Quote:
Originally Posted by Martian
That's all a cognitive leap. There's no basis for it.
Saying that someone is (to use your example) 10% homosexual speaks nothing as to why that person would be that way. It offers no constrictions on how sexuality is expressed. Indeed, it does quite the opposite; the sexual continuum theory suggests that there's absolutely nothing wrong with a straight man being attracted to another man, or a gay man to a woman.
Using numbers or percentages to express such a thing is cumbersome at best. Regardless, imagine the hypothetical 10% homosexual man. This is a man who is primarily attracted to women, and who probably identifies as heterosexual. However, this man occasionally feels attracted sexually to other men. If we assume the 10% figure refers to the ratio of potential mates, then for every 9 women he is attracted to he'll meet one man who invokes a similar response.
It quickly breaks down and the clumsiness of the metaphor becomes apparent. Even so, I think it serves the purpose. Whether or not this man chooses to act on those impulses (probably not), they're still there. Depending on his upbringing he may even think them shameful and wrong, but that's not going to make them go away.
Sexual continuum is simply a rejection of cookie-cutter labels in favour of a more realistic model that accounts for individual variations. There's no more or less to it than that.
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But when you muddle the issue of sexual orientation, you debase the gay community's pursuit of civil rights.
In a perfect world, there would be no need for laws to protect different religions, races, sexes, or sexual orientations. But the world we live in
does require those laws to protect and ensure the rights of minorities. Homosexuals
are persecuted, discriminated against, and victimized by hate crimes. In order to obtain that protection, homosexuality must be defined. If you water it down and say "everyone's a little homosexual," then there's no need for civil rights for homosexuals, because the laws in place for everyone would already apply, and that's simply not the case. "Labels" and "definitions" are necessary to establish what you are fighting for.
And no offense, but the sexual continuum, in my opinion, is just a lazy vindication of sexual ambiguity (I'll say it again, because if I don't say it in every post, I will inevitably be accused of homophobia--
consenting adults can participate in whatever sexual behavior that they wish). The overwhelming majority of straight people are happy, well adjusted straight people with zero interest in homosexual sex; I imagine that within the gay community, a large percentage are happy, well adjusted people with zero interest in heterosexual sex.