Rob Weisskirch wrote: > Given our society's rigidity around sexuality, would more people be gay if > society allowed more permeable boundaries?
Herb Coleman replied: This is the fear that I think some people have. They fear that once the stigma is removed and people can safely and free admit their orientation that the numbers will grow. I tend to believe that the real fear is in people not wanting to admit things about themselves. To which I ask a question which is probably totally misinformed but has occasionally occurred to me: >From an evolutionary point of view, if a homosexual orientation is at least partly >due to genetic transmission (and not to mutation), and if homosexuals didn't have to >have sham marriages with children to be accepted in society, wouldn't there >eventually be less persons with a homosexual orientation since they would not be >passing the relevant genetic contribution on to the next generation? Might that not >also apply to societies that have been open to homosexuality for many generations >(the number of persons with a homosexual orientation would be smaller in societies >that had more openness to toward those with a homosexual orientation)? Of course, as >many have noted, there is a continuum and there would still be bisexuals having >children but it still seems like a more open attitude toward homosexuality would lead >to a smaller proportion of those with a homosexual orientation within society. It >seems that I may have heard someone address this theory before but I don't remember >what the gist of the argument was. Thanks, Rick Dr. Rick Froman Associate Professor of Psychology John Brown University 2000 W. University Siloam Springs, AR 72761 [EMAIL PROTECTED] (479) 524-7295 http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/faculty/rfroman.asp -----Original Message----- From: Herb Coleman [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 11:22 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: the construction of homosexuality > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Subject: statistics on being gay > From: "Rob Weisskirch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 10:47:45 -0800 > X-Message-Number: 20 > > I ran into this question a couple of years ago. After hunting down as > many resources as I could, I found no answer. The difficult part about > answering this question is a measurement issue. To ask how many people > are gay presents the question of what you mean by "being gay." Does that > mean participate in homosexual acts? Does kissing count? Does one have > to participate in homosexual acts to orgasm to be considered truly "gay?" > What if someone feels gay but does not act upon it? Kinsey's work was > based on homosexual behavior (see his scale). From his work, he said that > 10% [the magic number] demonstrated homosexual behavior for 3 or more > years, but only 4% considered themselves lifelong homosexuals. What does > this mean? NOTHING. The more I read about this the more I realize that they way in which you phrase the question totally determines the answer. If we reversed the question and asked "are you straight," then asked about your experience with the opposite sex, things begin to look a little different. > Sexuality is not an either/or classification. It is a complex > relationship of desire, attraction, behavior, and identity among many > other areas. Our students would be better served by understanding the > complexity around sexuality, rather that simplistic definitions. I whole heartedly agree. They would further be helped by our continued discussion of the variability of biological sex as well. As we are all familiar with varieties of chromosomal make up and the interaction of hormonal response en utero the whole question of homo or hetero sexuality starts to get dicey. One the questions I have my classes wrestle with is how do you characterize a 46 XX male who is attracted to a 46 XY female? Fausto-Sterling, Anne. The five sexes. The Sciences (March/April, 1993): 20-24. > > The other consideration is does it matter how many people are gay? It certainly matters to those who like to count and classify. However it also matters to those who consider themselves to be in this group if for no other reason to know that you are not alone. Given > our society's rigidity around sexuality, would more people be gay if > society allowed more permeable boundaries? This is the fear that I think some people have. They fear that once the stigma is removed and people can safely and free admit their orientation that the numbers will grow. I tend to believe that the real fear is in people not wanting to admit things about themselves. > > But that's just my opinion...or is it/ -- Herb Coleman Instructional Technology Manager Adjunct Psychology Professor ACC/AFT Local 6249 Austin Community College [EMAIL PROTECTED] 512-223-3076 ********************************************* * Every action has a connected and directed * * pre-action. * ********************************************* -Herb Coleman after seeing "Bowling for Columbine" --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
