Why is talking about a gay cure so taboo?

I firmly believe being gay if something the vast majority of people can't choose, it is indeed how God made them.

That said, since it is a biological cause, I don't see why there might not be a "cure" or a "fix" developed one day... some sort of pill you take to make your sexual desires "normal" - as nature intended.

God creates baby with holes in their hearts, we use modern medicine to cure them, so why is it taboo to suggest one day science may cure gayness?

I remind people what forum this is in, no OT-like replies allowed here.

While there is some credence to your argument, it is still a taboo subject much like mental illness.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that has physical attributes to it. There is a clear physical breakdown that happens in the brain. There are drugs that "control" it but there is no cure.

If the same were said about homosexuals (male and female), then you would also have a valid point. There have been studies where identical twins that were gay, showed very similar brain scans. This would add to the evidence that being homosexual was a "physical" thing.

The problem is that some believe that being gay is not a bad thing. Live and let live. To spur interest in a cure would require gay people wanting to be changed.

will_m said:

The problem is that some believe that being gay is not a bad thing. Live and let live. To spur interest in a cure would require gay people wanting to be changed.

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I think gay teenagers would love a cure- at that age you want to fit in. It's older people, set in their ways, who would reject it.

Too many people don't consider it something that needs cured. The very idea that it's wrong and can be "cured" is an insult to them and viewed and bigotry. Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with the idea, and I'm sure there are plenty of gays/lesbians who wish there was a pill to "fix" them.

skeptic said:

Too many people don't consider it something that needs cured. The very idea that it's wrong and can be "cured" is an insult to them and viewed and bigotry. Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with the idea, and I'm sure there are plenty of gays/lesbians who wish there was a pill to "fix" them.

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That's it, I understand, there is the vocal part of the Gay rights movement who would look at a cure like the X-men viewed a cure for being mutants. However I strongly believe this is a vocal minority, people who have some some sense of power and purpose solely because they are gay. If they were straight they'd just be ordinary nobodys and they don't want to see that power erode.

But the bottom line is, if a cure is found it will be used by those younger people, still in the closet, the vast majority of them are not "in your face" type gays but just normal people who no doubt want a normal life. And no, being gay isn't normal... It may not be immoral, but it's definitely not normal.

I predict if a cure is ever found the gay rights movement collapses within a generation as they literally die off and it just isn't seen as an issue anymore with the younger generations.

Science and medical breakthroughs aside, these days when people talk about a gay cure, it's typically hugely evangelical types who think therapy can chase away the gay. That's where the conversation always focuses and it always skews the discussion.

Personally, I don't think they'll ever be able to "cure" being gay. Moral and ethical considerations make it very unlikely. For instance, let's say they figure out the genetic and fetal developmental situation that triggers it. How could a scientist ethically test a treatment that counteracts the triggers? Clinical trials would be a risk no OB would subject their patients to. The establishment wouldn't accept any sort of research.

HDC said:

Science and medical breakthroughs aside, these days when people talk about a gay cure, it's typically hugely evangelical types who think therapy can chase away the gay. That's where the conversation always focuses and it always skews the discussion.

Personally, I don't think they'll ever be able to "cure" being gay. Moral and ethical considerations make it very unlikely. For instance, let's say they figure out the genetic and fetal developmental situation that triggers it. How could a scientist ethically test a treatment that counteracts the triggers? Clinical trials would be a risk no OB would subject their patients to. The establishment wouldn't accept any sort of research.

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It is unfortunate that the "gay cure" has become synonymous with evangelical brain-washing techniques and no one even considers a biological cure possible.

I have to imagine in the world there's someone somewhere working on a biological cure even if it's a closet homosexual working in some lab somewhere on his free time.

If we could see what caused it, genetically, we could presumably cause it at will in monkeys and other animals. Once we are fairly sure about it we need only find a couple willing parents... going to the right parents with info like "We strongly believe we see your son to be has the gay gene, and we have an experimental fix" - you'll find some parents somewhere willing to test it rather than have a gay son- they will justify it they are doing it for his own good, and they very well might be right.

BirdOPrey5 said:

It is unfortunate that the "gay cure" has become synonymous with evangelical brain-washing techniques and no one even considers a biological cure possible.

I have to imagine in the world there's someone somewhere working on a biological cure even if it's a closet homosexual working in some lab somewhere on his free time.

If we could see what caused it, genetically, we could presumably cause it at will in monkeys and other animals. Once we are fairly sure about it we need only find a couple willing parents... going to the right parents with info like "We strongly believe we see your son to be has the gay gene, and we have an experimental fix" - you'll find some parents somewhere willing to test it rather than have a gay son- they will justify it they are doing it for his own good, and they very well might be right.

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As long as the child is still a child, it's a huge moral quandary. If it's their choice made as a willing and consenting adult, it's their choice. But any attempt by the parent to subject their child to it is ethically questionable, even if the hypothetical treatment is guaranteed safe and effective.

Would you say there is an ethical dilemma if there was a cure for autism found? What about those heart surgeries that happen right now, sometimes in the womb, sometimes right after birth?

BirdOPrey5 said:

Would you say there is an ethical dilemma if there was a cure for autism found? What about those heart surgeries that happen right now, sometimes in the womb, sometimes right after birth?

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Things like congenital birth defects that could affect physical quality of life and life expectancy are another topic and not a good comparison. Things like autism or even downs are more appropriate comparisons, though still problematic. They have their own degree of moral quandary also. I know that some downs families and even downs afflicted would disagree with the the assertion that there's something wrong with them in need of a cure. Of course there are severely afflicted downs sufferers (and autism spectrum residents for sure) out there where a "cure" would improve their quality of life. It's all a lovely pile of grey areas and terribly subjective, just as it would be in the gay community. One man's "illness" is another's quirk.

BirdOPrey5 said:

I think gay teenagers would love a cure- at that age you want to fit in. It's older people, set in their ways, who would reject it.

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Only because being gay is not acceptable.....yet.

There are some Japanese and Chinese kids that would prefer to be "round eyed" to fit in. Doubt many kids want to be fat or short or have pimples, etc.

It is all about acceptance.

will_m said:

Only because being gay is not acceptable.....yet.

There are some Japanese and Chinese kids that would prefer to be "round eyed" to fit in. Doubt many kids want to be fat or short or have pimples, etc.

It is all about acceptance.

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And there are cures being worked on for being short, my cousin went to many doctors when it was obvious he wasn't getting as tall as he wanted.

Pills to lose weight are advertised all the time... Acme/pimple medications too.

And we won't kid ourselves that being gay is normal... Being accepted is one thing- handicap people are accepted, the world does a lot to accommodate us, it doesn't mean we don't want to be normal.

BirdOPrey5 said:

And there are cures being worked on for being short, my cousin went to many doctors when it was obvious he wasn't getting as tall as he wanted.

Pills to lose weight are advertised all the time... Acme/pimple medications too.

And we won't kid ourselves that being gay is normal... Being accepted is one thing- handicap people are accepted, the world does a lot to accommodate us, it doesn't mean we don't want to be normal.

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Being handicapped is NOT normal. It is accepted...now. In fact, during the 80's, the word "handicapped" was considered an insult and was replaced, for a time, by "handicapable."

Some are fat for other reasons than just getting too many calories. Some acne problems are more severe than can be handled by Proactiv treatments (hate those commercials.) Being a homosexual male in the UK used to be a jailable offense. Not anymore.

World needs gays, the population is out of control. Gays = population control

MotoOne said:

World needs gays, the population is out of control. Gays = population control

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Except the muslims, 3rd worlders, WT, ghetto dwellers, and poverty stricken breed like rabbits. So that actually doesn't help the overall problem.

"Idiocracy" is a real problem but I doubt the number of gays affects that much one way or another.

Gay people are sensitive. They don't like it when you say they made a bad choice.

BirdOPrey5 said:

If we could see what caused it, genetically, we could presumably cause it at will in monkeys and other animals. Once we are fairly sure about it we need only find a couple willing parents... going to the right parents with info like "We strongly believe we see your son to be has the gay gene, and we have an experimental fix" - you'll find some parents somewhere willing to test it rather than have a gay son- they will justify it they are doing it for his own good, and they very well might be right.

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You assume it's genetic, which would mean every pair of identical twins are both either gay or straight. Not the case. Best guess is it's a combination of genetics and epigenetics. Even then it's probably a combination of genes and and outside factors.

skeptic said:

You assume it's genetic, which would mean every pair of identical twins are both either gay or straight. Not the case. Best guess is it's a combination of genetics and epigenetics. Even then it's probably a combination of genes and and outside factors.

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Even "identical" twins can have slightly different genes if the mutation occurs after the embryo splits.

It could also be that only one fetus in the womb is exposed to a hormone at the wrong time.

Either way if you are as heterosexual as I am you would have no doubt it's something you're born with. I don't know how better to explain it.

what about transgenderism?

BirdOPrey5 said:

I firmly believe being gay if something the vast majority of people can't choose, it is indeed how God made them.

That said, since it is a biological cause, I don't see why there might not be a "cure" or a "fix" developed one day... some sort of pill you take to make your sexual desires "normal" - as nature intended.

God creates baby with holes in their hearts, we use modern medicine to cure them, so why is it taboo to suggest one day science may cure gayness?

I remind people what forum this is in, no OT-like replies allowed here.

Click to expand...

i was born with a congenital endocrine dysfunction that causes me to go completely bonkers from adrenalin metabolites when i'm overstressed. along with the chemical dysfunction, i have gender identity dysphoria -- completely female emotions and a very androgynous morphology. the only thing really completely male about me is my penis and that's a straight up average size tool -- nothing tiny or overly huge -- maybe a little longer than average, but not much.

i didn't even realize i wasn't a girl until they started giving me buzz cuts, boy's clothes and beating me for not acting manly enough at the age of 4. when i was young, all i wanted was to grow up and be a wife and mother and rule my man with my hooters and pussy (is that too obscene?).

by the time i was a teen, i was either getting beat on or rape attempted by most men and i realized i was totally screwed and started dating girls as though nothing were wrong. they began to treat my rage as a common psychosis and have had me in and out of psychiatric hospitals getting pumped full of zombie drugs for my entire adult life.

i've managed to convince them that weed is the safest and most effective thing for the mood stabilizing and anti-psychotic support my messed up endocrine system needs but now that i'm aging and my body is becoming more feminine on its own, it's becoming harder to present as a male and without the hormone therapy i need not only can't i pass real well as a female, i'll probably die this year or next from the toxicity of the adrenalin metabolites. i was so sick the last week of march, i had to tell myself to keep breathing.

when i revealed the GID to the shrinks earlier this year, they completely cut me loose refusing to treat me.

i can't get the therapy i need mostly because of the conflicts between the gay community which is way too freaky for me and the straight authorities. i believe i can be happy as a woman with a penis, but because of all the mutilation that passes for sex change operations, getting to the hormones has been made very difficult. i don't even want any surgery, just to get the body chemistry and gender confusion that has tormented me all my life straightened out.

any suggestions? i live in austin, tx and do not want to relocate. lots of lesbians in this town that like transgendered guys.