Sexual Orientation Changed Through Reparative Therapy?

I wish I was a lesbian.

i like carrots, but i don't like brussel sprouts. Do I need therapy too?

Most definitely, how can you be so discriminating against the poor sprouts! It is not their fault that they flaunt their green, healthy cabbaginess in the face of the carrots at every xmas!

I believe it's a combination of genetics, choice, and upbringing.
That being said, I believe someone can change their orientation if they WANT to, but why would they want to if they like what they like? That therapy crap is about forcing a change, which will obviously never work.

So, you choose your orientation?

I'm happy to see tolerance on the forum. I appreciate that some people do not agree with a lifestyle choice, but are willing to publicly state they accept homosexuality as something that just is. I am no expert, and haven't formally studied the issue, and there are smarter people on here than me (and Dr. Oz) that could probably discuss this issue better. My attitude toward being gay has evolved somewhat over the years, but I've never been able to make sense of the notion that someone could *choose* their sexual identity.

I think the idea of "reparative therapy" is fear and shame-based. The name alone implies something is "broken" and needs repairing. I think there are people who may be gay but live a straight lifestyle because they are surrounded by intolerance and ignorance, or maybe simply scared of their own truth. In my opinion, that's what needs repairing. I can't imagine denying something so fundamental about who you are and trying to live a life against that.

Sir, you seem extremely intelligent to me! Very well said :happy:

i like carrots, but i don't like brussel sprouts. Do I need therapy too?

Hey! Sprouts are veggies too!

i like carrots, but i don't like brussel sprouts. Do I need therapy too?

Hey! Sprouts are veggies too!

maybe, but they're like, TOTALLY inferior. Quick, someone find me a quote in the bible about how terrible sprouts are!

anyone read "A Clockwork Orange"?

It has never been scientifically proven that you are "born gay". There are no gay genetics.
You are just born.

I believe that everyone has same-sex attractions. Some people deny them and move forward towards opposite sex attractions right away and some people don't.
That's what I think.

I also believe that reparative therapy can help some people. While there are people who feel shamed into "turning straight", I also believe that there are people who feel shame in "playing gay". I know a lot of people are saying that they don't choose to be gay and no one really does because of the drama and hardships that they will face. But there are also those people who may have "come out of the closet" at an early age, and later on want to change. If they want to make that change, why shouldn't they? And why should they feel shame in wanting that?
Don't we all have the Constitutional right to pursue happiness? If one is happy remaining gay, then thats wonderful. But if one is unhappy and wishes to make a lifestyle change and move towards "straight-ville", why should they feel shame in that?

I really think the fear and shaming goes both ways...

This right here is full of wisdom.

I don't think therapy is going to change whether a person *is* gay or not though. In the end you are what you are and think what you think.

Brilliant answer and says it all.

I used to believe it was a choice but now believe that there are factors that lead to it.. while im against the lifestyle I am tolerant and accepting of those who live that way.. the biggest problem I have with these therapies is that it can lead to a lot of pressure for people to change and they may act differently but not really be changed

Yup. Those straight people and their weird lifestyle choice. I really can't understand how they live that way either. I'm tolerant of them because some of my best friends are straight, and they seem like nice enough folks. Still. I pity them because they were obviously influenced by the straight culture that surrounds them.

maybe, but they're like, TOTALLY inferior. Quick, someone find me a quote in the bible about how terrible sprouts are!

Romans 14:1

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

Vegetarians are p*ssies.

maybe, but they're like, TOTALLY inferior. Quick, someone find me a quote in the bible about how terrible sprouts are!

Romans 14:1

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

Good one, there is also:

Better is a meal of sprouts and the love of The Name, than fat carrots with hatred.
(Proverbs 15:17)

And I didn't realise vegetarians will also not go to heaven, coz they do not follow the bible: "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything." Genesis 9:3

Wow!

I believe it's a combination of genetics, choice, and upbringing.
That being said, I believe someone can change their orientation if they WANT to, but why would they want to if they like what they like? That therapy crap is about forcing a change, which will obviously never work.

So, you choose your orientation?

I think I understand what the person is trying to say, and I agree. I believe that there are people that are genetically attracted to one sex or the other. Nothing that happens to them in there life will change that. But saying that it's 100% genetic for everyone could be a bit extreme. Let's say that you're genetically somewhere in the middle of the sexuality spectrum. Is it not possible that life experiences could tip you one way or another, or to identify as bisexual? This wouldn't be a "choice," per se, just the way you ended up, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who identified as bisexual in high school and college. Now I consider myself straight. Some might argue that I was never really bi, I've always been straight, and I see that point. But I think it's possible that under a different set of circumstances, things could have turned out differently. There's no way to know for sure.

Edit: Typo no/know

It has never been scientifically proven that you are "born gay". There are no gay genetics.
You are just born.

I believe that everyone has same-sex attractions. Some people deny them and move forward towards opposite sex attractions right away and some people don't.
That's what I think.

I also believe that reparative therapy can help some people. While there are people who feel shamed into "turning straight", I also believe that there are people who feel shame in "playing gay". I know a lot of people are saying that they don't choose to be gay and no one really does because of the drama and hardships that they will face. But there are also those people who may have "come out of the closet" at an early age, and later on want to change. If they want to make that change, why shouldn't they? And why should they feel shame in wanting that?
Don't we all have the Constitutional right to pursue happiness? If one is happy remaining gay, then thats wonderful. But if one is unhappy and wishes to make a lifestyle change and move towards "straight-ville", why should they feel shame in that?

I really think the fear and shaming goes both ways...

While I admire your preaching of leaving others alone and everyone deserves to find happiness, I HAVE to point out...

There is actually a steady stream of research on the biological and genetic nature of homosexuality; I don't think that needs to change the core belief of, "There is nothing wrong with being any other orientation than straight, and there should be nothing stopping people from pursuing this," but it's worth noting that the research IS there, and because something is not yet completely proven does not make it any less scientific (gravity and evolution are just theories; that doesn't make them "not real"). Edited to say: As others have pointed out, it's not necessarily FULLY biological, either. Nurture and Nature are vital parts of the formation of, well, a human as they become human.

Similarly, you're falling into that awful trap of "lifestyle." You seriously said, "If someone wants to change their lifestyle, what's wrong with that?" There is no "gay" lifestyle, just like there is no "straight" lifestyle. A sexual orientation is not a lifestyle; if, as a straight person, someone is living every choice they make based off their attraction to the opposite sex, then that would be a lifestyle--their life is styled around that key factor. Do you do that? Does anyone seriously live every aspect of their life around their orientation? No. It shapes their life, it influences their life, but unless they are literally opening the fridge and thinking, "I'm gay and I want to drink milk because I'm gay and then eat cereal with that milk because I'm gay," then it's a FACET of who they are, not their entire LIFE.

Mehmet Oz is a highly talented cardiac surgeon. That does not indicate talent in any other area of medicine. Neither does his being a physician indicate talent or knowledge in any other field, including dietetics or sexual orientation.

anyone think that in some circumstances sexual orientation can be the result of abuse by older males at a young age?

I would say for some men, yes. I say this because I know some men for whom this has been the case... their experiences began as children, with other boys/teens somewhat older... Seemingly innocent. But then there's pleasure and there's shame... all rolled up into one. That becomes the thing that's comforting to them, but there's shame associated and they tend to carry on healthy relationships with women. So for them, I'd say they weren't born gay. I can't say others aren't though.

Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Pedophilia =/= homosexuality. Pedophilia IS considered an orientation: an attraction to children/adolescents (Though technically being attracted to specifically teens falls under a different category. Yay labels!).

Similarly, correlation (particularly your ANECDOTAL correlation) does not equal causation. That's like the same argument that, "If you're abused, you're more likely to abuse others." No, there's a correlation between people being abused growing up to be abusers... and it gets much more circulation than the larger statistic that people who were abused DON'T grow up to be abusers.