At lunch today: "Prove to me being gay isn't a choice."

[rpgamerd00d]

This is from an older guy at work: "Prove to me being gay isn't a choice."

Then I said: "OK. If being gay is a choice, then could *you* choose to be gay?"
Him: "Yes, I could."
Me: "Ok, if you can choose which gender you find sexually attractive, then right this second, choose to find men attractive. Can you?"
Other men at table: "No, thats not possible."
Me: "So, are you guys saying that attraction to a gender either exists or doesn't, and its not something you can conciously choose?"
Other men: "Yes"
Original guy: "That doesn't prove its biological."
Me: "If being gay is a choice, how do you explain the many species of animals who exihibit homosexuality? Certainly you don't think that there are animals that pretend to be straight and mate with opposite gender animals, only to then later "come out of the closet" and become gay, do you? Animals dont have the same social structure as humans. There is no peer pressure to be a straight animal. They are either gay or straight. Its not like there is an animal version of San Fransico where animals go to become gay!"
Other guys fall over laughing.
Original guy: <silent>

[NYCGirl]

Ask him when he chose to be heterosexual. That usually ends the discussion.

[rpgamerd00d]

4. OMFG, thats brilliant. :)

[originalpckelly]

13. Yeah, that's how you do it. Use their hatred against them...

Ask them:

"So you're telling us that you like guys but choose not to have sex with them? Are you saying you're bisexual?"

I mean if it's a choice for gay people, then it's a choice for right-winger straight guys.

[verse18]

8. That's how I put it to my mom

who is a liberal to her being, but she is also a fundie and a raging homophobe. I soon as I asked when did she "choose" to be heterosexual, I could see a little light bulb go off.

[Hav]

18. .

Exactly, but for me it's not only the gender, it's who we fall in love with generally. It's like asking her when she chose to fall in love with her husband or her first love.

We don't choose to fall in love, it just hits us and as long as we don't accept ourselves, we can't be happy.
I suppose that's the real beauty of being in love. We just can't help it, there is no button to switch it off ;).

[NewJeffCT]

9. great comeback

I'll have to remember that it if ever comes up in a conversation (I've sat on some good comebacks for 8-10 years before getting to use them in exactly the right spot... so I'm patient in that regards!)

[Chimichurri]

10. That is perfect! I'm putting that in my mental rolodex.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. It's my theory that the right-wing types who are so adamant about

being able to choose their sexual orientation are actually closeted bisexuals who HAVE chosen to suppress their attraction to the same gender. Yet they're so ill-informed that they're unaware of this being a part of the normal spectrum of human sexuality. They're so into telling themselves, "Must....not...look...at...hunky...guys" that they think it must be the same for everyone.

[gorfle]

39. Nah, too easy to get around

It's too easy to get around that question. You do it like this:

If heterosexuality is the normal condition, you don't have to choose it - it's natural. You only have to make a choice when you want to deviate from the normal condition.

In other words, everyone is really heterosexual, only homosexuals make a choice in their sexuality to be something different.

Note that I don't susbscribe to the above, I'm just showing you why logically it doesn't work.

To me, the easiest way to find out if homosexuality is a choice is simple - go ask homosexuals. Every single one I've asked said it wasn't a choice.

Besides, who on Earth would CHOOSE a life of such difficulty and abuse?

[NewJeffCT]

1. good job

did the original guy ever come back from his silence?

[rpgamerd00d]

2. Nope.

[Initech]

3. Excellent comeback!

:rofl:

[Midlodemocrat]

5. Ask him when he chose his eye color.

Being gay is as much a biological occurence as eye color.

[flamin lib]

6. Ya' wanna' prove to me that you can choose to be gay?

(sound of zipper opening)

Go ahead, show me you can choose . . .

[racaulk]

20. NICE!!!

Oh that's great! That would have shut him up really quick!

Thanks for the laugh! :spray:

[SeattleGirl]

7. Great job!

:thumbsup:

[WildClarySage]

11. I wrote this today:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=68968727&blogID=204591909

[baby_mouse]

12. Yes. It is as simple as that.

Boys and girls, my tiny johnson knows what he wants, and it isn't girls. I can tell, because *he* can.

[wicket]

14. I grew up on a dairy farm

Homosexuality happens in animals (witnessed with my own two eyes too many times to count), it's natural and is not a choice. This jackass doesn't know what he's talking about (no offense to actual jackasses).

[Ian_rd]

15. It's amazing how only a few seconds of rational thought can debunk volumns of rightwing dogma

But I suppose that's asking a lot.

[terrya]

16. Good answer

This gay guy complements you on a good comeback. :thumbsup:

[racaulk]

17. Nice work!

Thank you for putting that guy in his place! Good job!

Here's how I know being gay is not a choice, well, at least for me it's not a choice. During my period of coming to terms with being gay I was in serious denial and suffered from very bad internalized homophobia. I dated a few girls, got close and intimate with them, and tried to do those things I thought I was "supposed" to do as a young man. These were girls that I definitely thought were attractive, but I never got those "butterflies" that you get when you're with someone you really like, and I certainly never experienced any sexual attraction. And it wasn't for lack of trying, believe me!

On the other hand, if a man that I'm not even attracted to kisses me on my neck or nibbles on my ear, I will have an erection faster than I can snap my fingers.

That's all the proof that I need.

[Yavin4]

19. Sooooo, Mary Cheney Chose to be a Lesbian?

Hmmm.

[pinto]

21. "Its not like there is an animal version of San Fransico where animals go to become gay!"

LOL. Good answer. (I can almost picture the logic disconnect as your work mate juggled that one around...) :thumbsup:

[Yavin4]

29. Although, I Heard That The Florida Eveglades

was a Gay hot spot for the animal kingdom.

[devilgrrl]

22. One thing I don't understand about homophobic "straight" men...

wouldn't someone else being gay give straight men more choices of women to date with less competition? You'd think that would be a good thing.

[rpgamerd00d]

23. Yes, but gay women cancel that advantage out. :)

[BreweryYardRat]

27. That's actually the way my thought process runs...

...and I'm mildly bi (98-2 split in favor of chicks), so homophobia's a non-issue. Additionally, gay guys tend to be the sort of charming bastard women would flock to in droves if the guy was straight. Makes life easier for me.

[FlaGranny]

34. In my experience

straight women, as a rule, get along with and really like gay guys. One reason is that they are "safe" relationships, and if the gay men I know are any indication, they are very easy to shoot the breeze with, although I know that's too sweeping a statement. There must be a few nasty, hateful gays out there somewhere. :-)

[mwb970]

25. Do they ever mention *why* someone would "choose" to be gay?

Do they supposedly choose it out of sheer spite? Or are they just "evil"?

[TechBear_Seattle]

26. A simpler response

"It is the responsibility of the person making an affirmative statement (such as, "Homosexuality is a choice") to prove the affirmative statement. Since you assert homosexuality is a choice, YOU are the one who must prove that homosexuality is a choice. So go ahead... prove it."

[WernhamHogg]

35. Yep

I like the OP's response, but your response is the one I typically use when I (an atheist) am presented with the "prove god does NOT exist" comments.

[porphyrian]

28. Prove invisible incorporeal monkeys aren't coming out of your ass.

While you did a fine job with your own rebuttal, I hate when people fail to realize that the burden of proof lies with the one making the baseless claim.

[Iris]

30. My gay and lesbian friends don't have to prove a GOD DAMNED thing to him.

He's entitled to his wrong-ass opinion, but that doesn't mean ANYONE has to prove his ill-informed opinion is wrong.

[Left Is Write]

38. True.

And even if one's sexuality were a choice, so what? Does that justify denying people rights and privileges?

[Iris]

41. even more true!

[TlalocW]

31. I used that reasoning on an evangelist

Who used to come to campus to yell at us every Friday when I was in grad school. He thought about it for a second then said, "God gave man dominion over the Earth, and man's sin covers the Earth like a blanket, so our sins can influence animals to act in unnatural ways."

I yelled, "Hold it! There are two gay monkeys going at it in the rain forest right now because of humans? Are you retarded or high?"

He refused to acknowledge me after that even when I would scream, "Tell me about the gay monkeys, damn you!" I earned the nickname, "Gay Monkey Man," for a few months after that.

TlalocW

[GeorgeGist]

32. If homosexuality is a choice...

would you believe that it is wrong? Just wondering what the point of this debate is.

[rpgamerd00d]

33. This isnt a debate. Its more of a "Dude, I pwned this repuke at lunch" brag thread.

At least I'm honest.
:D

[pretzel4gore]

36. isn't masturbabating same sex?

i recall someone pointing that out ...had never thought of that before!

[Left Is Write]

37. I'd just ask him when he "chose" to be heterosexual.

[xchrom]

40. ah -- to have been there -- well done.