Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

A choice, not just genetics

Then gay Olympic gold medal winner Greg Louganis spoke at IU in1997, he told a pro-gay audience, "I'm a firm believer that you're born this way; it's not a decision," and received a rousing ovation. \nThis is a slogan, a pledge of allegiance intended to rouse an emotional response, not a statement of fact. It's also false and misleading. \nNo one would mistake Louganis for an intellectual; his claim to fame, aside from that gold medal, is as a victim: of homophobia, of an abusive boyfriend, of HIV -- and of his gay gene. Still, if he's going to make money as a speaker, he should get his facts correct. The fact is even the most ardent scientific advocates of a "gay gene" now concede that environment plays a major role in the formation of sexual orientation, which shoots down any simplistic "born this way" claims. \nInstead of retreating behind an increasingly dubious slogan, we should take on our opponents' meaningless assertion that being gay is a "lifestyle choice."\nOnce while speaking to a class where the "choice" question had arose, I asked one of the other panelists what his response would be if it were scientifically proven, beyond all doubt, that he and all other gay people had chosen to be gay. He thought a moment, then said: In that case, some therapist would make a lot of money helping him to undo that choice.\nI was stunned. Earlier, this man had said he felt good about being gay, but his answer implied he was really making the best of a hopeless situation. Nor is he unique, I'm afraid. \nLesbian scholar Jennifer Terry wrote, "A social worker who works with gay suicidal teens recently remarked that the biology-is-destiny line can be deadly. Thinking they are 'afflicted' with homosexual desire as a kind of disease or biological defect rather than thinking of it as a desire they somehow choose is, for many gay teenagers, one more reason to commit suicide rather than to live in a world so hostile to their desires." \nIt's no wonder so many gay people are willing to give the "ex-gay" ministries a try.\nMy objection to the ex-gay groups is not that they assume homosexuality to be a choice, but that they assume no one would make such a choice. In this, they agree with the heartfelt cry of many gay people: "Would someone choose a 'lifestyle' which exposes them to hatred by legions of strangers, job and other discrimination, and even violence?"\nWell, yes, people do make such choices: the early Christians, for example, knew very well that they faced persecution, even unto death. Many people take for granted that choices are trivial, made whimsically, but as the example of religion shows, a choice can be a very serious matter -- and it can also feel like recognition. \nAs with gay people, many Christians don't so much decide one day to be Christian, as they realize it one day. "Here I stand," said Martin Luther as he chose to defy Rome, "I can do no other." I couldn't have put it better myself.\nLove and desire are choices, and matters of conscience: complex, deep-rooted, not the kind of choice that can be casually reversed once it's made. Personally, I wish the ex-gay groups could deliver on their promises. Too many gay people mope around, wallowing in self-pity, and I think everyone would be better off if they could go straight. \nWe've wasted a lot of time on a bankrupt biological determinism, agreeing with our enemies that our lives are despicable and empty, but trying to fend off trouble by protesting that we can't help ourselves, Our enemies claim they love us and want to help us, exactly as the medieval inquisitors offered to "help" Jews and heretics escape from their lifestyle choices. No, thanks. Here I stand; I can do no other.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe