>> [joebar]
>>1. Religion and sexual orientation have historically been considered
>>matters of choice. (E.g. for religion, look at Great Britain's history.)
> This is the only bit here I'd take issue with. While I'm no expert, I'd
> suggest
> that sexual orientation is, more often than not, considered *NOT* to
> be a matter of choice. Put it this way - if you feel you're straight, how
> much 'choice' do you think you have to wake up one morning and decide
> you're gay? Or vice versa? You are what you are, I guess. Whether it's
> from birth or not - who knows. But it isn't just an arbitrary thing you
> 'change' like your clothing (or your job).
Ah... be careful here... I was speaking of whether sexual orientation *has
historically been considered* a matter of choice, not whether it *is* a
matter of choice. I suspect many people today still consider sexual
orientation (combined with the expression of that orientation) as a
"lifestyle choice".
- Joe
Joseph S. Barrera III <joebar@microsoft.com>
<http://research.microsoft.com/~joebar/>
Phone, Office: (415) 778-8227; Cellular: (415) 601-3719; Home: (415)
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The opinions expressed in this message are my own personal views and do not
reflect the official views of Microsoft Corporation.