http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/04/09/sexuality-more-like-religion-than-race-column/2069177/

Interesting Op-Ed piece. I had never thought of Sexuality as a freedom of choice (e.g. religion). Still analyzing the different viewpoint...

Thoughts?

All I know is that I did not 'choose' my sexuality.

It is also a flawed argument. You may think you know the race or gender of a baby at birth, but neither are 100% guaranteed to be obvious. Genetics can produce 'throwbacks' in race (and let's face it, most 'black' Americans are really mixed race. And there have been cases where a child with male chromosomes has what appears to be female genitalia, as well as odd combinations of the X and Y.

There are also other innate attributes that are not noticeable at birth. Autism does not become obvious for a year or so. Increased propensity to get cancer will not be obvious. Intelligence is not visible. Neither is psychopathy, or adult shoe size, or likelihood of baldness. Neither is quicknes of temper, choice of sports team, political affiliation, driving ability, creativity or athletic potential. Some of these examples are genetic in whole or in part. Some are environmental in whole or in part. Some are learned in whole or in part. Yet we cannot easily suggest they are all like religion in how they are determined.

Religion is, of course, not necessarily a choice. Children are by and large brought up in their parent's religion, often in a society with a majority religion and culturally that can be strongly enforced. The article itself makes it clear that the author does not want to go into the freewill v predestination debate, so I think your conclusion of its premise is incorrect anyway.

I have no conclusions. (See: Still analyzing the different viewpoint...) Still thinking about that.

I'm not buying it myself. Ignoring the real odd situation Danivon brings up, I believe it is not a choice in the least. I like girls, I never felt like I had a "choice" in that, it just IS. I have always been attracted to, heck just about everything about those strange creatures. I have to believe a gay person has the same feelings about the same sex and/or at least lacks that interest in the opposite sex. Religion is a choice, people do often switch from religion to religion and while you can point to a very VERY few who are truly bi-sexual, that number is few (or at least it is is for men, again, those strange women creatures seem to be able to swing the bat from both sides of the plate with a BIT more ease, but still that number is small)
Religion is often forced upon us as is sexual orientation, I get that. I can see the parallel in faking interest in a religions the same as one might be in a false marriage (I know of a few homosexuals who were indeed one time married in such "false" marriages). That's about the end of the similarity however because I simply see no real "choice" in ones true feelings about their sexuality.