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Are Straight People Born That Way?
The Atlantic ^ | Mar 22 2012 | Alice Dreger

Posted on 03/22/2012 7:08:36 AM PDT by Sopater

Time for a thought experiment: Are straight people born that way? When I put the question to a number of sexology colleagues, they thought it a good question -- indeed, a hard question.

To answer it, we have to start with a more fundamental question: What do we mean when we say someone is "straight"? At the most basic level, we seem to be imagining female bodies that are specifically sexually aroused by male bodies, and vice versa.

Laboratory studies such as those conducted by Michael Bailey of Northwestern University and Meredith Chivers of Queens University suggest that, while such people probably do exist -- at least in North America, where many sexologists have focused their attentions -- it's not uncommon for straight-identified people to be at least a little aroused by the idea of same-sex relations.

The media has tended to broadcast the news that gay-identified men and straight-identified men have quite discernible arousal patterns when they are shown various kinds of sexual stimuli. And that's true. But if you look closely at the data, you'll see that most straight-identified men do tend to show a little bit of arousal across sex categories (as do gay-identified men).

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: homosexualagenda
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Finally, a related question: Given that we don't know if they are really all "born that way," should straight-identified people be allowed to marry?

Personally, I think it makes sense to let straight-identified people marry, not because they were necessarily born that way, but because it seems silly, in this day and age, to get in the way of their desire to marry and/or to have sex with whatever consenting adults they wish.


It's not about "being allowed", it's about the state/federal benefits the come with being married. Heterosexual marriage is beneficial to the state and community. It doesn't necessarily mean that gov't must sanction it, but it certainly doesn't mean that if gov't does sanction it that they must sanction every other relationship that statistically has no benefit to the health of a community.
1 posted on 03/22/2012 7:08:38 AM PDT by Sopater
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To: Sopater

Wow, yeah. Talk about all jacked up!


2 posted on 03/22/2012 7:13:13 AM PDT by vpintheak (Occupy your Brain!)
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To: Sopater
Is a male horse born with the innate tendency to be attracted to and wish to mate with female horses?

Is a male dog born with the innate tendency to be attracted to and wish to mate with female dogs?

Is a female cat born with the innate tendency to be attracted to and wish to mate with male cats?

3 posted on 03/22/2012 7:15:50 AM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to DC to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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To: Sopater

Satan and his minions on the left HATE the traditional family, it being the original human institution created by God.


4 posted on 03/22/2012 7:15:54 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter knows whom he's working for)
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To: Sopater
NUTS AND BOLTS, PROPER CONNECTION
5 posted on 03/22/2012 7:22:11 AM PDT by FrankR
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To: Sopater
Laboratory studies such as those conducted by Michael Bailey of Northwestern University and Meredith Chivers of Queens University suggest that, while such people probably do exist -- at least in North America, where many sexologists have focused their attentions -- it's not uncommon for straight-identified people to be at least a little aroused by the idea of same-sex relations.

Photobucket

6 posted on 03/22/2012 7:23:37 AM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, question everyone else)
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To: Sopater

ABSOLUTELY. Straight people are born straight. I remember very well back whenI was just starting to really notice girls. Sitting in class stealing glances at some special girl sitting there with them sexy legs. NEVER even crossed my mind to look at some dude.

I could NEVER choose to be a homosexual, my stuff wouldnt work for them.


7 posted on 03/22/2012 7:27:50 AM PDT by weezel
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To: Sopater

ABSOLUTELY. Straight people are born straight. I remember very well back whenI was just starting to really notice girls. Sitting in class stealing glances at some special girl sitting there with them sexy legs. NEVER even crossed my mind to look at some dude.

I could NEVER choose to be a homosexual, my stuff wouldnt work for them.


8 posted on 03/22/2012 7:28:07 AM PDT by weezel
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To: FrankR

ABSOLUTELY. Straight people are born straight. I remember very well back whenI was just starting to really notice girls. Sitting in class stealing glances at some special girl sitting there with them sexy legs. NEVER even crossed my mind to look at some dude.

I could NEVER choose to be a homosexual, my stuff wouldnt work for them.


9 posted on 03/22/2012 7:29:39 AM PDT by weezel
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To: weezel

I remember well the oblate spheroids of my geometry teacher’s breasts. Puberty hit me HARD. They were hypnotic. Their slightest motion had me entranced. They were on a nanosecond delay - she would move - and they would follow. Hypnotic.

I don’t remember being presented with a CHOICE on if I wanted them. It was inescapable! I WANTED THEM!!!!

Twenty five years later I can still remember them!


10 posted on 03/22/2012 7:33:47 AM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to DC to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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To: Sopater

Northwestern University? - the sex-toy school? You don’t have to have a pulse, or even be human, or even be an animal for them to want to have sex. At Northwestern, you have to put a cap on the exhaust of your car after you park it to keep the boys from burning themselves.


11 posted on 03/22/2012 7:35:59 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Sopater

Yes Alice, we are born that way, and a good thing too else the species would have died out milennia ago. Gays and lesbians on the other hand simply suffer from a form of malignant narcissism, or were abused in youth.


12 posted on 03/22/2012 7:39:57 AM PDT by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
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To: Sopater

what in Heaven’s name is “sexology”?


13 posted on 03/22/2012 7:46:54 AM PDT by yldstrk ( My heroes have always been cowboys)
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To: Sopater

Are straight people born that way?

When you consider that the fun parts actually function correctly when two straight people get together, nature seems to be answering that question for us.


14 posted on 03/22/2012 7:48:37 AM PDT by lurk
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To: Rummyfan

what ever became of the ‘gay gene’ theory?

guess that theory didn’t pass muster so it was dropped by the activists on the QT..


15 posted on 03/22/2012 7:49:13 AM PDT by RitchieAprile
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To: EGPWS
it's not uncommon for straight-identified people to be at least a little aroused by the idea of same-sex relations.

Liberal Projection is endlessly fascinating.

16 posted on 03/22/2012 7:55:20 AM PDT by wbill
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To: lurk
...nature seems to be answering that question for us.

In other words not only were straight folks born that way, but they were made that way. In a similar fashion babies were born small, because they were designed to be small at birth. They were made with two arms, it would be abominable to choose to be one armed or one eyed just because daddy didn't love you enough!

17 posted on 03/22/2012 7:59:14 AM PDT by DaveyB (Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. -John Adams)
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To: wbill
Liberal Projection is endlessly fascinating.

Quite true. Also, just because something is "at least a little arousing", that doesn't mean it's "good" and should be sanctioned by the state.
18 posted on 03/22/2012 8:10:32 AM PDT by Sopater (...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. - 2 COR 3:17b)
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To: allmendream

Yes, ALL people are born straight.


19 posted on 03/22/2012 8:19:05 AM PDT by taterjay
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To: taterjay

I’m not sure you can get to there from what I said - but I know for sure that upon puberty I had no choice at all in the fact that I found women attractive and breast motion hypnotic.

Fixation upon the same sex does happen in animals, and IIRC it is more common among species that have a large overlap in sexual dimorphism.

Males of our species tend to be larger than females - but there is a wide overlap. Some think men and women’s secondary sexual characteristics are to obviate that and make it more obvious that the bearded individual with wide shoulders and narrow hips and hair on his body is male and the individual without a beard or as much body hair and with wide hips and developed breasts is female.

Keeping kids going through puberty in sexual isolation from opposite sex peers also tends to confuse the issue. It is more difficult for a young man to “imprint” upon females as desired sexual partners if they never SEE female peers.

Just my 0.02$.


20 posted on 03/22/2012 8:26:35 AM PDT by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to DC to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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