Mind your own F-------g business. Why on earth would someone want to stick their noses into someone elses sex life? Now they have a real problem. Mike Pence is an idiot. From a straight male who is a big supporter of my brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community.

You give no justification whatsoever why homosexuality should not "come into mainstream" (what exactly does this even mean?). Why do you even care? If nobody forces you or cares about you being homo or hetero, why do you want to have a say about wat others prefer?

I find your choices to be dividing. I don't think homosexuality should be "mainstream " but not necessarily taboo either. Maybe just as uninteresting as the color of your hair

An increase in the homosexual population would unlikely be due to there being more homosexual people, rather that more would feel comfortable expressing their sexual orientation. Like Atheism, homosexuality is frowned upon by Judeo Christian standards. Many atheists don’t tell people they are atheists and many homosexual people don’t share that they are gay, in both cases to avoid conflict and/or persecution. In neither case is it wrong to be open about it. It’s also not wrong to keep it to yourself if you choose. No one who is gay is going to spontaneously become straight and no one that is straight is going to suddenly “turn gay” because they saw a pride parade orread a book or watched a movie with gay characters. That’s ridiculous.

You say you think it’s wrong for homosexuals to be mainstream, which I gather to mean you think they should be gay without anyone else having to know about it. That is horribly unfair and unreasonable. Should straight couples get to hold hands, have public weddings, kiss at New Year’s parties, talk about their wife or husband at work? If he answer is yes (which it is, if you were wondering), then the LGBT+ community equally has those rights. The fact that you are uncomfortable with it had no bearing on their rights.

As my 10 year old daughter said, "we shouldn't worry about people who love each other mummy, but those that hate each other". If the love is between 2 people of the same sex, it's still love.

I think homosexuality is already in the mainstream culture. Count the number of times you see it referenced in a single day (It surprised me when I kept track)...I bristle at the idea of lawmakers passing legislation aimed at keeping individuals from being happy.

Would you agree, or consider that perhaps you are a bisexual who has chosen to repress your homosexual urges?

I don't know why people are homosexual either, but my experience tells me that its not a choice. I had the good fortune to live in a hippy and gay area in the early 70s and met a lot of gay people when it was first becoming a thing people could be open about. I met a lot of people, men and women who were really wonderful but deep down they had a self loathing about who, or what they were. As one man told me "Do you remember your early teens, when all you could think about was girls? Well, for me it was boys. I don't know why, but that was how it was." His shame and self hatred made me see what an ordeal it was for him. Choice? If it was choice that would mean that any of us could choose tomorrow to be homosexual. Does that seem like a real possibility to most of us? No.

[Posted on my own page...appropriate to re-post here]:

(Since the poster misses the implications of the need for, and existence of, this site...)

Coming Out. By analogy, having come of age in NYC virtually at the inception of the "gay liberation" movement - I was there for the Stonewall riots - and having observed then and for the years following how difficult and emotional and psychically draining it was for my gay friends to come out (of the 'closet', I am struck by the narratives and observations I read on this site posted by those for whom even expressions of religious skepticism, much less outright rejection of a theocratic imposition of morality, is arduous and daunting. I like to think that I was raised in an environment of unfettered religious, philosophical and political discourse, and I am tempted to regard your complaints as somewhat preposterous, but then I allow myself emotionally to re-visit the pain of my own struggles, and to recall that I too grew up among attitudes of bigotry and prejudice, religious and political, and that it was not until I made my own way into the world where I could make my own, more sympathetic connections, that I was able to shed those ideological shackles. I had for some time been able to take my freedoms for granted - and on that basis would have continued to diminish your struggles - until I moved to Texas, where I was once again thrust into a world of bigoted, "low-information", faux-Christian moralists. And now the struggle is re-joined, but at least I know that I can no longer silently suffer such affronts to reason and true spirituality, because, as it did to my gay friends who never found the way to come out, silently suffering will make you ill, emotionally, spiritually, and physically - these are metaphysical truths. Keep opening your big mouths - nicely if you can - but don't suffer in silence. I support you all.

I was going to be particularly scathing and probably offensive to you with my initial reply, but a quick look at your profile may has tempered my response somewhat now I have seen where you are from and how old you are.

You say in some of your replies that you do not want homosexuality to become mainstream in case it becomes normal and people are 'encouraged' to be homosexual. This appears to me to be a very nieve view that has been implanted by your social norms. People don't become homosexual because it accepted as normal. People come out as homosexual (or bisexual) because they feel safe to. Gay pride and other parades raise awareness and challenge the stereotyped perceptions of those less educated. In Europe, public perception has been changing over the years and there is less discrimination against LGBT groups year on year. There is still a long way to go, there are still people out there that think you can catch homosexuality or that it is a choice. Until we live in a world where people have equal rights under the law and are treated by their peers as equals, then marches and demos to bring this inequality into the mainstream must continue.

You are 19 years old and probably still exploring your sexuality. You live in a country where I believe the rights of the LGBT community are still in their infancy and culturally unacceptable - certainly if you were further north in Pakistan. Without protests and marches, women still wouldn't have the vote - feminism has been around for far longer and women still struggle to be treated as equals. Could you vote for No discrimination against women - but it shouldn't be in the mainstream?

Hang around the forum, listen to the sane and the crazy, and look at alternative sources for evidence. And keep asking questions.

I was going to be particularly scathing and probably offensive to you with my initial reply, but a quick look at your profile may has tempered my response somewhat now I have seen where you are from and how old you are.

You say in some of your replies that you do not want homosexuality to become mainstream in case it becomes normal and people are 'encouraged' to be homosexual. This appears to me to be a very nieve view that has been implanted by your social norms. People don't become homosexual because it accepted as normal. People come out as homosexual (or bisexual) because they feel safe to. Gay pride and other parades raise awareness and challenge the stereotyped perceptions of those less educated. In Europe, public perception has been changing over the years and there is less discrimination against LGBT groups year on year. There is still a long way to go, there are still people out there that think you can catch homosexuality or that it is a choice. Until we live in a world where people have equal rights under the law and are treated by their peers as equals, then marches and demos to bring this inequality into the mainstream must continue.

You are 19 years old and probably still exploring your sexuality. You live in a country where I believe the rights of the LGBT community are still in their infancy and culturally unacceptable - certainly if you were further north in Pakistan. Without protests and marches, women still wouldn't have the vote - feminism has been around for far longer and women still struggle to be treated as equals. Could you vote for No discrimination against women - but it shouldn't be in the mainstream?

Hang around the forum, listen to the sane and the crazy, and look at alternative sources for evidence. And keep asking questions.

All that Roman and Greek wrestling.........

For the person who is concerned that if homosexuality is "mainstream" that more people will choose to be gay, I can only shake my head. What if there are people who could go either way? What if those people would choose to keep themselves hetero in spite of curiosity or longing because they were afraid? Are you suggesting that they would be better off if they never explored their curiosity or longing? Because why? Are you suggesting that the rest of us would be better off if that were the case? Again, why? How? Have you ever even met another gay person? This isn't hypothetical. What if you could go either way, but the love of your life turned out to be a member of your own gender? What if you were never, ever, attracted to a member of the opposite gender, but felt compelling desire for individuals of your sex. Would you want to not participate in society because of this? "Mainstream" is just saying it's ok for people to be who they are. Who cares if it's psychological? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. What would you do to prevent it from becoming "mainstream"? Just accept people. Nobody queer wants your ass if you don't want them. So calm the heck down.

Sorry, partner, but there is mounting evidence that your assumption is completely off the rails. This doesn't mean that in some it may be psychological, because that remains a possibility. However:

[latimes.com]

[sciencemag.org]

[scientificamerican.com]

Granted, the issue is yet to be settled, but there is more than sufficient cause to consider your take on the issue as a minor possibility in isolated cases, but the majority of people in that group have been biologically produced and not by choice at all. AFA notwithstanding.

Why should anyone have to hide who they are just because it might make some people uncomfortable? It's not criminal behavior.

Whether or not homosexuality is considered “mainstream” (e.g. Acceptable to the majority of a society) is cultural. Many societies in history have recognized/ accepted same sex activity as being on the spectrum of normal.
Behaviors/personality traits are the result of a combination of nature and nurture. Most behaviors and characteristics do fall on a spectrum, with people being more or less of different qualities. That includes sexuality.

I've always thought that the 'born this way' argument was a massive cop-out. Almost an apology. "I've tried to be the person you want me to be, but I just can't help being this broken thing instead. It isn't my fault. Please don't hate me." Who cares whether it's psychological? Who cares whether it's a choice? Frankly, I don't want to see the genetic aspect delved into too deeply. That paves the way for embryo screening. Viable lives flushed away because they might turn out to be same sex attracted when they're older.

I'm essentially bisexual, but with a very strong preference for same over opposite. Raised by a Catholic mother, it was very clear that if I could be contented as a practising heterosexual, that's exactly what I should be. She wasn't anti-gay, but it was only acceptable for those who couldn't possibly handle being straight, and it was very clear that she expected me to 'make the right choice.'

It took 40-odd years and a failed marriage for me to realise that I was actually entitled to go with my strongest preference. I've chosen (yes, chosen) to be a practising homosexual ever since.

Sexuality can evolve over time. It can also be conditional. Don't get me started on the straight men who love a bit of male anatomy, as long as you put it in a dress and some stockings. They're certainly not gay or bi in the conventional sense, because a fit guy in tight cycling shorts or a fireman stripped to the waist does nothing for them. They want the chocolates, but not the box that they normally come in.

What do you mean by 'mainstream'. could you give me an idea whether you are against homosexual couples being able to adopt, or against gay marriage? Is there something specific that you have an issue with, with regards to an openly gay person?

You are dead wrong. I, a straight female established one of the first LGBTQ introduction services in the world over 20 yrs ago. None of my gay friends/business assocates would agree with you.

Homosexuality is naturally occurring in over 1,500 species, besides humans.
That anyone is still debating the issue is ludicrous.

Sexuality in any legal age and consensual act is between those involved and nobody else. I don't even get why it is an issue. I happen to be straight. I really think that is just happenstance, how my brain is wired. If it was wired differently, then I might be gay, or transgender, or a furry. The idea that any sexual form is 'deviant' is just people who consider themselves normal (nobody is normal, if you claim to be normal, you are hiding your weirdness...hehe) telling other people that they are strange.

It certainly doesn't affect me one way or the other (except that time I got punched in the mouth by a big ol' scary lesbian for politely explaining that while her interest in me was flattering, I simply am not sexually attracted to the ladies. I still consider myself straight but have never turned down a lesbian since.)

Homosexuality and/or bisexuality is naturally present in many animal species. On the other hand, bigotry against homosexuals appears to be unnatural, as it is only present in humans. We are in no danger of dwindling populations any time soon. In fact, we're alarmingly overpopulated. So, an increase in homosexuality would probably be good for the planet and humanity in that it could help slow population growth. If you're afraid that you can't stop being homosexual, that's understandable because of our heteronormative culture, but you're choosing to be part of the problem instead of being part of the solution. So let's not pretend that there is a valid argument for 'concern' over the 'spread' of homosexuality.

Where do you get the idea that homosexuality is wrong or problematic? That falsehood could only come from religion or superstition.

You write: Honestly, I don't care what people do in their bedroom, but I fear there are or maybe attempts to convert straight into gays.

Don't you realize that this is complete bullshit? If you don't care what people do in their bedroom, why would you have to FEAR there are or maybe attempts to convert straights into gays. Even if there were such attempts, where's the problem?

Of course some people are more or less bisexual, and some of them may be "seduced" to homosexual actions while they may normally tend to heterosexual behaviour. But that is their own business, and not yours.