Lucern- thanks for the post and the link to the article.
I think it is clear that none of the labels attached to the "cause" of homosexuality can really be called facts, but some are supported better than others. Many claims are made, but what facts back them up? I read, not a long while back, that the facts which support homosexuality is caused by a genetic disorder could also be interpreted to support that homosexuality is a natural gentic trait. Conclusions can change depending on the interpreter.
I also find flaws in the logic that homosexuality is some kind of grand choice consciously made. No hard facts or statistics support claims that homosexuality is a choice and is chnageable- that I have seen. On the contrary in fact.
Link
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Others maintain that it is impossible to replace homosexuality with heterosexuality.
They assert that sexual orientation is innate, and that in the majority of cases it directs male sexual arousal to females and vice-versa, while in the case of the gay minority these same innate factors direct arousal toward those of the same gender.
To support this argument, they point to the many reports of gay-identified individuals, who claim having discovered their orientation at an early age (often in pre-adolescence). Many of these report initial distress in response to this realization. Their claims are consistent with statistics showing that gay-identified youth are several times more likely than non-gay youth to attempt suicide.
Some scientific studies suggest gay men's anatomical brain structure is similar to that of heterosexual women and different from their heterosexual male counterparts. Other findings suggest fingerprints of gay men match closely with those of heterosexual women. Some researchers have noted that if one of a set of identical twins self-identifies as a gay man or lesbian, the chance of the other identifying as gay is increased to 50\%.
Conversion therapies have been condemned by numerous professional organizations in the scientific field for causing depression - sometimes leading to suicide - and being of little value. The American Psychological Association in 1997 passed a resolution declaring therapists in these groups engaged in such conversion therapies to be following unethical and unhealthy practice.
American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American Psychological Association, American School Health Association, Interfaith Alliance Foundation, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, and National Education Association developed and endorsed a statement in 1999 reading:
The most important fact about 'reparative therapy,' also sometimes known as 'conversion' therapy, is that it is based on an understanding of homosexuality that has been rejected by all the major health and mental health professions.The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Counseling Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of Social Workers, together representing more than 477,000 health and mental health professionals, have all taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus there is no need for a 'cure.' ...health and mental health professional organizations do not support efforts to change young people's sexual orientation through 'reparative therapy' and have raised serious concerns about its potential to do harm.
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[ 04-29-2005, 05:12 PM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]