Close the genetic curtain and open up the window of choices!
I have to confess that I am dipping my toe into politically dangerous waters. To some, this may be a taboo subject to discuss about. Yet, a strong sentiment steaming with excitement has created a magnificent propensity for me to discuss the topic: HOMOSEXUALITY with the general public. This provocative discussion might just ignite sparks of resentments. Thus, I have to clear the air that below are purely my opinions. Undoubtedly, you have the personal rights to agree, provide some clarifications as well as offer your different point of view.
“When and why does one becomes a homosexual? What is/are the practical justification(s) behind their actions and behaviours?” I believe that only the FREEDOM OF CHOICE has the perfect answer to these controversial questions. Not genetic certainly! (so be it if some of you have already composed a powerful fervour of thundering infuriation).
I find the subtle sentences such as “I’m born to be a gay/lesbian!”, “I basically can’t explain why I’m function as such.” and “I think I’m genetically formed to be a homosexual.” rather unconvincing. In fact, these sentences invoke and emanate an insecurity issue of one self.
Hatred and a paroxysm of impotent rage towards homosexuals are obviously not the feelings I had for them. Yet, the circumstantial evidence by quirk of fate (an inexplicable burst of cell growth) delivered a pertinacious belief. The genetic factor, which obliviously neglects prosaic factors like the social environment, is an oversimplification answer to a complex issue. Perhaps, it has unwittingly evoked an avalanche of sympathy for the “unfortunate predicament”.
I had an acquaintance (I wish you are reading this too) that drowns me in his verbosity pool of miraculous ideology without a slightest hint of embarrassment. His “technical immaculately tailored” argument for his true nature goes like this:
Him: “Hey, stop talking as if you know me! I’m a homosexual.”
Me: “Oh well...I may not know you personally. But certainly, I’ve friends who are homosexuals too. May I ask you when do you realise that you are one?”
Him: “I watched gay porn. I’ve a strange feeling and I realised I’m gay.” (After that, he metaphorically slammed research and more research showing me that genetic is the factor for his “shifting persona”).
How hilarious was that? Is it not more of his choice than the mutilation of his genes? He should have joined the coyotes howling at the moon. And, I am pretty positive that this is not an isolated case. There are many more “genetic homosexuals” out there who live their diminutive lives of insecurity in quiet Thoreauvian desperation.
Instead of being like Chief Joseph, the great leader of the Nez Perce, who on surrender proclaimed through his tears, “I will fight no more forever” (in this case of inference resorting to push the blame on the extra chromosome Y), why not we nod in agreement with Paul Tillich, a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher, who advocate people to exercise “the courage to be”? Since the freedom of choice is the germinating seed of this contentious issue, I urged ardently for one (especially the homosexuals) to avoid the deluding clouds of insecurity. Please have the colossal confidence to claim that you CHOOSE to be a homosexual.
Most of us, at least for me, will respect you for your decisive affirmation of life. So stop producing a chunk of research (that shows even way more insecure you are) that genetic is the MAIN factor for unlocking your psychic closets. It is just a peculiarly minor, maybe negligible too.
I think that the perpetual quest for social acceptance can be easier if homosexuals commit themselves to their significant preference. The general public would perhaps be more willing to spare the thought for their personal choice than fervently protest towards their psychological insecure identity.
Once again, I have to remind you that all the above are solely my humble perspective. You may wish to comment and share your different spectrum of horizon! I am more than pleased to read them but just as a gentle reminder, be nice and sensible.
posted by Zulkiffly Zainal at
12/05/2010 12:18:00 AM
23 Comments:
What's your argument? i don't quite understand...
Read my title and the second last paragraph, Xuan Qi.
Genetic is not the reason behind homosexuality (even so, it is very minor). It is rather more of a choice than genetic.
What do you think?
You sound pretty much like a bigoted idiot. And do continue with your mutilation of the english language; your stupidity is rather amusing.
That was mean... Low Eq or what?
To Andrew: Thanks for your precious time and effort to comment on my blog! I wonder why it seems to me that you are taking a strong defensive stance. I would extend my apology should I have had hurt you unintentionally. Yet, should you have possessed a different channel of view, I would suggest you to share it with us.
Your deliberately malicious personal attack is amusingly astonishing. Considering that you might just be a rancid cantankerous brat who retreats like a whimpering cur whenever someone tries to propose an opinion, I would not even consider your remarks mean at all. You have grown into an emotionally deprived rose full of thorns and that you are totally oblivious about others’ feelings. How insensitive you are!
I think you have barely read my last paragraph or basically have limited understanding of what “BE NICE AND SENSIBLE” is all about. Maybe I should get my seven-year-old sister to teach you, what do you think? She definitely can beat you in this “intellectually difficult phrase”.
hmmm looks complicated...
My opinion to your open view about Homosexuality is... Genetic is the reason for homosexuality...Nobody wants to be a gay... Is the matter of the gene that he/she had... Because of that he/she changes his feeling towards the same gender rather than the opposite. This would be the reason of a mistake that the parents did..result him/her to be like that...(genetically)... But i have to agree with you that those who discover they are homosexual they don have the guards to say they are gay... Which is, they not practicing freedom choice this is simply because of the society we are living in. In Singapore, the mindset of people towards homosexual is something bad or sin... Singaporeans should change their mentality towards this kind people(gay,lesbian)afterall they all are human-being. When the mentality of Singaporeans changed ... I m sure alot of People will come forward to accept
they are gay or lesbian .....
rasa btul ar. . Benda ni dari zaman dulu lagi dh ada , zaman nabi lut klw tk silap lah . . klw bab ni pilihan kita sendiri tkda kena mengena dgn genes atau jins samsudin . . Apa2 org ckp apa skalipun kutuk ke apa ke zul jgn cpat ilang semangat k..
i think what u said is right....
well....for me wat zul says is rite cos all the things leads to choices u make....there no such things as it is genetic cos if it is like tat there will not be a decendent at all...if it is genetic u cn juz bring the baby and ask the doctor if ur child will bw gay or lesbian if they grown up rite....people have to choose their way of life...so at the end of all it all lead to choice n the way we want it to be...yes i agree that singapore is a bit conservative about gays/lesbian...bt not for other country...some country dun mind about it...they even let gays/lesbian have a lawful marriage....take ellen for example she a les n even marry her...
Hahaha why your english so powderful one ah? Think you what? Minister ah? Wah, President Scholar ah?
Wah you so smart leh. So many chim english words and some more so handsome leh. Eh your mole real or not ah?
Wah I look at your sexy mole and then I choose to be gay! Ehh... you interested a not!
Hmm i understand the perception of your viewpoint but i have to disapgree to certain extent. It may outrightly say if your beliefs or where exactly you are pursuing that makes a person different so does your friend. Despite the fact that you are right in a certain aspect, he is right too.it is not that i am being too complacent. putting aside other factors , genes or maybe indirectly how he has been since young could put him into that position. genetically soft in nature may be source of provocation or an announcement to the public of how he is going to think. In layman 's term, it means he is thinking in his current situation , his nature and his way of life. Isnt this a part of your personality, isnt this programmed in your genes and isnt this how you are going to be born as. i say it is a hybrid , it takes two hands to clap.
First of all, to Andrew: Calling someone bigoted undoubtedly shows you are bigoted yourself. That term is a double-edged sword which many bigots themselves don't realise when they use it. For the record, I'm bigoted towards you. That said, your desecration of the English language is also rather amusing; where did you learn to start a sentence with a conjunction? Come better prepared next time, will you? Your unmellifluous and downright appalling reply leaves much to be desired.
Now, in response to Zul's opinions: Dearest Zul, as much as I love you, it seems to me that your writing of this post is extremely one-sided. It is emotional and personally attacks your friend, which does not show professionalism and maturity in a piece of writing. All works to be taken seriously need to adopt a balanced stance to its motion and produce views from both schools of thought before coming to a generalised and personal conclusion.
I opine that the determination of whether one identifies him- or herself as being homosexual first has to be genetic, that it is programmed in all of us whether we are able to be gay or not, for lack of better wording. Through observation, discussion and much thought, I find that people identify themselves as homosexual for one of three reasons: 1) They were born that way, i.e. they are, in a sense, more evolved than the average man and are able to transcend age-old conventions of heterosexual pairings by having the ability to love and be loved by someone of similar genital groups, or; 2) They, whether advertently or sub-consciously, allow themselves to fall prey to the current popular culture notion that being gay is in vogue in this era, i.e. they are aware or unwitting to the fact that it is in some subcultures seen to be cool to be gay and allow themselves to identify to this notion of homosexuality to fit it with the crowd, and subsequently they walk too far down the road and never turn back, or; 3) They have other ulterior motives to being homosexual, e.g. to use their new gay status as leverage to hit on women.
In all three scenarios, the environment plays a big part in arriving at the final point where a person identifies himself with homosexuality as it is the environment and his experiences which shape his thinking and causes him to either positively or negatively identify himself with homosexuality. Here, I must give you credence that people do indeed make a "choice" in the matter of their sexuality; however, I believe most of the time they are genetically predisposed to homosexuality and that "choosing to be gay" is but an illusion people create to allude them from the fact that genetics play a bigger part in a lot of their actions and thus in their lives. The "choice" that people make on their sexuality only seems to come in when people finally realise what they are all along and "decide" to stick with their "newfound" persona, but this "newfound" persona of theirs is always neither new nor a choice or decision they get to make.
Hi Zul.
I've read what you've written and I wrote a full rebuttal to your entry at my website: http://www.goatse.bz/ Let me know what you think!
Sorry Zul! It's this website: http://www.goatse.fr/
Hey zul,
Eh honestly, I think u should keep the big
Words to a minimum because it really disrupts one's
Flow of thought and reading. It's good that you're practicing everything you've learnt but remember how mr. Ganesh use to say you tend to use the wrong words, hence rendering the situation awkward? A good essay need not consist 70% of big words, because not everyone might understand. Nonetheless, good attempt, though it was a tad bit confusing as to what your point was. Haha xuan qi and I write 10 page essays on a frequent basis, so maybe what we look for in an essay's different from you.
Cheerssss!
In other words, what Amy is trying to say is, you suck.
(cont from previous)
If so much is decided - even before we are born - by our biological make-up, it follows logically that sexual orientation, too, is determined by genetics. Such a proclamation is really not, as you inferred, a show of how insecure the homosexual is. A homosexual who decides to hide his sexual orientation in order to conform to social norms - that is insecurity, but not the reasoning behind his/her sexual orientation. I think you are confused and mixed up these two acts. This answer to the question of the reason behind homosexuality - genetics - is really not an 'oversimplification'. It may seem so only because it is so straight-forward. Contrary to being oversimple, genetics is really a very complex branch of science with many nuances that are still being grappled with by the top scientists.
Another point to note is if homosexuals really choose their sexual orientation as you suggested, there would not be any 'closet' homosexuals, would there? If they chose to be homosexual, then why would they shy away from acting like one? This shows a major loophole in your idea and exposes it as a fallacy.
You are confused too, I think, about the issue of the freedom of choice, the courage and rights of an individual "to be". Freedom of choice enables a homosexual to declare openly his sexual orientation and choose who to love, but does not explain the homosexual's sexual orientation. To suggest a homosexual is so because he chooses to be one is as ridiculous as suggesting that whites are white-skinned because they chose to be so. On the other hand, a homosexual - whose sexual orientation is genetically determined - might, under his/her freedom to choose, decide to willfully change his/her sexual orientation. This is like how one might be born with black hair but CHOOSES to have red hair (by dyeing his/her hair). You have confused the choice to remain homosexual (or change into a heterosexual) as the reason behind the homosexual's sexual orientation. Yes, I agree that homosexuals have the freedom to be who they are and embrace their sexual orientation, and that those who refuse to acknowledge their sexual orientation lack the guts to do so (but how much are they to be blamed, considering the stigma society attaches onto homosexuals?), but these are not the REASONS they are homosexuals in the first place.
Hmm no what I'm trying to say is, please K.I.S.S = Keep It Simple Silly (a journalistic term)
I'll just keep this short and sweet. Just a few points to make here.
To me, sexuality preference is more of a nutured than nature.
Logically speaking, if it is nature, which is to say that it comes from our genetics, how could gays/lesbos even be born? To put it nicely, you need two hands to produce a clap. Without both genders, there wont be any child birth taking place. And, that is to say that you cannot possibly get the gay genes from either of your parents.
In addition to that, well, the environment makes someone's character. I say so because I do have a friend who was a lesbian because of her all-girls school environment where they dont get to meet that many boys and her friends are mostly lesbians. But as she moved on to the JC and get to meet boys, once again her sexuality preference found a rebirth and she got herself a boyfriend. This change could happen when she is able to meet boys and majority of the people around her are somewhat going with what we call "the normal and acceptable" boy-girl relationship.
To balance it off, like what zul have mentioned, perhaps there might b a few exceptional cases where it is nature. Based on experience again, I know of a lesbian couple in my jc. Though in a mixed-school environment, they still chose to be in a what the society deem as "unacceptable" girl-girl relationship.
To conclude it all, I would like to say we have no right to determine whether or not someone can or cannot be in a relationship with whom they want to be with. As someone from a conservative asian society, it is normal for us to think that homosexuality is unacceptable. However, we do have to consider their rights as human beings as well as a member of the society.
I know that you are from MOE. I wonder whether they know that a respected teacher like you is making such homophobic comments... Mmm...
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