— Originally published in Honcho
magazine - September, 1996 —
GENETIC OR CHOICE?
by Lefty Boylan (aka Michael Kirwan)
A couple of months ago the media deigned to do
one of "our" stories
on one of the too-numerous "magazine" shows. Afterwards, they
provided an 800 number so that the audience could vote on whether
homosexuality was something you're born with or was learned
behavior. The viewer could partake in this poll by indicating either
a biological explanation for our cock-sucking tendencies or that we
choose to be disgusting perverts. Watching this, my roommate pulled
out the old homo chestnut: "Of course we're born this way. Who'd
choose to be reviled by society, alienate their friends and
families? Who'd want to be in a club that features a deadly disease
as part of the package?" I'd heard the whole yadda-yadda too many
times before, but as he was frothing at the suggestion that there
was an option involved, I just let him rant on. I got to hear his
whole speech again last week when a talk show guest told his former
girlfriend that he had "decided" to be gay.
Then there's these queers who insist that they've been "cured" of
their faggoty ways by some religious/psychological brainwashing
techniques. All's I can say to that is the women stupid enough to
hook up with these clowns deserve them.
But that's a whole kettle of fish to be properly scaled in a future
"Rant"; what I want to bitch about now is this whole "Is it genetic
or behavioral" question. Why is this even relevant? What difference
does it really make? Why do gay men need the "genes made me do it"
excuse? Who cares? The real issue here is that as American citizens
we have the right to live — period. Oh, I'm well aware that our
little buggeries are illegal all over the place, but if enough of us
are proudly and fruitfully living our own homo lives, those laws
will fall through the cracks like so many other "socially
beneficial" leftovers.
Fight the churches; don't compromise with them; rail against the
government when they start getting too intrusive; look those morons
in the eye when they mutter "faggot" under their breath as you pass.
We've got nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to apologize for; we
don't need to offer an excuse to any straight person in the world.
Personally, I dread the day some biologist leaps out from his lab
waving the proof that we're queer for
chemical/electric/hormonal/genetic reasons, because the next day
they'll be hunting up a magical reversal. At the very least they'll
start manipulating fetuses to prevent them from growing up homo.
Then, they'll offer it to teenagers who suffer from other people's
stupidity and fear, slip it to the military and prisons, and
eventually it'll end up in our fucking toothpaste.
But I digress. My point is: why can't our lifestyles be honored
without the proof that we can't help it? Why should we have to
qualify as medical anomalies to be treated with the same respect
afforded every other citizen of this country? Why should we be
required to bring a fucking doctor's note to gain entry into the
human race?
I think that the whole genes versus option question should be
dropped from the discussion. I don't need it; I don't want it. I
enjoy the company of men. I like the sound of their voices. I
delight in their smells. I relish how they taste. I thrill at their
assholes and salivate for their cocks. These things are all too
wonderful to need genetic compelling. That's what I choose to
believe. |