Many people will tell you that being a homosexual is unnatural, not to mention the other things they will tell you about it. One of the most common things that people just cannot understand is how someone could choose to be a homosexual. Many times people have told me that I should go and sleep with a woman, because “That will sort you out…” if this is the case why do we choose to be homosexual?

Within society today, although much more widely accepted, homosexual people are still widely discriminated against. In the work place, schools, restaurants, bars, and so on. It seems that what seems like a perfectly ordinary day to anyone else, could become a very large hassle to a homosexual person. In our lives we grow used to this discrimination, and even learn to tolerate it, but why should we? Couldn’t we just wake up one day and become a heterosexual because we are fed up of it? If it were that easy, don’t you think that when a boy is just discovering that he is different to his friends, he would just think ‘Ok I will be like them…’ the idea that it is a choice would please many people.

What some people do not understand is that, at some point in most gay men’s lives they struggle with the idea of being different, even if for only a few minutes. The majority of us will, at some point, think that some situation could be different ‘If only I were straight…’ but that doesn’t mean we want to be, most of us. There are two types of homosexuals, there are those who know from an early age they like the same sex, and those who ‘turn’ later in life, and realise what they really are. For the latter the thought could be sickening, especially if they are one of the people who dislike the idea of homosexuality. For some people it may be this sudden insecurity that sparks the discrimination of the very type of people that they do not want to be. This is in part where the cruelest form of homophobia stems from, fear of the unknown. If the people who discriminated against us were asked why they were heterosexual, then they would probably answer along the lines of, because I just am. But at the same time will probably not accept the same answer from us.

Homophobia is one of the toughest things to deal with in this world, being hated and bullied because of the very person you are. Not because of anything you may have done to a person, or even your personality, but because you prefer the same sex for your partner. It never seems to enter into the persons mind that it could be them being bullied for the same reason.

Being homosexual has been suggested as a genetic factor rather than a social one, by the researcher Hamer, with the thesis of the Gay gene. This was a marker on the X chromosome in the region of xq28, but other studies have given different findings. The conclusion which Hamer reached was that while genetics may play a part in sexuality, it is also the environment in which the subject grows up. Therefore the psychological idea of Nature Vs Nurture is partly shown in this situation. Because psychologists believe that it is both Nature and Nurture that makes our personalities what they are, and if linked with homosexuality it makes sense for there to be some form of genetic reason, but not that it is wholly genetic. And on the other hand, it being wholly a product of the socialisation of the person also seems to be ludicrous. Because being true this would mean that homosexuality is a choice by the people around you as you grow up, and that there may be a ‘cure’ possible. In the latter scenario homosexuality may well be a choice, but as both Nature and Nurture play a part, as they do in heterosexuality a choice is very unlikely to say the least.

The problem with society today is that most people let their personal beliefs out onto others, rather than keeping their opinions to themselves. And while we have some people trying to make people aware of the facts of homosexuality, the fact is that it is mostly falling on deaf ears. Let’s think about it, people are taught by their parents that it is normal to be heterosexual, grow up and have children. Someone comes along and starts telling them that it is just as natural to be with the same sex, and they are going to think that person is crazy. The reality is that homosexuality is not taught in school sex education classes as a natural and acceptable thing, it is rushed over with a ‘some people are’ attached to it. Take a class of 30 pupils, 15 male and 15 female, in theory 1 in every 10 of them will either know they are, or think they might be homosexual, males and females. So potentially 3 pupils in a class are being taught that what they feel is okay but not as acceptable as being with the opposite sex. School is where the values are gained, and so it should be taught that it is okay to be what or who you are, it is certainly taught that it is wrong to mock the disabled, elderly or otherwise. Why should it not be taught with the seriousness that those other things are?

The fact is that no matter what institution of society, the teachings about homosexuality are skewed by personal opinions and beliefs, be it school, church, the media etc. If homophobia is a problem in places such as schools, the teaching staff shouldn’t complain about it, but do something about it. Only then can future generations live their lives as who they are, rather than something that someone else wants them to be.