# Genetics vs. Choice in How Society Treats Homosexual and Transgendered People **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 23, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886 "2008-02-23T21:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/21 "2008-02-26T18:25:24Z")
Obvious, and perhaps doesn’t need to be said, but: Whether homosexuality is genetic doesn’t affect my opinion of how homosexuals should be treated one iota. If two (or more) consenting adults want to do certain sexual acts in private, why exactly should I care? In fact…I can’t for the life of me understand why some people are so intolerant of this phenomenon. Sure, some people cite religious reasons, but why focus so much on this teaching of the bible and ignore / re-interpret so many others? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/22 "2008-02-26T18:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=Mijin] Sure, some people cite religious reasons, but why focus so much on this teaching of the bible and ignore / re-interpret so many others? [/QUOTE] Because it doesn’t require them to refrain from doing anything they enjoy. A lot of the other rules in the Bible, like “don’t eat shellfish”, would require these people to refrain from something they enjoy. “Don’t have gay sex” is an easy one to follow for most heterosexuals. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/23 "2008-02-26T19:44:43Z")
[QUOTE=Ersatz Shmoe] Leaving aside my own problems with his argument for the moment, I promised him I would post it here in GD for discussion with people who might know a thing or two more than me. Your thoughts? [/QUOTE] My thoughts are that your friend needs to learn the difference between “genetic,” “biological,” and “innate.” Hardly anyone argues that homosexuality is genetic. Some people do argue that it has a biological basis, and most everyone recognizes that it’s an innate characteristic. Of the three, the concept that homosexuality is innate is the only one that’s routinely used as an argument for gay rights, and even then, it’s neither the strongest nor the most common defence of the concept. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/24 "2008-02-27T18:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=DocCathode] Certainly a transgendered person’s lifestyle is a choice. Do they listen to country music? [/QUOTE] Well, I’m a fan of the Dixie Chicks. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/25 "2008-02-28T03:16:46Z")
I wonder if there is any genetic basis for the wide-spread feelings of distaste many people feel towards homosexuality. > [@C. S. Forrester](#): > > Human nature is what we are put on earth to rise above. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Paper\_Pusher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@Paper\_Pusher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paper_Pusher)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/26 "2008-02-28T04:33:22Z")
[QUOTE=the PC apeman] Is the friend using “genetic predisposition” differently in the two cases? With homosexuals, it refers to basic drives and behaviors. With transgendered people, he/she seems to be talking about something else, like having a certain reproductive organ. Isn’t it the same genre or magnitude of “genetic predisposition” that drives sexual attraction as gender identity? I don’t see the difference being highlighted. [/QUOTE] What if homophobia is genetically determined? What if sexual attraction to children is genetically determined? Why does genetic pre-disposition make such a big difference in the debate? ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886/27 "2008-02-28T14:31:43Z")
[QUOTE=Paper Pusher] What if homophobia is genetically determined? What if sexual attraction to children is genetically determined? Why does genetic pre-disposition make such a big difference in the debate? [/QUOTE] I don’t think genetic pre-disposition should make any difference in the debate. But rather than highlighting my own foundation, I focused on the given premises being used inconsistently. As to your questions, it seems to me that _all_ behavior is at least biologically determined if not always predisposed genetically. But that leads quickly into a quagmire of a free will debate and the definitions of right, wrong, and responsibility. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/genetics-vs-choice-in-how-society-treats-homosexual-and-transgendered-people/438886.md?page=1)