[Laith (OP)]

whats the percentage of gay poeple in the population?

Laith

[neilep]

quote:Originally posted by Laith

whats the percentage of gay poeple in the population?

Laith

That's what I'd like to know. I'd be even more interested in the figures relating to gender. I see that you're in Canada, which is nice[]....

...It would be of further interest to see how the figures pan out internationally from one country to another.

The problem there is that figures like this are based on peoples honesty and in some cultures we will never know the facts.

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[Hadrian]

I new a chap who claimed he was born gay. He told me he hit the nurse with his handbag before screaming for a facial. I think he was having me but you never can tell.  



[][][] [][][]


What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.

[gecko]

'normal' and 'abnormal' is not what science should judge. thats a value judgement. 'typical' and 'atypical' is all that can be said when talking facts.

[Laith (OP)]

Most figures are around 10% (but i want to point that they are mostly coming from gay organizations websites), i used to think its more like 2 or 3! 10% is a lot, don't you think so?
In Canada they legalized gay marriage in some churches last year (+ adopting kids), now I hope im not being ignorant here but i find this really wrong and totally "abnormal" unlike what some people would probably argue.

neilep are you sure 99% of people have sexual tendencies towards the same sex? I’m one of the 1% and this freaks me out[:p][]


Laith

[neilep]

quote:Originally posted by Laith

Most figures are around 10% (but i want to point that they are mostly coming from gay organizations websites), i used to think its more like 2 or 3! 10% is a lot, don't you think so?
In Canada they legalized gay marriage in some churches last year (+ adopting kids), now I hope im not being ignorant here but i find this really wrong and totally "abnormal" unlike what some people would probably argue.

neilep are you sure 99% of people have sexual tendencies towards the same sex? I’m one of the 1% and this freaks me out[:p][]




Laith

Nope !!..absolutely not sure !!...

...what I meant is that in some part of your life you MIGHT well consider the possibility of just entertaining the idea of wondering what it may be like !!....I can't really put it more diluted as that statement !![]

You may have misunderstood me when I cited the 99%...read it again and I was stating it as a possible situation....I grant the figure is high but it was meant to represent a high figure. My apologies for the confusion....and stop freaking out !!

[]

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[mikey]

Before dealing with these answers, we need to establish clearly what human behaviour or condition we mean, when we talk about homosexuality. To establish that we need to understand the human reproductive process, usually referred to as "sex".

The natural human reproductive process consists of a human male injecting seminal fluid discharged from his penis into the vagina of a human female. This leads to fertilization of the eggs within the womb of the female and eventual birth of a human child. This natural reproductive process of the human species determines the physiological and psychological characteristics of men and women, which are different and reflect their roles in this natural reproductive process. Similar differences between sexes exist in other animal species.

One of the characteristics of this reproductive process is that from time to time men and women feel a strong desire to perform this mutual act of reproduction. This is accompanied by strong emotions of attraction to the opposite sex, love, desire to possess or to belong, envy, jealousy, protectiveness. Often people find it difficult to resist or control these desires and emotions. Similar strong emotions are exhibited in relations of parents to their children. Similar emotion or instinct based reproductive process prevails among other animal species.

But, in addition to emotions and instincts, the human species is endowed with reason and will, which allows it to control emotions and instincts. Human behaviour is a complex interaction between instincts, emotions, reason and will. And the human reproductive process is also affected by this complex interaction.

This complex behaviour within each human individual is also affected by the fact that humans live in social groups. And behaviour of the individuals need to be adapted to life within the group. Thus, in all groups there emerges a moral code (formal or informal) which approves of some forms of behaviour and disapproves of other forms. This also applies to the reproductive process. In most human societies from the early times and up to the second half of the 20th century, all forms of sex related behaviour outside of the framework of heterosexual family were strongly disapproved of, and some forms of sex behaviour, and in particular homosexuality even criminalized. Often this was based on religious teachings, which provided the basis of social morality. Thus, in addition to instincts, emotions, reason and will another factor affects human behaviour - morality.

In the 20th century religion-based morality began to be questioned, and the idea was advanced that homosexuality is not a sin or a crime for which a person is responsible and should be punished, but a "mental illness or personality disorder", for which a person is not responsible, and from which he should be cured.

And towards the end of the 20th century the idea was promoted that homosexuality is not a "mental illness or personality disorder", but a normal form of human behaviour - or "alternative life style".

So what is homosexuality?

It is a behaviour in the course of which a person satisfies his sexual instincts and emotions by interacting with another person of the same sex. Among men this is done by one man using another man's anal passage, mouth, or hand, as if it were a woman's vagina. Homosexual women use their tongues, fingers, or similar objects as a substitute for a male penis. These activities produce sensations and emotions similar to those, experienced during the normal reproductive process. But normal reproductive process it is not. The anal passage is meant for discharge of the products of human digestion, and the mouth for intake of food, not for childbirth, and a finger or tongue cannot make a woman pregnant. This is clearly self-deception and behaviour contrary to that intended by Nature or its Creator.

So why do people engage in such unnatural behaviour? Are people born that way, or do they choose this form of behaviour consciously and voluntarily?

Although it is normal for people to be born with clearly distinct sexual characteristics, it is possible for people to be born with abnormal sexual characteristics. This is similar to people with other congenital abnormalities, like absent, deformed or additional limbs, Siamese twins, etc. Some people are born with underdeveloped, malformed or missing sexual organs. Sometimes the sexual organs of a child are such that it is not clear whether it is a boy or a girl. Some people have inborn behavioral abnormalities. In some cases these abnormalities can be harmless both to the person and others, like a person with six fingers. Sometimes these abnormalities can present a serious handicap to the person, but not to others, like missing limbs. And sometimes a person with congenital abnormalities can be dangerous to others, like a person with violent uncontrollable behaviour.

Yes, people can be born abnormal, but they are not born homosexual. It is meaningless to call a homosexual a person who by virtue of his birth is neither a man, nor a woman - in fact, such people are called hermaphrodites.

Homosexuality is a behaviour, not a physiological characteristic. It is an abnormal behaviour of normal people. It is a result of lack of correct education, and often of corruption by others.

Unlike animals, Man cannot rely exclusively on his instincts and emotions, his instincts and emotions must be controlled by his reason. This control by reason is not inborn, but develops through a prolonged learning process. Usually this happens in a social setting and starts within the family. Even simple instinctive acts like urination are subject to a lengthy learning process. Unlike animals, people do not urinate wherever they feel the urge, they do it in special places. The same applies to the procreational process (sex).

A human person needs to learn to play correctly his role in the procreational process from early childhood. If by the time a person reaches sexual maturity, he has failed to learn his correct role in the procreational process, he can become a victim of his sexual drives which he will misuse, and this can adversely affect the course of his life and can cause harm to others. Rape, marital problems, child molesting, extramarital sex and homosexuality are results of such failure.

In Europe and the Americas, where the social morality in the past was based on the Christian religion, the sex role training was performed by treating sex as a forbidden subject, but girls were expected to follow in the footsteps of their mothers, while boys of their fathers. Sex began at marriage. Sex outside of marriage was condemned, and homosexuality was a crime. Because sex was a taboo, and people were ignorant of anything relating to sex until they were married, young people who developed early or stayed unmarried for a long time were vulnerable to sexual misbehaviour, and could get involved in extramarital sex, or homosexual practices. This lead to some social scandals.

With the religious morality in Europe and the Americas being abandoned in the 20th century, which lead to spread of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, sex education was introduced in European and American schools. This, however, was conducted by people, who having liberated themselves from the restrictions of the morality of the past, have failed to develop an understanding of the role of the reproductive process in human life. The sex lessons were mostly concerned with prevention of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, and ignored the psychological, emotional and social aspects of sex. The approach was "safe sex" - "enjoy yourself, but use a condom or a pill". Homosexuality was safe from the point of view of unwanted pregnancies and children were encouraged to "discover their sexual orientation" experimentally. The issue of "safe sex" did not arise in respect of homosexuals until the epidemic of AIDS broke out. Again the answer was "play safe - use a condom".

One of the characteristics of sex is, that having tried it once, people want more - it becomes addictive. People also develop emotional dependence on their partners. It is not unknown for professional prostitutes to use this feature of sex to lead their "clients" to financial destitution. This is also true of "gay" sex. Once a male is subjected to anal sex, he often develops a behavioral dependency. In the past, when homosexuality was criminalized, this was often used to blackmail people in public life and for recruitment of spies during the Cold War.

Sex related activities are not restricted to sexual cravings and sensations in the course of the reproductive act, they have a continuous effect on general behaviour and life of the person. It affects thinking, dreams, attitude to life, manners, view of oneself. A man can start dreaming of being a woman, or imagining himself as one. People can develop cravings to inflict pain on their sexual partners, or to suffer pain being inflicted by their partners on themselves. Some people develop desire to drink other people's urine, or to be urinated or defecated upon. Failure to control sexual urges can lead to mental disorders, drug addiction, and alcoholism. Thus failure to control ones' sexual life, and to correctly fulfill one's role in the reproductive process can be seen as a disease of the soul.

People who fail to control their sex behaviour usually seek to satisfy their unnatural cravings by involving other people. Often their victims are children, or vulnerable young people. It is common for people having control of young people to corrupt them by sodomization. There were many cases of such practices in Britain and the US - in boarding schools, orphanages, and penal institutions. The present scandals involving Catholic priests in the US and Britain are examples of this.

As the number of homosexuals in Europe and America grew, politicians saw them as a new "constituency" - this became known as "chasing the gay vote". Some politicians themselves are "gay". Homosexuality became a kind of "political" movement. There even is a "gay culture", "gay press", etc. Thus, homosexuality came to be seen as an alternative, fashionable, and often preferred lifestyle.

This is clearly not a "mental illness or personality disorder" as it was thought of in the earlier part of the 20th century. Homosexuality is a form of social behaviour, which is caused by failure of governments to educate the people on the correct use of their reproductive process.
newbielink:http://www.truth-and-justice.info/homosexuality.html [nonactive]

[Laith (OP)]

sorry neil, my bad

Laith

[neilep]

Mikey !!...I have to say I totally  disagree with ..well...most definitely your final statement where you say , and I quote " Homosexuality is a form of social behaviour, which is caused by failure of governments to educate the people on the correct use of their reproductive process "...so, are you saying that where  governments should have got it right, that there would be no homosexuality of any sorts ?

I find this stance abhorrent and offensive if that is what you indeed are saying. I have clicked on your link and I gather you are coming for a strict religious stance...is this correct ?

Let me just make it clear, I am not gay but have great friendships in gay people. I have never ever seen their being gay as a result of society getting it wrong !

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[another_someone]

It certainly has been the case that in the past various societies has tried to maximise reproductive capacity, and thus placed taboos on non-reproductive 'sexual' activity (I put 'sexual' in quotes, because it could be argued that the activity is stimulation of the sexual organs, but not sexual in nature, and is more akin to intimate social grooming – i.e. it is designed more to build social bonding than to reproduce).  Such societies have placed taboos upon contraception, and have considered it wrong for a man to have sexual intercourse with a women during her menstrual bleeding (i.e. when there is no possibility of the egg being fertilised).

To argue that homosexuality is wrong because it does not cause reproduction is only sustainable if one also prohibits all other non-reproductive sexual activity.

George

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by mikey
One of the characteristics of this reproductive process is that from time to time men and women feel a strong desire to perform this mutual act of reproduction. This is accompanied by strong emotions of attraction to the opposite sex, love, desire to possess or to belong, envy, jealousy, protectiveness. Often people find it difficult to resist or control these desires and emotions. Similar strong emotions are exhibited in relations of parents to their children. Similar emotion or instinct based reproductive process prevails among other animal species.

Not all sexual activity is possessive in nature, and not all animals have the same inter-sexual relationships (in fact, most species will have a particular variant of such relationships that is different from any other species – and in some species, the partners do not necessarily even survive the sexual act).

quote:
But, in addition to emotions and instincts, the human species is endowed with reason and will, which allows it to control emotions and instincts. Human behaviour is a complex interaction between instincts, emotions, reason and will.

I would disagree with statement totally.

All animal (whether human or otherwise) activity must be driven by emotion/instinct, and only that.  Reason will allow you the means to implement emotional desires, so that if you desperateley want something, reason will give you the means to attain it; but reason cannot of itself give you the desire to achieve one goal over another.

quote:
This also applies to the reproductive process. In most human societies from the early times and up to the second half of the 20th century, all forms of sex related behaviour outside of the framework of heterosexual family were strongly disapproved of, and some forms of sex behaviour, and in particular homosexuality even criminalized. Often this was based on religious teachings, which provided the basis of social morality. Thus, in addition to instincts, emotions, reason and will another factor affects human behaviour - morality.

In the 20th century religion-based morality began to be questioned, and the idea was advanced that homosexuality is not a sin or a crime for which a person is responsible and should be punished, but a "mental illness or personality disorder", for which a person is not responsible, and from which he should be cured.

This was actually something that came about in the late 19th century, rather than the 20th century.

Prior to that, the very notion of 'homosexuality' did not exist.  The term was originally coined as a medical term.  The law up to that point only dealt with sodomy, and made no distinction regarding gender.

quote:
And towards the end of the 20th century the idea was promoted that homosexuality is not a "mental illness or personality disorder", but a normal form of human behaviour - or "alternative life style".

As I have tried to point out earlier, it is very difficult to define what normality is – normality can be almost anything you choose it to be.

I think the more pertinent argument was that society (whether rightly or wrongly) no longer considered that the maximising of the birth rate of the population was any longer a primary requirement for society, and so has decided that sexual activity that did not contribute to the maximisation of the birth rate was no longer anti-social.

Society does not care about what is normal, because it defines its own normality; it cares about what is functional, which depends upon the needs of society at the time, which may vary from one time to another.

quote:
So what is homosexuality?

It is a behaviour in the course of which a person satisfies his sexual instincts and emotions by interacting with another person of the same sex.

This is clearly self-deception and behaviour contrary to that intended by Nature or its Creator.

By this criteria, consuming drugs such as alcohol or tobacco, or using artificial sweeteners, or other food substitutes, are also self-deception.

quote:
So why do people engage in such unnatural behaviour? Are people born that way, or do they choose this form of behaviour consciously and voluntarily?

Although it is normal for people to be born with clearly distinct sexual characteristics, it is possible for people to be born with abnormal sexual characteristics. This is similar to people with other congenital abnormalities, like absent, deformed or additional limbs, Siamese twins, etc. Some people are born with underdeveloped, malformed or missing sexual organs. Sometimes the sexual organs of a child are such that it is not clear whether it is a boy or a girl. Some people have inborn behavioral abnormalities. In some cases these abnormalities can be harmless both to the person and others, like a person with six fingers. Sometimes these abnormalities can present a serious handicap to the person, but not to others, like missing limbs. And sometimes a person with congenital abnormalities can be dangerous to others, like a person with violent uncontrollable behaviour.

Yes, people can be born abnormal, but they are not born homosexual. It is meaningless to call a homosexual a person who by virtue of his birth is neither a man, nor a woman - in fact, such people are called hermaphrodites.

If he is neither man nor woman, then she (for the default gender is female) is asexual, not hermaphrodite.  A hermaphrodite is both male and female, which is not the same as being neither.

quote:
Homosexuality is a behaviour, not a physiological characteristic. It is an abnormal behaviour of normal people. It is a result of lack of correct education, and often of corruption by others.

Unlike animals, Man cannot rely exclusively on his instincts and emotions, his instincts and emotions must be controlled by his reason. This control by reason is not inborn, but develops through a prolonged learning process. Usually this happens in a social setting and starts within the family. Even simple instinctive acts like urination are subject to a lengthy learning process. Unlike animals, people do not urinate wherever they feel the urge, they do it in special places. The same applies to the procreational process (sex).

The distinction you make between humans and other animals is wholly erroneous.

Many non-human animals will also learn from their social environment, and many non-human animals will carefully leave their waste product outside, or at the boundary, of their home territories – thus indicating that they too will control where they do and do not urinate/defecate.

This does not prove that either human or non-human animal acts against their instinct, only that they have many instincts, and some of those instincts will modify the natural behaviour induced by other instincts.

Ofcourse, there is an educational process involved in determining one's sexual behaviour (this is where one learns the appropriate courtship rituals for the social group).  But, as we know with all forms of learning, it is not exact, and human beings are not robots to be programmed with exact instructions.  It is natural that there will be some variability in human behaviour (as there is in all animals, and the more complex the animal, the greater the variability).  The question one has to ask is whether a particular variance is tolerable to society or not.  If no variance were permitted, then I for one would long ago have been a criminal.  Clearly, a variance that is permissible in one context, and at one moment in time, may be intolerable in another.

quote:
With the religious morality in Europe and the Americas being abandoned in the 20th century, which lead to spread of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, sex education was introduced in European and American schools.

Religious belief has been on the decline, but that is not to say that religious morality has been on the decline.

Nor am I aware of any increase in unwanted pregnancies – on the contrary, there has probably been an increased use of contraception, leading to a decline in unwanted pregnancies.

There has been an increase in extra-marital pregnancy, but this is not the same as unwanted pregnancies.  These days, it is perfectly acceptable to desire an extra-marital pregnancy, while it is also acceptable for a wife to choose not to become pregnant.

Sexually transmitted diseases come and go in cycles, but I am not aware of any long term increase in them (the history of Syphilis in the 15th and 16th century is no different to the history of AIDS in the 20th and 21st).

George

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by neilep
Normal is difficult to define as I believe the answer is as unique to an individual as their fingerprints are. This is why I specifically cited that for self evaluation, to have to hand historical data that then portrays what is ‘ usual ‘ for the individual would be helpful.

But, as I indicated earlier, this is a very personal notion of normality.

One may say that it is normal for a particular person to commit murder, and one may also say that it is normal for society to contain murderers, but is this the same as saying it is normal for people to commit murder?

It also depends upon whether one regards the term 'normal' as a synonym for 'typical' or as a synonym for 'acceptable'.  Clearly, in the latter case, one may make a distinction between murder and homosexuality, but then one has to also has to accept that what may be acceptable in one society may not be acceptable in another society, and so that definition of normality becomes totally defined by the society one is in.

quote:
LOL …yes, I expected you would pick me up on that as my use of  ‘gay embrace ‘ was way too subtle…it was a very mild subtle innuendo to maintain  an air of etiquette which in this case plainly misfired ! []

Sorry is that one flew over my head [:I]

I cannot say that I have a great deal of observation in the matter.  One thing I would ask is whether you believe this reflects an actual different in acceptability of the nature of the relationship, or is it more that women are generally more demonstrative in public (and even in private) than men?

quote:
I am sure you are right about the notion of homosexuality in Victorian times but it of course was just as prevalent then as it is now. Except today it has very much come out of the closet.

This is a debatable point.

What is certain is that homosexuality (whatever it is) has always been with us, but we simply do not have the data available to provide any quantitative comparisons.

If the earlier speculation that levels of homosexuality vary with population density have any merit, then one would expect that the modern high population densities should have a higher number of homosexual persons  in the population than was true in past times with lower population densities.

George

[gecko]

so you say pedophelia amongst catholic priests is a result of them "not controlling their sexual urges"? id say quite the opposite. they put way TOO much control on their sexual urges, since they enter the priesthood they cannot marry or even maturbate! this frustration of "controlling" their urges because they are "unnatural" creates great harm to a persons well-being and more chance for perversion.

people cannot will themselves to change theyre sexuality. they just cant. homosexuality is not self deception, trying to be straight because its "natural" when you dont feel that way is self-deception.

i also dissagree with almost all of your other points, but im sure someone else will break you down for that.

free love, sexual education taught by openminded adults, and free sexual expression are our best chances of having a happy and balanced population.

get blown church boy.

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by gecko
so you say pedophelia amongst catholic priests is a result of them "not controlling their sexual urges"? id say quite the opposite. they put way TOO much control on their sexual urges, since they enter the priesthood they cannot marry or even maturbate! this frustration of "controlling" their urges because they are "unnatural" creates great harm to a persons well-being and more chance for perversion.

people cannot will themselves to change theyre sexuality. they just cant. homosexuality is not self deception, trying to be straight because its "natural" when you dont feel that way is self-deception.

Are not the two statements above mutually contradictory.

You say that paedophilia is a consequence of the environment that the priests find themselves in, but in the next statement you say that people's sexual preferences cannot be changed.

If, in your second paragraph, one replaced the word  'homosexuality' with 'paedophilia', how would it make your first paragraph look?

George

[Carolyn]

quote:The natural human reproductive process consists of a human male injecting seminal fluid discharged from his penis into the vagina of a human female. This leads to fertilization of the eggs within the womb of the female and eventual birth of a human child. This natural reproductive process of the human species determines the physiological and psychological characteristics of men and women, which are different and reflect their roles in this natural reproductive process. Similar differences between sexes exist in other animal species.

One of the characteristics of this reproductive process is that from time to time men and women feel a strong desire to perform this mutual act of reproduction. This is accompanied by strong emotions of attraction to the opposite sex, love, desire to possess or to belong, envy, jealousy, protectiveness. Often people find it difficult to resist or control these desires and emotions. Similar strong emotions are exhibited in relations of parents to their children. Similar emotion or instinct based reproductive process prevails among other animal species.

So, am I understanding you correctly?  The only time men and women have sex is really when they feel the need to reproduce?  Well, I can assure you that even if I had the ability to reproduce again, I sure as heck wouldn't want to.  You can bet that doesn't stop mine or hubbys sex drive, in fact, I believe we both enjoy it and "do it" alot more than we used to.

quote:Homosexual women use their tongues, fingers, or similar objects as a substitute for a male penis.

Let's say that for some reason my husband was no longer able to perform his husbandly duties[].  If I were to go out and purchase myself an adult toy (and I would in a New York Minute, actually, hubby would probably buy it for me[]), would that make me a lesbian?

Mikey - I don't have the time or the energy to argue every ridiculous statement in your post, although George and Neil have done a fantastic job of it.  I would, however, like to know where you've gotten your information, other than that silly website.  If you're going to tell me the Bible is your source of information, then please include the scripture.

Carolyn

[gecko]

another_someone: if it seems contradictory, let me try to explain.

i think in the case of catholic priests, sexual repression and limitation during sexual maturation cause their pedophilia. i dont think, however, pedophiles can change their sexuality after its been developed, any more than homo or heterosexuals. and relieving the environmental factors of not being able to marry or masturbate, wouldnt make a difference after someone has been repressed initially.

 so, the environment one grows in might determine sexuality, but no one can just will their sexuality one direction.

[another_someone]

quote:Originally posted by gecko

another_someone: if it seems contradictory, let me try to explain.

i think in the case of catholic priests, sexual repression and limitation during sexual maturation cause their pedophilia. i dont think, however, pedophiles can change their sexuality after its been developed, any more than homo or heterosexuals. and relieving the environmental factors of not being able to marry or masturbate, wouldnt make a difference after someone has been repressed initially.

 so, the environment one grows in might determine sexuality, but no one can just will their sexuality one direction.

The problem I have with this is that you seem to suggest this might be a problem for people who become priests during their adolescent years, yet to my knowledge training for the priesthood does not start until after that point in time.  On the other hand, there are a great many people who pass through a Catholic upbringing who will never become priests, but will be influenced by the doctrines of the Church at precisely the period of time where they would be most sensitive to such formative influences.

Let me put to you another hypothesis why so many priests are paedophilia's.

Let me suggest that these people were latent paedophilia's long before they entered the priesthood.  The (whether consciously or subconsciously) were aware that there sexual preferences were taboo.  Given this fact, they already felt the need to repress their native sexual desires, and were thus attracted to an institution that would institutionalise such a repression of sexuality, as it gave them a sense of safety; unfortunately, a false sense of safety, since (at least for some of them) there sexual desires proves more powerful than the institutionalised taboo could repress.

Paedophiles  are not easy to turn around even with the proper medical infrastructure at your disposal, and the Catholic Church is not really geared to either seek out those who are entering the Church because they are running away from their sexuality, nor to give these people the specialised support they need.

George

[another_someone]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep#Behavior

quote:
Homosexuality in male sheep (found in 6–10% of rams) is associated with variations in cerebral mass distribution and chemical activity. A study reported in Endocrinology concluded that biological factors are in play; this study replicated similar findings in humans. It shows that approximately 10% of males are homosexual and that the brains of homosexual males are different.

http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/145/2/478

quote:
The Volume of a Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus in the Ovine Medial Preoptic Area/Anterior Hypothalamus Varies with Sexual Partner Preference
Sheep are one of the few animal models in which natural variations in male sexual preferences have been studied experimentally. Approximately 8% of rams exhibit sexual preferences for male partners (male-oriented rams) in contrast to most rams, which prefer female partners (female-oriented rams). We identified a cell group within the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus of age-matched adult sheep that was significantly larger in adult rams than in ewes. This cell group was labeled the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (oSDN). In addition to a sex difference, we found that the volume of the oSDN was two times greater in female-oriented rams than in male-oriented rams. The dense cluster of neurons that comprise the oSDN express cytochrome P450 aromatase. Aromatase mRNA levels in the oSDN were significantly greater in female-oriented rams than in ewes, whereas male-oriented rams exhibited intermediate levels of expression. Because the medial preoptic area/anterior hypothalamus is known to control the expression of male sexual behaviors, these results suggest that naturally occurring variations in sexual partner preferences may be related to differences in brain anatomy and capacity for estrogen synthesis.

George

[gecko]

it is possible that priests are pedophiles before they enter the priesthood, and theres a high percentage because they are ashamed. i hadnt really considered that.

i saw an interesting documentary on celibacy that had a long bit on the priesthood. some priests do enter the priesthood at about puberty, and there was confessionals of the grief it caused. however, this might not be a majority, and  it mightve have been pure sensationalism...

[erich]

I feel this new study says it all:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/05/08/lesbian.brains.ap/index.html

no surprise, Like anyone would chose to be gay. But I like this study because one can extrapolate that sexual identity is a sliding scale. That very few of us are exclusively hetero in our hormonal sensitivity, although most of us are in our sexual behavior. That hetero, bi, and homo are very coarse and stigmatizing labels.

Erich J. Knight