[TheKicking]

Hell no! I don't feel that it is a choice at all! People are born with instincts and sexual orientation is a part of that.

I always find it incredible that there are some people out there who believe that a person will just wake up one day and decide that they are gay. Or that they were thinking about it really, really hard, and came up with the conclusion that they no longer wanted their penis or vagina. This person had this sexual instinct or appendage for how many years, and then one day decided that it wasn't good enough? Really?

I mean, maybe they did wake up and have that revelation, but I can't believe that they never thought about the possibility before, or had urges that they couldn't explain.

I'm not saying that there is absolutely no choice in the matter of sexual lifestyle. A person always has the choice of whether or not to give into their innate urges and feelings. People always have the chance of changing their minds. Some people lean one way in their youth, but go a different way when they are older; David Bowie did. And people always have the choice of turning away or conforming.

Honestly, if it was all choice, then being gay would have been outlawed a long time ago. And if there wasn't any choice involved, then pedophiles and rapists wouldn't be put on trial.

I guess my bottom line is that people can't help how they feel-- but they can always choose what they do with those feelings.

EDIT:

I also want to clarify that when it comes to choice, I believe that people should do what is best for them. Conformation and denial are often extremely hurtful and damaging to an individual. It can lead to resentment, and in some cases, mental issues, and I'm not just talking about low self esteem. There is a good reason why people on TV and in movies use the phrase "I need to get this off my chest" when they come out-- it's often a relief.

That doesn't mean that some people don't function better in the closet. But that's really up to them. I don't think it's right for one person to force a lifestyle choice on another.

You can always make the choice to be open minded and open armed. To me, sexual orientation is no different from skin color or birth country. It comes with the whole package.