I forgot that your book of fairy tales has pretty much been wrong about... oh, you know, everything:

Earth as the center of the universe? Check.
Slavery's okay? Check.
The Earth is only about six thousand years old? Check.
The Earth was created in six days? Check.
Dinosaurs are a tool of the [Sarah Palin]Liberal Elite Media[/Sarah Palin]? Check.
Women should always be subserviant and submissive to men and their desires? Check.
Eating shellfish is EVIL? Check.

Wow, how you can be so completely, and categorically wrong on so many things and yet claim some superior judgment about how other people who have nothing to do with you live their lives... the unmitigated hubris.

But then again, I expect about as much true thinking from your kind as I would a fairly dull kitten. So, thank you again for not disabusing me of my own notions.

Last edited by rensilaer on 19 Aug 2009, 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I appreciate your opinion, but as a gay person, you are not correct. I made no choice to feel things for men. There was no catalogue opened up at 12-13 that said "Go forth, here are your options, but choose wisely!"

I felt what I felt. Just as you felt what you felt with your pulse racing and body reacting to those women.

It. Just. Is.

"Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up"

It.Just.Is.

In college, high on a Women's Studies class, I decided that from now on I would make a choice not to be attracted to men (the enemy) and only be attracted to women (henceforth known as womyn or wimmin). It was a conscious choice. I would just switch.

I think you can guess just about how well that went.

Turns out it isn't a choice at all. But you knew that. I didn't know that until I tried to make myself gay for the deluded idea that it was more feminist. Well. They say that college is for education. I learned that it is not a choice. Everybody who thinks it is has never actually tried to go against their inborn nature and cease being attracted to one and start being attracted to the other. (People whose inborn nature is bi don't, of course, have to choose. But that's inborn nature too. I defy them to choose to be asexual.)

Myself, I find it annoying when people say it's a choice, because if it was, then I would be completely gay. I prefer men completely, but I can't help but be attracted to women from time to time, so sexually I'm bi, but mentally I'm gay.

I enjoy reading all the differing opinions on this topic.

In my life, I refuse to engage in the why and the "how come" of my sexual orientation.

The fact remains that I like guys, always have, always will.

One of my brothers once asked me how did I know I was gay? I had never dated a girl nor had sex with a female. He said I would know, once I tried, if I was truly gay or not.

He did not appreciate me turning this same line of reasoning back on him, but to his credit he had fooled around with a guy and decided it was not for him, physically or emotionally.

I have no explanation for it. I do not fit a stereotype. I just like guys.

It. Just. Is. (for me at least)

Butch

PS: I believe homosexuality exists solely to make me happy and to ensure that I have the best guys in the world to date. Sorry ladies!

Homosexuality exists for a variety of reasons. It's well documented in dolphins. It helps in forming attachments, social bonds, and all sorts of other things. If you feel love, affection, or sexual attraction to someone you're more likely to look out for them and defend them. You can make an argument that it exists as a form of population control but you would also have to establish that homosexual men did not have a child with a woman.

Homosexuality has been a feature of human cultures for a very long time. Many ancient Greek states institutionalized the practice, same with Rome.

I don't believe any of us are purely straight or gay. I admit to having been attracted to some males before, while on the flip side of the coin gay porn doesn't do anything for me. I'm sure there are gay people who will admit to having been sexually attracted to females before.

The reason why homosexuality exists is because it does. We live in a society which is extremely desensitized compared to a couple hundred years ago. There are a lot more opinions, ways of thinking and methods of going about things. Straight sexual orientation is something of a natural instinct. We wish to preserve our own genes. That's why there is trend between near death experiences and increased sex drive (or so I've read). However today's society is spoilt, we are a lot safer compared to previous generations. Through modern science and medicine we have increased the average lifespan of a human from 20 odd years to 90 or so years. Think back to Roman civilization, people didn't have the time to experiment with their sexuality, a Roman had an approximate life expectancy of 22 to 25 years. Sure, there were people who weren't straight, but not nearly as much as today.

Homosexuality is simply an alternative. We've been given the luxury of choosing how we want to live, who we want to be, etc. That's why homosexuality exists in my opinion.