Quick Scientific Facts That Disprove Myth That Homosexuality is a "Choice" [View all]

[RyanPsych]

Since the advent of the gay rights movement, gay and lesbian people have been bombarded by a myth: that their non-heterosexual sexual orientation is nothing more than a "choice" that they made. This myth promotes the notion that sexual minority people are either disordered or sexual deviants. It is propped up by rhetoric from arch-conservative politicians and religious leaders who use it to oppose equal rights for gays and lesbians. However, it flies in the face of scientific truth (and logic).

The myth that sexual orientation is a choice has been promulgated by right-wing Republicans and social Christian groups for years. This includes GOP candidates like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Santorum has referred to homosexuality as a "behavioral thing" that goes against "Biblical truth." Gingrich also views sexual orientation as a choice, saying that gays and lesbians should choose to be "celibate" if they can't be heterosexual. In their defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, House Republicans allege that homosexuality is not "an immutable characteristic; it is behavioral."

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What do actual psychological and medical organizations say about homosexuality? According to the American Psychological Association, homosexuality is a normal variation of human sexuality that does not indicate any disorder. The association goes on to say that sexual orientation is a romantic, emotional, and physical attraction to members of the same, opposite, or both sexes. The American Psychiatric Association opposes any "reparative therapy" because it has no record of efficacy, and is based on the incorrect premise that homosexuality is a disorder.

What does scientific research say about sexual orientation? Brain image scans have yielded distinct, observable differences between the brains of heterosexuals and the brains of their gay and lesbian peers. Positron Emission Topography scans have indicated that the symmetry between brain lobes of gay men resembles those of heterosexual women. Researchers have also found that the amygdala (area of brain responsible for emotional learning) of gay men and straight women are similar, while the amygdala of straight men and lesbians are similar. According to Dr. Qazi Rahman, a professor of cognitive biology at Queen Mary University of London, these differences can only be formed during the fetal period, which indicates "if you are gay - you are born gay."

keep reading at: http://www.peoplesworld.org/the-choice-myth-about-sexual-orientation

*I don't know about you guys- but it pisses me off to no end when people say that being gay is a choice- and then refuse to even acknowledge how illogical that is