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Antonio Padilla
John Kubler
ENGL 114B
1 April 2014
Project Text:Choice?
With laws being passed and debated on everyday on the topic of gay rights, the ultimate
argument is wether sexual preference is a choice or wether people are just born liking what they
like. Its a difficult question to ask, especially since someone who isnt gay cannot peek into
someone elses mind and see what their real thoughts are. Since this is untestable, there is only
one question to ask, not just to gays and lesbians but to all: When did you choose to like the
specific gender you like? If being gay is a choice, anyone could choose to like the opposite sex,
but that doesnt happen. Our bodies dont determine who we are as people because as people
always say, its whats on the inside that matters . Its because of some peoples unwillingness
to accept others that causes homophobia, bullying, and segregation among people that shouldnt
be there in the first place because being gay,lesbian, or bisexual isnt not a big deal to begin with.
Our bodies are encasings for our emotions and our brains ultimately decide what our
sexual preference is because it gives messages to the body. So it would just make sense that
gender preference is decided in the subconscious part of the brain because without it the body
would be dead flesh. Now that could only mean that our bodies do not determine what we like.
And everyones brain is different so how can homosexuality be different if were all different?
Judith Butlers underlining message in, Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay
in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory, explains that no matter what your gender is, a
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persons gender doesnt make someone act a certain way. For example, just because a boy likes
to play with action figure, its not because hes a boy, he cant help but think the action figure is
interesting. It would be the same situation if he would play with a doll, it wouldnt mean hes
gay, he just thinks its interesting. This is where the homophobic people come in and say this
boy is bent. Theres nothing wrong with this boy, theres only something wrong with him
because religious fundamentalists and others create gender stereotypes and this is what causes
gay kids to feel like theres something wrong with them,when really nothing is. There wouldnt
be anything wrong with them in the first place if the label was never put there to start with.
Kids who are gay and know at a young age begin to resent and cannot accept themselves for who
they are.
In the country we live in, gays are somewhat accepted in parts of the country while in
others, they wouldnt dare come out of the closet. The ones who have parents who dont
accept them or are bullied for it learn to hate themselves and try to hide in the closet. For
example, in the book, Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi, the narrator follows the life of a young
women named Marjane and her adventures in Vienna at a boarding school and in Iran, her
oppressive home country. While Marjane was in Vienna she dated a man named Enrique who
turned out to be secretly gay and it really hurt Marjane. Since being different is frowned upon,
people try to hide their true identity because they have fear of the jokes that will be made about
them. They dont even feel secure enough in their own community to act like themselves and it
ends up hurting girls like Marjane; the girls who are dating the people who are hiding.
Additionally, nobody want to live in a country thats supposed to be the best country in the world
and still not be able love who they want. The movie To Wong Foo, follows the lives of three drag
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queens taking a road trip to California. It follows their trip and the audience gets to see how they
are treated. When they pull into a small town, everyone in the main road stopped what they were
doing and starred at them. The townspeople saw the drag queens as aliens and something out of
this world more than people expressing themselves. How many times has a news story came up
of a kid who was secretly gay who was bullied in school and actually take their own life. Society
imprints a specific image of how people are supposed to be and if they dont follow it, theres
something wrong with them and from there other psychological issues start to occur like
depression. Its not fair to those who are born liking a certain gender to be punished for it by not
being able to marry their significant other or being looked at as something broken
The gender differences between a man and woman are very distinct, men are portrayed as
testosterone filled beasts with muscles and women are delicate that have to be girly and dress
certain ways. A research study shows that men and women are similar than people think
according to Terri D. Conley. Conley states, The use of medians revealed that the majority of
men and women desire a similar number of sexual partners: one (297 Conley). By using
statistical data, proved that guys and girls desire the same amount of sexual partners, which
means guys really arent hormonal beasts and its just the media creating this image in
everyones heads. Guys and girls are categorized because of the sexual organs, other than that,
were all just people. Personally, I never felt like I fit in to that gender stereotype of a douche bag
and what not. When I see that very few men are actually like how the media portrays them
(testosterone filled animals). The media hypes the little differences and creates a line or
boundary between genders and thats why girls are seen as a certain way, guys are seen as
another, gays are seen as another, etc. But really were all just people.
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People who believe sexual orientation is a choice are just unable to accept something
different and are closed minded. They use reasons like the bible says this, the bible says that
and yes while it does contain a startling amount of homophobia, why would you let a book cloud
your judgment on someones character or their right to be happy? If religion is supposed to be
about love, why would you focus on the hateful parts. I myself am not religious, but even if I
was I wouldnt use my religion as an excuse to discriminate against someone. People are going
out of their way to stop gays from being happy, people theyve never met. Another excuse that
lots of heterosexuals use is they dont understand homosexuality, so they cant accept it. I
personally dont understand what goes on in a transexuals mind, but at the same time, I dont
care. Its not that I dont care about their rights, its I dont care about what they do so why
would I want to stop them? Why would I care? It doesnt affect me or anyone else that isnt
bent so why would I care if they try and marry or do whatever with each other.
Sexual orientation is not a choice and in the end, it really shouldnt matter what someone
else is doing with their life because everyone is entitled to be happy. Accepting people for who
they are is just something people have to learn to do if progress is to be made with anything else.
If we cannot accept each other because of our likes and dislikes, how can we expect to fix bigger
global problems.