I am going to link in this post to Lisa Diamonds work from her latest report she did in the Journal of Sex Research. She is an American Psychological Association affiliated psychologist and also an open lesbian. She comes to the same conclusions that The New Atlantis does that the science does not at all prove the born biologically determined to be Gay hypothesis. That as the APA themselves have stated publicly; there is lots of interacting factors coming together that leads to ones current sexual identity.
She is a fierce defender of everyone's equal rights under the law. She is both a defender of LGBT rights and is the L herself. However, she refuses to lie about what the research actually says. Nor is she comfortable with saying sexuality never changes for people over time. She also states that immutability is not needed to have equal rights. Which I totally agree with. The etymology of ones current sexual identity/orientation does not matter in the defense of equal rights for all peaceful individuals under the law.
However, she comes to the same conclusion on sexual orientation as Lawrence S. Mayer did in The New Atlantis report. In fact, the American Psychological Association has for ages officially said there is no valid scientific experiments which have shown any specific etymology for a non-heterosexual orientation. The APA's Handbook for dealing with LGBT clients it specifically states the following;
There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors. Many think that nature and nurture both play complex roles; most people experience little or no sense of choice about their sexual orientation.
In other words; the American Psychological Association and non-Religious and Not Ex-Gay affiliated therapists has not yet ever found any actual science that proves you are at birth genetically or otherwise biologically determined to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. The idea that the opposite is true and that science has found the definitive gay brain or the definitive gay gene is not at all scientific. It is a narrative that is played in the media by people that think immutability is needed to grant LGBT people their rights. As well as by scientists that make unscientific pronouncements of their actual experiments. The lack of scientific evidence for the determined to be LGBT at birth does not in anyway affect the defense of LGBT rights or ones rights under the law.
I sit here before you someone whom just like Lawrence S. Mayer and Lisa Diamond supports LGBT rights under the law. I am against people being mistreated due to their orientation or identity as such , but, I agree with the lack of evidence for the deterministic hypothesis. The idea that orientation is not determined and even can and does change in people is not at odds with being a proponent of the rights of LGBT people. The Ex-Gay movement hijacked the idea that gays were not determined and it is a package deal to think that anyone that shows actual evidence against the genetic determinism view is also anti-gay. People actually taking on a Gay Identity vs simply same-sex sexual behavior is a very recent phenomenon in our species. Anyone that has looked at cultures in history can see this.
Admitting this is not the same as saying the behavior should be enforced to be stopped externally somehow. I also do not think someone whom has had either a curiosity about or even engaged in some same-sex behavior should feel pressured by external society to identify as LGB either. Individuals should be the ones in control of their sexual orientation identity in society regardless of where they fall among the sexual continuum. This is why I think reports should not be silenced that happen to come to counter-narrative conclusions based on the actual evidence. This is because it does an injustice to all the people that do not fall into the LGBT boxes, but, have had said experiences.
The truth is that behavior and identity are not at all necessarily the same thing. The New Atlantis report and Lisa Diamonds papers both acknowledge the differences between these two concepts. I fully support people owning their sexuality in either direction or no direction at all. I do not think any particular individual LGBT person or Ally is in the right to disavow someones identity if it is not LGBT just because of certain behavior in their past. It is the need to push people into a box you are comfortable with which makes for the erasure of the mostly heterosexuals, bisexual males, and even 100% heterosexuals whom have had same sex experiences in the past. Sexual Tribalism at its worst.
This includes people that change overtime. Someone identifying as gay or bi at one point in their lives and then being heterosexual later. Or the other way as well as is also sometimes the case. It is sexual tribalism to try to say to said person they are bad or wrong, or even lying to themselves for naturally changing overtime. Sexual orientations and identity is not up for democratic debate by some ruling LGBT Counsel that gets to denote whom other people are. Sexuality is a complex thing and it is not the cut and dry thing most LGBT people would like science to say it to be. Reports that acknowledge changes over time and that other categories exist give fairness back to people whom do not fit into some LGBT and their Allies boxes.
I have the same view as the following columnist at Scientific America whom is far from Anti-Gay;
At the same time someone that is curious and wants to "change" to living as a gay person or bisexual person coming from the heterosexual realm should be free to "try on the life" if they wish and if they can do so in a mentally safe manor. In the above I added the brackets with the other two categories. However, she mentions in her article herself the difference between same-sex behavior and identity. I once again support LGBT rights. However, individuals sex lives is theirs to decide not other people. Denying natural change over time and pushing immutability as the proper defense for LGBT people is unjust to all people that do not fit any of those categories, but, deserve the same sexual respect as anyone else.Just as gay people (or people with homosexual/bisexual experiences) who are happy as they are should not be forced to change their sexual orientation, gay people
(or people with homosexual/bisexual experiences) who want to be straight should have the right to change if they can – and the correct word is “change” – not “cure”.
Here is her research https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/72dc/40ce66723ab7a74ccf1dc29336d33d6e0755.pdf
