Homosexual

[Erebos]

Originally Posted by ladonna

I am a mother of a gay child. I have 3 boys who were raised identically the same. My oldest is a very well rounded 23 yr old now, who happens to be gay (i dont believe at all by choice). We raised him in a small town right in the middle of the Bible Belt. People arent as open minded and a little more judgemental here. We tried the sports thing, he wasnt interested, we realized that very early on and didnt force the macho BS on him. We saw what his interests were and supported him with the more artistic side. My husband and I are very open minded I'd like to think. It was very obvious from age 3, that my son wasnt the most masculine boy on the block. We accepted the fact and were not blinded by wanting him to be straight and forcing him to be what he wasnt. Actually as he became a teenager, it became more and more obvious. His grades started to go down the tubes and I knew he must be struggling within himself during this time in his life, trying to figure out who he was and why. I would have long talks with him, letting him know that we loved him no matter if he were gay or straight and that he could talk to me about anything if he ever needed. Eventually when he was in High School, we finally admitted to me that he was gay, and I think it was a relief for both of us. I knew the pain he must have been going through trying to keep this secret inside, and feeling he was all alone (which, it wasnt a surprise to anyone who knew him it was quite apparant) From that day forward, he had all the confidence in the world and I knew I wouldnt have to worry about him that he would be just fine. As far as the "Christian" belief.....well, I thought we were supposed to live our lives loving all people. If you read the Bible, Jesus was a trail blazer and a bit of a rebel himself for that time, and hung out with the "low lifes" of his community. But practiced loving all people and not judging others. So....no matter what religion, race, sexual orientation, political views, its pretty much all the same, love yourself, love others and be the best person you can be.

Gandhi once said that

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

This seems so true for a lot of people. But ladonna, you are obviously not one of them.

[ragtag]

I would just like to jump back to the original question.

I don't think being gay is a choice.

I don't think you should try to change it, any more than a heterosexuals should try to become gay. I do believe you can suppress your heterosexuality and live in a gay relationship, but you wouldn't be happy. You would be lying to yourself and the world around you, and you would be expending lots of energy trying to hide who you really are, energy you could have used for something productive elsewhere. You would also be very likely to fail!

Being heterosexual is not contrary to my moral code, neither is being gay for that matter. As for my religion, I don't have one.

And finally, yes it is possible to deny your sexuality for you moral code or religion, but as noted above, it would be a hard and counterproductive thing to do, not to mention utterly pointless.

As for gay being normal. If normal = majority, then gay is not normal, but neither is being able to run a marathon or having $10.000.000 in your bank account. Personally, I would rather be exceptional than normal.

[PianoManGidley]

Originally Posted by ragtag

As for gay being normal. If normal = majority, then gay is not normal, but neither is being able to run a marathon or having $10.000.000 in your bank account. Personally, I would rather be exceptional than normal.

I never liked people trying to define something as "normal." How do you define what exactly is a "normal" human being? Consider all the many facets we as individuals have regarding our personalities, our beliefs, our socioeconomic status, our physical appearances--anything and everything that defines us as who and what we are. Now, to define what is "normal" you would have to specify precisely every feasible attribute that can define a person--to the point that there would very likely be only one person on the entire planet who would fit the description of "normal"....meaning, in essence, that either everyone is normal or no one is.

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by PianoManGidley

I never liked people trying to define something as "normal." How do you define what exactly is a "normal" human being? Consider all the many facets we as individuals have regarding our personalities, our beliefs, our socioeconomic status, our physical appearances--anything and everything that defines us as who and what we are. Now, to define what is "normal" you would have to specify precisely every feasible attribute that can define a person--to the point that there would very likely be only one person on the entire planet who would fit the description of "normal"....meaning, in essence, that either everyone is normal or no one is.

I agree. I feel that there are norms, but no normal. And that trying to hold all people to certain norms is an exercise in futility precisely because we are so individual and perfect each as we are. Oops, did I go to woo-woo? Sorry.