(Part 2) Top products from r/gaymers

On the second point of it being a choice or not, I can't believe that nobody's yet mentioned the mountains of scientific data that exist on the topic. This doesn't work for every person who proffers the "choice objection", but if they have any respect for the scientific method, all of these are important. Plus, it's important for you to be literate in these matters. Hell, it's important for everyone to be literate in these (and similar) matters of science, in my opinion, since topics like genetics and epigenetics are coming up more and more in legal contexts.

Sorry if this gets a bit long. There is a wealth of material on this. Which in and of itself is an important thing to note: this has been the subject of a lot of study, and we have gleaned information from that study, even if we don't understand it fully.

In short, give this sort of information to your sister, and her dick of a doctor. Let him dismiss this as "your feelings".

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GENETICS

The data are on the side of it being closely (but not exclusively) tied to genetic factors. They don't indicate that it is solely tied to these factors, but just a quick look at twin studies gives a pretty clear indication that there is a genetic factor to it (the rate of monozygotic twins who have the same orientation is far, far higher than the rate of any two PBAC (edit: particular but arbitrarily chosen, sorry, forgot that's not a common acronym) people from the population). The fact that the rate isn't approximately 100% is an indication that some other factor, epigenetic or environmental (which includes the prenatal environment), has some impact.

EPIGENETICS

On the epigenetic front there are also studies which seem to indicate some correlation.

PRENATAL ENVIRONMENT

There are multiple studies that have found this to be a major factor as well. Their findings are commonly called the older brother effect:

> The fraternal birth order effect is the strongest known biodemographic predictor of sexual orientation. According to several studies, each older brother increases a man's odds of having a homosexual orientation by 28–48%. The fraternal birth order effect accounts for approximately one seventh of the prevalence of homosexuality in men. There seems to be no effect on sexual orientation in women, and no effect related to the number of older sisters.

If you want to read the studies (or at least reports on the studies—not sure how many of the actual studies are published beind paywalls) more in-depth, just check the sources on the Wiki article.

OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES

All of the above tend to fall into the area of what average people think of as "nature" when talking about "nurture vs. nature". As you can see, as usual, there's more than a bit of a grey area in between that choice that's presented as a binary. That's not to say that there is no room for any of the environmental factors we tend to think of as strictly "nurture", i.e., human interactions and early childhood development, but generally studies seem to indicate that after about three years of age, there is little to nothing that seems to have any effect on sexual orientation, and I think most people would have trouble arguing that a child of that age consciously chooses a sexual orientation.

FURTHER READING

There's a lot out there, but here are a few that I'd recommend on various fronts:

Virtually Normal — Andrew Sullivan - A serious of four common cultural positions on homosexuality, then a fifth synthesis of them (Sullivan's personal view). Helpful for understanding the various arguments made.

What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality — Daniel A. Helminiak — A (semi) former Caholic Priest and multiple Ph.D.-holder discusses the pertinent verses in the book in cultural and linguistic context. A good book for religious parents, though it will probably hold more weight with mainline protestants and Catholics who generally don't go in for so-called "literal" readings of English Bibles.

Sex at Dawn — Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá — A mostly anthropological (as far as I know) investigation of human sexuality over history and prehistory. Not exclusively about homosexuality. I have not read this one yet, but I've heard the authors interviewed several times about it, and it seems like it would be worth it. It's on my to-read list.

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HOMOSEXUALITY IN ANIMALS

Another frequent objection brought by those who use the objection of "it's a choice" is the "it's not natural" objection. I don't want to go too far into that, but to anyone paying attention, it's pretty clearly and definitively natural.

For more reading on the topic, see Evolution's Rainbow, which is basically a field guide to gay sex in the animal kingdom. It is a fairly thick book.

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EDIT:

TL;DR

Well, I'm not going to be so self-important as to say you should read every word I've written (though I think you should read my sources). There is a cartoon that sums a lot of this up. This is taken from a longer film called For the Bible Tells Me So.

I had all my sex in my 20s and I just...got bored of it I think, I have a shitton of porn and prefer video games to sex to be honest. If someone is arranging a group sex thing I might put my hand up, but it depends on what games came out that week :)

I'm just in general not an overly affectionate people, which my friends love to torture me with by hugging me whenever they see me :S

It's just not really my thing, and I m ok with that.

However what helped me, alot, is this book http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-The-Mood-Therapy/dp/0380810336

It isn't just some random self help book, the guy who wrote it pioneered the field of cognitive therapy which is used to successfully treat depression by a large percentage of psychiatrists.

I have found so many books and quotes tell you to feel inspired and to be better at life, but this book actually gives you techniques on how to do it.

>At this rate, I'll have finished the series by the beginning of next week.

Oh, my dear VOD, The Wire isn't a bag of popcorn - it is Christmas dinner, it is a fine wine or 30 year whiskey; it must be savoured. enjoyed. One cannot read the great works of Shakespeare or Shelley by the beginning of next week...

Actually, you probably could...

Let me know how Twin Peaks goes, i've been sneaking to parents house to steal internet, downloading True Blood and other stuff. I would like to know if i should give TP a go.

"Pull the other one, mate" is more an English phrase, perhaps cockney. Without AGloriuosCuppa to confirm, we can only speculate. "I'm only pulling your leg" is very Irish, meaning joking around.

I certainly didn't mean to shatter your enjoyment of Lee "suspiciously interesting openly gay teenage years in the bible-belt" Gould.

I'm actually reading a book right now, Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest - if you enjoy stories like Lee's, but are also true, i'll send you the book when i'm done :)

EDIT you probably meant you were gonna finish season 1 by end of next week? That is a perfectly good time period...

David Levithan is probably one of the most main-stream queer-themed writers out there now. His books, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Boy Meets Boy are some of his staple books. But these are clearly directed at a teen audience (which isn't a bad thing)

However, one of my favorites of his is The Lover's Dictionary which presents a love story that doesn't use gender pronouns, so you can interpret it to be any love you want. It is amazing.

It's not a series or anything, but I HIGHLY recommend reading Not myself these days. It's very entertaining and an easy read, but it gets dark and deep. I was laughing and then crying then laughing again.

I commend you for putting your foot down. This book is kinda amazing. This book is kinda funny. This book is kinda deep.

>Chicano AKA radicalized Mexican American (whatever that means)

Here ya go, some links to educate yourself with-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicanismo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_L.A._walkouts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicano_Moratorium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEChA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicano_studies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicano_nationalism

http://www.amazon.com/Occupied-America-History-Chicanos-Edition/dp/0205786189

http://www.naccs.org/naccs/default.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_studies

Just because I own and am proud of my identity as a Chicano doesn't mean that I have to be okay with being fetishized for it. I would rather have a guy who likes my identity and not likes me for my identity. There's a difference.

Edit- typo

100 Rogues didn't require anything fancy. I tried using some AI algorithms that sounded cool, but if / elses served the design way better, once they were organized. If you're looking to learn how to turn the basics into larger projects, I'd read up on design patterns.

The bible: http://www.amazon.com/Design-Patterns-Elements-Reusable-Object-Oriented/dp/0201633612/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376607225&sr=8-1&keywords=gang+of+four

90% of the heavy lifting in 100 Rogues is a combination of Command and Observer patterns from that book.

Though I have not read it yet myself, I have heard good things about Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation. I'm not sure if a more scientific approach would help you or your sister but I would suggest checking it out. You can find a review here.

Seriously? You're not going to find the answer to that question here. It takes a lifetime, sweetie.

Take a page from my new book...

Oh my god The Book Thief. That's my second favorite book ever, second to the current book that I'm rereading, East, by Edith Pattou.

I'd forgotten that Borderlands 2 released, so I thought you meant the novel Hyperion.

And the Band Played On is another really good one about the crisis as well as the political games that were being played while people died.

Surface Detail by Iain Banks

Guns, Germs and Steel - Jarod Diamond

yup! Though, I totally lied about IDW being the publisher - they do put out some quality content between Metal Gear Solid, Shuan of the Dead, Doctor Who, and many others.