Comments about ‘Letters: Sole custody, LGBT issues’

Social commentators and churches worry about what keeps the cashflow coming in. Don't sweat about the idea of gay people somehow created by single moms who ultimately commit suicide. Worry about the gay people born that way, as they all are, who end up mercillessly badgered by a homophobic society that leads to their suicide.

A bunch of baloney. Polygamous ancestors seldom saw the husband and their kids seem to have turned out OK. Two parents in the home is nice but not necessary.

.???
What a strange letter.

Who is Carol Klein? When was her book published? (1980s)

Who is Roman Gary?

What qualifications do these people have? Why should we care about what they have to say?

"If his mother had a husband or lover, he would not spend his days "dying of thirst, beside so many fountains"

Nowhere have I heard that a live-in boyfriend is an acceptable substitute for a father. What an odd letter. I would be very wary about taking a single book on psychology and trying to explain or judge our social structure by it. Psychology is definitely one of the softer sciences.

@Hutterite:
"Worry about the gay people born that way, as they all are..."

Wrong. The transition occurs during puberty and can be influenced by family structure and friends, both girls and boys.

This letter brings up some interesting possibilities that should be explored.

re:MissPiggie

Your comments reveal you to be severely uninformed and to many families and individuals who've struggled mightily to deny their own/family member's homosexuality your comments are no doubt, very hurtful and offensive.

While transgender isn't the same as being gay consider this story:

"Jonas and Wyatt Maines were born IDENTICAL twins, but from the start each had a distinct personality.
Jonas was all boy. He loved Spiderman, action figures, pirates, and swords.
Wyatt favored pink tutus and beads. At 4, he insisted on a Barbie birthday cake and had a thing for mermaids. On Halloween, Jonas was Buzz Lightyear. Wyatt wanted to be a princess; his mother compromised on a prince costume.
When Wyatt was 4, he asked his mother: “When do I get to be a girl?’’
His parents had no idea what was going on. They had barely heard the term “transgender.’’ Baffled, they tried to deflect Wyatt’s girlish impulses by buying him action figures like his brother’s and steering him toward Cub Scouts, soccer, and baseball.

......studies suggest a genetic contribution."
(The Boston Globe 2011, ABC News)

Truthseeker,
Religious social conservatives are going to be extremely resistant to any evidence that homosexuality is a genetic or innate trait. It completely undermines the religious justification for condemning homosexuality and persecuting it in the public sphere. If they can believe it is all a result of overbearing mothers or absentee fathers or societal tolerance or personal choice, then they avoid the really sticky doctrinal issue of whether it can be a sin if a person is born that way. Think of the "debate" on evolution and you'll get some idea of what you're up against.

@ Hutterite
Your arguments are not rendered credible by insulting people, as if they only care about cash flow. What if homophobia is genetic? Are you then not allowed to oppose it?

@Dektol
Two parents at home is not necessary, but we are fools not to strngly encourage the ideal situation for our children.

@Truthseeker
Studies are all over the place on this subject. Only a biased person would claim otherwise. If facts are to be ignored because they may be “hurtful and offensive’ to someone, then we will never get at the truth you CLAIM to seek.

Our culture assigns gender to things (such as pink being feminine) but that doesn’t mean children are transgender when they fail to adopt the culture. The boy may have been inadvertently TAUGHT he was girlish just because he liked pink and subsequently, pink dolls.

@Emajor
Most people couldn’t care less if homosexuality is genetic. Homosexual believe they are homosexuals regardless. It makes no difference as to whether or not homosexual behavior is a sin. A tendency to violence might be genetic too. Doesn’t mean religions have to take it off the sin list.

Re:RAB

No scientifically sound study has linked sexual orientation or identity with parental role-modeling or childhood sexual abuse.

The American Psychiatric Association noted in 2000 that "no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse." It goes on to say that sexual abuse does not appear to be any more prevalent among children who grow up and identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual than in children who grow up and identify as heterosexual.

Modern science cannot state conclusively what causes sexual orientation, but a great many studies suggest that it is the result of biological and environmental forces, not a personal "choice." A 2008 Swedish study of twins (the world's largest twin study) that appeared in The Archives of Sexual Behavior and concluded that "[h]omosexual behaviour is largely shaped by genetics and random environmental factors." Dr. Qazi Rahman, study co-author and a leading scientist on human sexual orientation, said: "This study puts cold water on any concerns that we are looking for a single 'gay gene' or a single environmental variable which could be used to 'select out' homosexuality, the factors which influence sexual orientation are complex.

@RAB
actually all the credible research are quite constant and do not support your position. Claiming that there are "studies" that do not agree with the credible science and that have been proven to be not credible does not change the known facts. there are still people that believe elvis is alive and we never landed on the moon and claim they have evidence to support it it does not make it true.

RAB,
"It makes no difference as to whether or not homosexual behavior is a sin"

If you believe free agency has any bearing it does.

And violence harms other people. Sexual orientation doesn't. If you can't understand the difference there, you should refrain from judging anyone's actions as sinful.

@Truthseeker
I said nothing about “parental role modeling” or “sexual abuse”. If a child likes pink and his society teaches him that pink is only liked by women, he would grow up believing he is not a normal male. I realize that common sense doesn’t count for anything these days.

Regardless, I know someone who was abused and later became homosexual. Years later, she changed her mind and is now happily married to a man. If the American Psychiatric Association is incapable of "identifying" that, I can only attribute it to an extra-scientific agenda. The twins study proves that homosexuality is a mix of genetics and environment. The inclusion of environmental factors shows that there is an element of choice.

@Phranc
I’d love to know how you define “credible research.” I imagine you define it as research that supports your assumptions.

@Emajor
Free agency does not redefine what sin is. Judging actions is not judging people. Your sins are your business. I could not care less if you do not believe sexual intimacy outside of traditional marriage is a sin. I am still free to believe it is.

@RAB
Credible research is research that was conducted using the accepted standards of research methodology, It is far to complicated to go into in 200 words, It is however easily accessible through the internet if you type in standards of research methodology. I will tell you that sitting around the table drinking beers with your friends and asking them what hey think about a particular issue is not research. The book the letter writer references does not say what they think it says and is based on a review of existing literature not actual research anyway.

re:RAB
I was responding to Miss Piggie who said:
"The transition occurs during puberty and can be influenced by family structure and friends, both girls and boys."

There are many gay people who became aware of their same-sex attraction when quite young, though were only able to identify the attraction when they matured and acquired knowledge of sexuality. "Environmental" factors affecting sexuality isn't necessarily referring to people/places/family structure etc., but can be referring to in-utero environmental or other biological factors such as exposure to hormones such as testosterone etc. There can be biological factors--apart from genetic factors that affect sexuality.

Did you feel equally attracted to both boys and girls when young? I'm betting most people felt differently toward the opposite sex at quite a young age. Sexuality/sexual orientation begins early in life, not just at puberty.

Personally, I believe sexuality occurs along a spectrum, which may be related to your friend's "change."