Your Opinion...

[TruthfulPanda]

Hi guys i was just wondering what your guys' opinions are when it comes to people being gay. In my opinion i dont get why people have to hate them so much because they're pretty much the same as anyone else in the world and me being gay myself i just wanted to know what people who share the same hobbies as i do think about it.

Anyways Thanks! :D

 

[Artistic.calm]

Some hate gays due to ignorance. But when in fact as you've said--you, and I being a hetero, and the rest of the people that have ever existed, exist currently and will exist, are the same. We're all human beings with our desires, lusts, goals, dreams. And those who've never befriended a gay never know that they're practically the same as the other. Once they find out they're gay, they immediately put up a wall between them and the others and see them through a lens full of stereotypes and gossip. And that's wrong.

This applies to all those who hate Christians, Republicans, different ethnicities, etc. as well. In the end we're all human beings.

Since you're honest about who you are, I may as well be honest about myself. I am a Christian -- like a Bible-believing, graduated from a Christian college, lover of God, kind of Christian. And yet --and yet-- I have gay and bisexual friends.

Am I living a contradictory lifestyle? Nope. Any true Christian will not hate a gay (that's a whole topic on its own lol). They will love them just as they love themselves. So when I say, "some people hate because they're ignorant" I mean they're ignorant about their own beliefs as well.

By the way my definition of love and hate can vary with yours. Which usually happens. What do you mean when you say "hate"?

 

[CoffeeDrink]

Gay people are gay, koff~

Nothing wrong with that. By the way, I hope you get the joke. If you said you were, I don't know, Italian, I would have said Italians are so Italian. It's a joke, and technically it's politically correct. It's a fact that gay people are indeed gay. Just like white people are uh. . . white. Any way, I have no problem with 'em. Ain't bothering me with their 'take over the world' plans so I ain't got no beef with them. I just hate Replicants. Man, the hell with them and their weird search for longer life, koffi~

 

[KittenKoder]

First off, no one is the same, no one is really "like" anyone else, and that's what makes life so wonderful, be different from your neighbor and you will contribute something to the world, if everyone was the same .... nothing would ever improve.

The reason most people are stupid enough to hate gay people, or anyone different than them in any way really, is that they don't like to face reality itself. They are closed minded and essentially stupid people, of course that is what being ignorant is. Without differences, we would go nowhere as a species and would be stuck in the trees still, flinging poo at each other, instead of exploring our universe.

 

[ProjectMisfit]

The way I see it, anyone should be allowed to love anyone. It doesn't effect anyone else, so why not? I'm straight, but I'm a strong supporter of gay/bi rights. It hurts to see such hatred at individuals for loving each other/being attracted to each other. As for a religious aspect, as far as I can tell, gods teaching were about love and acceptance, but somewhere along the line it was pointed out that some don't see it that way, hence arguing this. Love and acceptance would help the world quite a bit more. But it just won't happen. Over-all, it's love, so it's okay. Love is good.

 

[Batty]

I think the main reason people are prejudiced against gays is because of religion. Even though non-religious people can be homophobic. Basically, religion has impacted the way every place in the world has developed, and since most of religions don't (or didn't in the past) approve of gay people, it became a cultural norm to hate them.

The secondary reason why I think people disapprove of gays is because sex between gay people cannot result in offspring. People use this as a rationalization for their prejudice , saying it's "against nature." ( Despite the fact that there are many gay animals.)

Love is love and that's that. Love whoever you want. If you both want to have sex, go for it. It really doesn't effect me or anyone else in any way.

 

[KittenKoder]

I think the main reason people are prejudiced against gays is because of religion. Even though non-religious people can be homophobic. Basically, religion has impacted the way every place in the world has developed, and since most of religions don't (or didn't in the past) approve of gay people, it became a cultural norm to hate them.

The secondary reason why I think people disapprove of gays is because sex between gay people cannot result in offspring. People use this as a rationalization for their prejudice , saying it's "against nature." ( Despite the fact that there are many gay animals.)

Love is love and that's that. Love whoever you want. If you both want to have sex, go for it. It really doesn't effect me or anyone else in any way.

Not to get too far off topic, a funny retort to "it's against nature" is to point out that the only things against nature are called supernatural, as they defy the known laws of nature, and thus they are essentially calling gay people gods, since a human who can defy nature would qualify for that label.

 

[Batty]

Not to get too far off topic, a funny retort to "it's against nature" is to point out that the only things against nature are called supernatural, as they defy the known laws of nature, and thus they are essentially calling gay people gods, since a human who can defy nature would qualify for that label.

Does that make bisexual people Demi-Gods? XD
My brother is a Demi-God!

 

[ProjectMisfit]

Being a demi-god sounds nice >>

 

[Dakotah]

Does that make bisexual people Demi-Gods? XD
My brother is a Demi-God!

I have seen some studies that show that the majority of people on this planet are actually bi-sexual. There is a very tiny percentage of people who are exclusively straight or exclusively gay. The Kinsey scale (not a scientific scale) is used to describe the sexuality of an individual. Most people who identify as straight or gay would be a 1 or a 5, where those who are exclusively straight or gay would be a 0 or 6. I would consider myself to be a 4.5 on the scale, meaning that I am gay, and am romantically and physically attracted to males, but I can and do find some women attractive as well. I just have no interest in having a romantic relationship with a woman. The scale is as follows:

0 Exclusively heterosexual
1 Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2 Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3 Equally heterosexual and homosexual
4 Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5 Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6 Exclusively homosexual

Note that being bi does not automatically mean you have an interest in being sexual with both sexes, rather it could be as subtle as appreciated the qualities of a person who you normally would not be interested in sexually. For instance, a male seeing another well toned male in a exercise product commercial might consider that male appealing.

 

[KittenKoder]

I have seen some studies that show that the majority of people on this planet are actually bi-sexual. There is a very tiny percentage of people who are exclusively straight or exclusively gay. The Kinsey scale (not a scientific scale) is used to describe the sexuality of an individual. Most people who identify as straight or gay would be a 1 or a 5, where those who are exclusively straight or gay would be a 0 or 6. I would consider myself to be a 4.5 on the scale, meaning that I am gay, and am romantically and physically attracted to males, but I can and do find some women attractive as well. I just have no interest in having a romantic relationship with a woman. The scale is as follows:

0 Exclusively heterosexual
1 Predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual
2 Predominantly heterosexual, but more than incidentally homosexual
3 Equally heterosexual and homosexual
4 Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual
5 Predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual
6 Exclusively homosexual

Note that being bi does not automatically mean you have an interest in being sexual with both sexes, rather it could be as subtle as appreciated the qualities of a person who you normally would not be interested in sexually. For instance, a male seeing another well toned male in a exercise product commercial might consider that male appealing.

The flaw with one of your points, "Note that being bi does not automatically mean you have an interest in being sexual with both sexes, rather it could be as subtle as appreciated the qualities of a person who you normally would not be interested in sexually" is that it simply does not work.

Sexuality is inherently a sexual attraction, not just an "appreciation" as we appreciate many things, aesthetically appealing images of all types, the soft fur of our favorite non-human companion, or even the warm sun on our skin. None of these things are sexual, they are simply admiring something. Many times we will admire or appreciate the features of another human out of a mild form of jealousy, wishing we had that feature, with no connection to sexuality at all.

For something to be sexual, there must be a sexual attraction to it, otherwise it is not a qualifying measure of one's sexuality. Many people appreciate youth, being young, we would love to look young again, but based on your comment that would make a lot of people pedophiles for simply wanting to be young like some child they see on the street or in a magazine.

 

[Dakotah]

Sexuality is inherently a sexual attraction, not just an "appreciation" as we appreciate many things, aesthetically appealing images of all types, the soft fur of our favorite non-human companion, or even the warm sun on our skin. None of these things are sexual, they are simply admiring something. Many times we will admire or appreciate the features of another human out of a mild form of jealousy, wishing we had that feature, with no connection to sexuality at all.

For something to be sexual, there must be a sexual attraction to it, otherwise it is not a qualifying measure of one's sexuality. Many people appreciate youth, being young, we would love to look young again, but based on your comment that would make a lot of people pedophiles for simply wanting to be young like some child they see on the street or in a magazine.

Like many words in the English language, the word appreciation can be applied in different ways. You indicated one way it can be applied, I indicated another. Both are equally valid.

We have to understand that appreciating the attractiveness of someone of the same or different sex is a part of human sexuality, and that's true even if there is no desire on a person's part to engage in any form of sexual activity with that other person. Human sexuality is such a complicated thing that we can't simply assign hard labels to anything. The point I was making was that it is possible for a gay man to find a woman sexually appealing even though he may have no interest in being with a woman sexually. Likewise it is possible for a straight woman to find another woman sexually appealing even though she may have no interest in being with a woman sexually.

Human sexuality, in some cases, can be a very fluid thing, where a person's sexual interests may change over time. It is accepted among most sociologists who study human sexuality that the sexuality of females is more susceptible to change than males. It would perhaps explain why, by a wide margin, more females are accepting of homosexuality than males are.

 

[Shamol]

Not to get too far off topic, a funny retort to "it's against nature" is to point out that the only things against nature are called supernatural, as they defy the known laws of nature, and thus they are essentially calling gay people gods, since a human who can defy nature would qualify for that label.

Not that I'm explicitly promoting the "it's against nature" argument, but that retort equivocates between two meanings of the term "Natural". In the context of "natural behavior", people are not talking about "behavior that is mandated by physical laws", but ethical or moral normativity. It's the same as when one says "killing is unnatural" i.e. it goes against an objective code of morality, regardless whether you choose to locate that code within or without nature. Not comparing homosexual behavior with killing, of course.

 

[KittenKoder]

Not that I'm explicitly promoting the "it's against nature" argument, but that retort equivocates between two meanings of the term "Natural". In the context of "natural behavior", people are not talking about "behavior that is mandated by physical laws", but ethical or moral normativity. It's the same as when one says "killing is unnatural" i.e. it goes against an objective code of morality, regardless whether you choose to locate that code within or without nature. Not comparing homosexual behavior with killing, of course.

Yeah, that "natural behavior" is nothing more than a throwback to a time of superstition and myths. The thing is, all living organisms will always vary, and thus there is no "natural behavior," though there is typical behavior within a species, even each individual organism within that species will vary a lot. That's what makes the gene pool strong. Remove too many variations and you weaken the gene pool to the point of extinction, cheetahs are an excellent example of such a phenomenon caused by a massive population decrease, creating what is commonly called a "genetic bottleneck."

So yeah, your point fails on that tiny fact alone. Secondly, there is no objectivity in morals or ethics, they are decided on by society, and often very flexible. Thus your second point fails on that fact. Third point fails for much the same reason as your first, there is no normal for any living organism, normal only works on machines and physics. Typical is what is common, and there are a lot of typical behaviors humans once had which are no longer even considered civil.

Hate to break it to you, but life cannot abide by arbitrary rules and laws, if it did, we'd all still be single celled organisms instead of stronger colonies of single celled organisms.

Like many words in the English language, the word appreciation can be applied in different ways. You indicated one way it can be applied, I indicated another. Both are equally valid.

We have to understand that appreciating the attractiveness of someone of the same or different sex is a part of human sexuality, and that's true even if there is no desire on a person's part to engage in any form of sexual activity with that other person. Human sexuality is such a complicated thing that we can't simply assign hard labels to anything. The point I was making was that it is possible for a gay man to find a woman sexually appealing even though he may have no interest in being with a woman sexually. Likewise it is possible for a straight woman to find another woman sexually appealing even though she may have no interest in being with a woman sexually.

Human sexuality, in some cases, can be a very fluid thing, where a person's sexual interests may change over time. It is accepted among most sociologists who study human sexuality that the sexuality of females is more susceptible to change than males. It would perhaps explain why, by a wide margin, more females are accepting of homosexuality than males are.

But in terms of defining sexuality it has to include sexual appeal, not just appreciation.

 

[gimmepie]

I don't even understand why this warrants a thread personally. Why should there be opinions on gays?

My stance: I just don't care, it is not that important and if we all stopped acting like it was the world would be a better place.

 

[Dakotah]

But in terms of defining sexuality it has to include sexual appeal, not just appreciation.

I submit that "appreciation" in this context is synonymous with sexual appeal.

I don't even understand why this warrants a thread personally. Why should there be opinions on gays?

My stance: I just don't care, it is not that important and if we all stopped acting like it was the world would be a better place.

You know, I actually wish this were the case. But because there is so much negative attitudes around homosexuality, a thread like this, or any discussion on human sexuality, is important. It is only if all aspects of human sexuality can be accepted that a discussion like this would be unnecessary. Just like discussion racism is still very important because people have a very difficult time accepting differences in others. Sadly, we humans are very judgmental creatures, even when we profess not to be.

 

[gimmepie]

@Jay - Ain't that the unfortunate truth. That being said, I still feel as though these things are only an issue because we make them so by continuously talking about them. I don't expect a magical change over night, but if people could just stop treating these things like a big deal perhaps they no longer would be.

 

[KittenKoder]

@Jay - Ain't that the unfortunate truth. That being said, I still feel as though these things are only an issue because we make them so by continuously talking about them. I don't expect a magical change over night, but if people could just stop treating these things like a big deal perhaps they no longer would be.

One strange point many people forget is that all this fear of the unique is actually pretty new. Sexuality was not really an issue at any other time in history, it's like the bigots ran out of other things they could legally prosecute so they decided to make an issue out of something that was not really a problem for anyone in the past.

 

[Dakotah]

Believe me, me being gay isn't an issue for me. ;) And isn't that what really matters? The only people's opinions that should matter are our own. What someone says of you or thinks of you only affects you if you allow it.

 

[Firox]

I have no issues with gay people. I worked with many before, to me they just seem like friendly ordinary persons. I have no problems being around them.

Spoiler:

gay related topic, the only thing I do have big issues with is religion trying to make gay people look bad (as in stereotype) or 'making them the evil people' - issues as in annoyment