[Cerek]

Originally Posted by SpiritWarrior Depends on what he means by learned behavior really. Most of it I think, in this straight/gay orientation argument is the result of conditioning. We get to work conditioning ourselves in the years leading up to puberty. If everyone was gay as we grow up, and it was accepted as the norm, chances are we would be too. And we would miraculously be as attracted to the same sex as we are to the opposite right now.

Precisely. Perhaps "learned" is not the proper term. Rather, I should say "conditioned". I believe a lot of our behavior is "learned" through experiences in our earliest childhood. Environment, social conditions and other factors all combine to shape our personalities and help determine what we desire and don't desire. Much of this "learning" occurs at an age too young for us to remember it happening, but the influence remains with us nonetheless.

I saw a study on a girl who was convinced she had lived a former life. She knew exact details about a little village in Scotland (including several residents), yet she had never been there before. So she became convinced she must have lived in this village during a previous life. Turns out, her grandmother was the one who had lived in the village and used to tell stories of the "old land" while she rocked the girl to sleep as a baby. The girl was far too young to consciously remember the stories, but she had heard them and learned them nonetheless.

I understand your viewpoint, Dave. It would be just as impossible for me to imagine being attracted to a man. But again, I think that is more a product of my environment and raising rather than any genetic predisposition.

BTW, Good to see you're still around.