Can seduction make straight men gay?
The article raises the question of changing sexual preference: Can a man whose past sexual practice has been almost exclusively heterosexual change his practice to homosexual after being seduced by another man? To those who believe that homosexual preference is homosexual orientation, an innate biological predisposition, the answer is a resounding "no." Contrary to this response, the author presents three cases in which the men switch from heterosexual to homosexual relationships (exclusively in two cases) by means of a sexual encounter initiated by another man. The author credits part of the change to the gay liberation movement which rescued homosexual desire from the hidden, forbidden, and shameful. The evidence that these men experienced a genuine change in sexual preference, shows that life-long, exclusive homosexuality, as articulated by gay rhetoric, is more a statement about the culture in which it occurs than the "essence" of homosexuality. The author concludes that putting the question of "What do I like?" before the question of "Who am I?" would allow more sexual freedom for those interested in crossing the line that divides sexual preferences.
Meijer
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001727:Bisexuality / Q000523:psychology; D005783:Gender Identity; D006716:Homosexuality / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D012071:Religion and Sex; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012725:Sexual Behavior