Paulie Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 This is a serious question......my roommates and I are debating the topic....is it possible to convert gays to hererosexuality through therapy, drugs, or any other means? Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Is it possible to convert white people to another colour? Is it possible to convert a woman into turning into a man? Is it possible to convert a blind person into being able to see? If you and your roommates are in school, then you could do some research into the latest scientific literature on homosexuality. Link to post Share on other sites
BrainRightHeartWrong Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 put it this way Paulie, i assume you are straight as i am too, is it possible to convert straight people into gays? Link to post Share on other sites
SoleMate Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 It's a great question. Unfortunately, the possible answers seem heavily clouded with dogma either from activist gays or from hardline anti-gay types. I'd love to see the researcher who can approach this issue with a scientific mind and some well-designed, yet ethical experiments or observations. I do know that male homosexual acts can be engaged in opportunistically. Environments like prison are a prime example, though of limited applicability due to the artificial setting. More intriguing, and worrying, to me, is the apparent increase of opportunistic homosexual behavior among men living in the general population who are self-characterized as heterosexual. Crudely put, if you are a guy who wants a free blowjob, it's a lot easier to get one from another guy on the street than it is to get one from a gal in your bedroom. Not a few men in my area have figured this out and are taking advantage. Link to post Share on other sites
SoleMate Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 To continue my thought, I understand that sexual behaviors are influenced by genetic/biologic, environmental, and developmental factors. To the extent that one can understand these admittedly complex interactions, I believe that one can influence sexual behavior and thus "sexual orientation" in many people. The homosexuality of ancient Greeks and modern Turks would be two cases where the environment encouraged male homsexuality and such behavior increased over baseline levels. Link to post Share on other sites
Arabess Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 My ex told me that being gay wasn't a 'sexual' issue...it was an 'emotional' issue. So, much like Sole just posted....can you or anyone else...change your emotional chemistry when you see someone who you are attracted to? I could look at female porn all day long.....and not have the slightest inclination to date one of them. I'm assuming the same is true for someone on the other side of the road. Link to post Share on other sites
dyermaker Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by Arabess I could look at female porn all day long.....and not have the slightest inclination to date one of them. Me too. Who looks at porn for someone to date? o_O Link to post Share on other sites
Vivid_29 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by Paulie This is a serious question......my roommates and I are debating the topic....is it possible to convert gays to hererosexuality through therapy, drugs, or any other means? If they are happy being gay, let them be gay. Don't try and change them! ~V Link to post Share on other sites
dyermaker Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Originally posted by Vivid_29 If they are happy being gay, let them be gay. Don't try and change them! ~V Vivid, my uncle, who is gay, and has come to embrace it now, has told me that when he was younger, he would have gladly taken drugs, therapy, surgery, hypnosis--whatever it takes to turn heterosexual. On the subject of homosexuality, you only hear "We're here, we're queer, get used to it" from the vocal gays. You never hear about the millions of homosexuals who are ashamed, who feel cast out, and who would love a chance to be "normal". I'm not saying it's a noble cause to try and change a homosexual, but there are gays out there who aren't happy. Some would choose their heart, and face ridicule, prejudice, resentment, and even hate. But there are many who fear that, and if there was a way to change their feelings, they would. Link to post Share on other sites
Kriz Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 you could do some research into the latest scientific literature on homosexuality. You'll notice it is politically influenced. There's scientific arguments for both sides of the question, but politically incorrect literature is always published in more alternative circuits. Is it possible to convert a blind person into being able to see? I don't know, wouldn't that be great? is it possible to convert straight people into gays? Well... I've heard of people who after several years of marriage left their wives. You can't really convince me with the idea of the 'latent' homosexual who suddenly 'realises' this. However, I respect their choices, wether they see it as a choice or not. There's another side to the coin as well. There is are ex-gays. When you look it up on the internet you will either find a gay website that ridicules them or their own sites which are often religious. Their holding on to religion is often an argument to say they're 'fooling themselves'. However, you could see this in a different perspective: maybe the religious community is the only one that supports their choices. Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Well... I've heard of people who after several years of marriage left their wives. You can't really convince me with the idea of the 'latent' homosexual who suddenly 'realises' this. Yes. My ex was one of them. I don't know about 'latent'. The fact is that he sometimes suspected that he was gay but, as most men would, he brushed away the thoughts because he sure didn't want to be gay, given all the repercussions. However, he fell for a man six years into our marriage and then realized that that was really his proclivity. I also have some dear friends who are gay but they figured it out when they were younger. The fact is, Kriz, that you may be able to have sex with someone of your own gender because you feel like it, but there is no way that you can fall in love with someone of your own gender if that is not your orientation. Just try it. Link to post Share on other sites
Kriz Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Six years and you believe he was never in love with you? I feel sorry for you, but I can hardly imagine that is true. Would you feel different if he left you for a woman? I'm sure you would. That would give you a reason to be angry, but now you feel you can't blame him because he fell in love with a guy instead of a woman? I know that from the moment you doubt your identity (you've read my fir Link to post Share on other sites
cdn Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Is it possible to convert white people to another colour? Michael Jackson has seemingly done the reverse. Is it possible to convert a woman into turning into a man? Ys, there are surgeries that do this. Is it possible to convert a blind person into being able to see? Ditto the last response, although only certain types of blindness can be corrected through surgery or transplant.[/b] Might be more straight-foward to just give your opinion on the original question. Link to post Share on other sites
Kriz Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 GODDAMN. That post was a page long, what the f-u-c-k happened to it? I was just saying moimeme, if he was married to you for six years he must have been in love with you. You can say that love was a lie, that he was never really in love, but you could just as well say it was the right thing for him and that he has deceived himself by 'being' gay now. I don't wish to go into this discussion any further, because I think you are right in your believing that it's something that cannot be helped. It would hurt too much to know that the reason you separated maybe was not a genetic hardwireing but the attraction to another person. As Vivid said: If they're happy...let them. Your ex is perhaps happy in his current situation and you console yourself by the 'knowledge' that it couldn't be helped. You can be mad at me now, if you want. Or you can show me links proving you're right. Link to post Share on other sites
Errol Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Convert Gays? Post: 1 | Quote: This is a serious question......my roommates and I are debating the topic....is it possible to convert gays to hererosexuality through therapy, drugs, or any other means? Originally posted by moimeme Is it possible to convert white people to another colour? Is it possible to convert a woman into turning into a man? Is it possible to convert a blind person into being able to see? If you and your roommates are in school, then you could do some research into the latest scientific literature on homosexuality. Considering the original context I would say Yes. White people to another colour? Yes -- with gene therapy, surgery, and whatever, it is possible to change skin color and even features. It's not well known and not very advanced, but it is one area of study. Michael Jackson changed from a nice-looking black kid into another species altogether! Convert a woman into a man? Yes, it's been done & vice versa. Surgery, hormones, etc. Blind person into a sighted person? Yes, it's been done. Maybe "convert" is not the best word to use. Through medical and psychological research a way might be found/created to change a persons sexual orientation -- probably in utero, but quite possibly later during early development. Who knows, the science may one day exist to change an adult's orientation. Is it possible to pursuade a person of one orientation to practice the lifestyle of another? Yes, but it doesn't change the underlying fact. Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Kriz We were not 'in love'. Neither of us thought we were. Ever. We had been friends for several years and ended up sharing an apartment. A bottle of beaujolais changed the friendship into something more. We loved each other very much - as friends. We just figured we skipped the infatuation bit by being friends and had moved on to the more serene sort of love that's found afterward. I later realized there was a piece missing, and after a few more experiences, I now know what that piece was, but neither of us would tell you now or then that we thought we were 'in love'. So thanks for your attempt at analyzing me but no, there is no need for rationalization at all. I was neither crushed nor in need of consoling myself. I already had gay friends, had heard their stories, and BELIEVED THEM when they told me they were gay from childhood. I fully understand that sexual orientation is a biological construct - it is bizarre to me that anyone should think differently, actually. When the ex told me he was gay, I was relieved, actually. We remained friends for quite a while - until the financial realities of divorce. In fact, Kriz, it was I who introduced him to his current partner. I have already posted links about the science, as has Paul - our rarely-seen LoveShack founder. If you really want to read them, you can search on 'homosexuality' and our user names. Might be more straight-foward to just give your opinion on the original question. Link to post Share on other sites
Kriz Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Might be more straight-foward to just give your opinion on the original question. Well, in my opinion, people 'coming out of the closet' could just as well get back into the closet. Why do people always talk of the closet as a bad place? I had some pretty nice experiences in there when I was sixteen Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I don't think it's as much a matter of "converting" someone to practice a particular form of sexuality as it is to either practice or abstain from sexuality, be it homosexuality, heterosexuality, bestiality, polyamory or any other form of sexuality. I think that's where people confuse the issue of "being or not being" something or another. You are what you are; you have control over what you practice/do. Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 It is just sex. People have sex with shoes. Maybe your next-door neighbour. Why on earth ought somebody's intimate activities concern you any more than we ought to be concerned with yours? There are umpty-million fetishes that would blow some of some folks' minds. Somehow, it's not an issue to have odd or bizarre sex but it is to choose a consenting partner who happens to be of the same gender. I will be SO glad when people get their noses out of everybody else's beds. Thank heavens I live in a country where one of the most enlightened leaders the 20th century ever saw stated 'the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation' and then enacted laws based on this principle. I wish to heavens people would worry about domestic violence or poverty or something that causes real suffering rather than assigning themselves the task of being moral arbiters of others' lives (and X, I don't want to hear it - you know who you are). And, just to clarify, I am using the general 'you'. Link to post Share on other sites
Kriz Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'm not sure wether I'm X. Am I? Link to post Share on other sites
moimeme Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'm not sure wether I'm X. Am I? No, no, noooo. X knows who he is for sure. Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I wish to heavens people would worry about domestic violence or poverty or something that causes real suffering rather than assigning themselves the task of being moral arbiters of others' lives ah, but moimeme, sex in any form attracts the attention of people because it is something "forbidden," taboo, scandalous and just plain old juicy. Domestic violence and poverty typically aren't viewed that way. I remember when I was in my first year of journalism classes, my professor told the class to read what we and others wrote, then read it again with a dirty mind so that we could edit out anything that could be misconstrued! Link to post Share on other sites
silk_sword Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 if something feels right then do it. if something feels wrong then don't do it. if u r unsure of something then let it stand until u find the answer. this goes for all things in a person's life, including who one chooses to be with (whether the same gender or not). who cares what everyone else thinks. it isn't about them. judgement is a flaw humans never seem to shed. people should go with what they know and how they feel. people need to trust that feeling and trust in themselves, especially when it comes to love, or so i believe. Link to post Share on other sites
fddfg Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Originally posted by cdn Is it possible to convert white people to another colour? Michael Jackson has seemingly done the reverse. Is it possible to convert a woman into turning into a man? Ys, there are surgeries that do this. Is it possible to convert a blind person into being able to see? Ditto the last response, although only certain types of blindness can be corrected through surgery or transplant.[/b] Might be more straight-foward to just give your opinion on the original question. i would say you have good responses to these but then i would be half lying. you have the gist of it but you dont see the real pic. Is it possible to convert white people to another colour Yes MJ did this but he is still black Is it possible to convert a woman into turning into a man yes surgery does this but internally you are still a woman and no matter what there will always be something permanent that you can never change- you can never become a complete man Link to post Share on other sites
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