Sunday, January 10, 2010

Why I'm skeptical of "they were born that way"

Actress Meredith Baxter, 62, might be the latest middle-aged woman to come out as gay after years of raising families with husbands - but she's certainly not alone.

(...)

While evidence is anecdotal, "the consensus in the field is that these late-life transitions are more common for women than men," said Lisa Diamond, a professor of psychology and gender studies at the University of Utah. Her book, "Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's Love and Desire," posits that women's sexual feelings are more complicated than straight or gay, and may change over a lifetime.

Source

Gee. She *just* realized that she really wanted to be with women.

Feelings are complicated. No kidding. They're not stable. You can have unwanted feelings, or you can train yourself to feel a certain way. Or you can re-label your feelings. Feelings don't necessarily reflect any particular reality.

You can't know whether you were "born that way" or not, based on feelings.

And this is why some people do manage to abandon homosexuality.

H/T: ProWomanProLife