Just need to talk?
UK: Childline on
0800 1111
US: Trevor Project on
866 488 7386
|
Topic: Birth Control and Sexual Orientation
Posts
 |
 |
Ok. So. I juuust saw this post on another topic that made me wonder (and I swear, I'm not hating on the person who said it):
Can taking birth control, not change your sexual orientation, but, I don't know, influence it?
Really what I'm asking is if being on birth control can make me think that I'm gay.
I mean, I didn't start questioning it until after I started taking it. So...maybe...?
|
|
Post: #675611  , Sat 18 Aug 12, 3:06AM |
|
|
You can hypothesize that anything in the world causes something else, but until you actually test it out then there's no way of knowing. Birth control has the same likelihood of causing same-sex attraction as Tylenol does, but until we test it out we'll never know.
I can say that there's no reason that birth control would cause someone to be gay though 
"I am reminded of a colleague who reiterated 'all my homosexual patients are quite sick'—to which I finally replied 'so are all my heterosexual patients'." -Ernest van den Haag, psychotherapist
|
|
Edit: winnersmw, Sat 18 Aug 12, 3:12AM
Post: #675615 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 3:12AM |
|
|
Hi  I believe you're referring to my post. Here's the logic behind it:
If you believe sexual orientation is biological (which I do), it's due to the amount of testosterone or estrogen in someone's body. These two chemicals are responsible for someone's reproductive nature (e.g. boob size, fertility, yada yada)
So if a female is born with high amounts of testosterone, she is more likely to want to make a baby with a female, since that is what testosterone is responsible for (thanks to evolution, pretty much everything an adult does is to make a baby)
So to answer your question, yes, since birth control increases a woman's estrogen, the woman will become even MORE womanly (big boobs, wider hips, etc). Among those effects, estrogen will also increase your want to mate with a male, and create a baby.
|
|
Post: #675621 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 3:28AM |
|
|
|
@ Laura: that is one of MANY reasons I refuse to go on the pill. My parents want me to take it starting next year through college and maybe beyond but I refuse -.-'. I don't want to ever feel that "attraction" to a man because I'm so happy with my life as it is now and I'm already done and have dealt with being gay and it's really all settled now. It's so normal for me to be gay that me even attempting to be straight is just... Unfathomable and sounds terrifying and awful, etc... So I refuse to go on it because I refuse to let something stupid like a pill attract me to guys.
To see us dance is to hear our hearts speak- Hopi Indian saying
|
|
Post: #675623 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 3:36AM |
|
|
From very briefly looking at research about this, it seems that it's possible that if there's some residual birth control drugs left in the system during pregnancy that may have influence over the offspring's sexuality. However there is definitely no definite proof for that, nor is there any for birth control changing your sexuality while you're taking it.
|
|
Post: #675624 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 3:42AM |
|
|
|
There is no definitive research which has determined which hormones affect orientation, so you can't say that testosterone makes one attracted to females or that estrogen makes one attracted to males. How would you explain a male who has the most extreme characteristics of testosterone, yet is still attracted solely to men? I'm not saying you're wrong, but that you can't present it as a fact because it is nowhere close to being one.
"I am reminded of a colleague who reiterated 'all my homosexual patients are quite sick'—to which I finally replied 'so are all my heterosexual patients'." -Ernest van den Haag, psychotherapist
|
|
Post: #675627 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 4:02AM |
|
|
I agree with Shawn, anything at this point in time saying that hormones effect sexuality is a theory, not fact
|
|
Post: #675628 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 4:06AM |
|
|
That's true, it is only a theory. It's just that I support the theory since I often see feminine men being gay and masculine women being lesbian.
Also, I saw a documentary that completely revolutionized my perspective of sexuality and reproductive nature in humans. It's pretty lengthy but I strongly encourage you to watch it.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-sh...peal-videos.htm
|
|
Post: #675629 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 4:17AM |
|
|
@El
Just go on the pill. Seriously.
I asked because I thought being on the pill might make me think that I'm a lesbian.
But I'm already on the pill. And from what Laura said, being on the pill would make me think that I was straight, because it'd increase the amount of estrogen in my body. And that is not the case.
If you start developing feelings for dudes, just go off it and see if your feelings are the same. End of story.
And @Laura
Your theory doesn't work very much for the people who don't want to have kids.
And what about the lesbians who don't reproduce--they let their partners do it?
|
|
Post: #675636 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 4:53AM |
|
|
Laura, I know some very effeminate lesbians. I think hormones affect how masculine or feminine you are and maybe your orientation a little bit, but I don't think mere hormonal imbalance is what causes homosexuality. I think it's a variety of factors. Otherwise, everyone will start trying to "cure" gays with hormone pills. I don't think birth control would make me start liking men.
I think hormones play a small part but not all of it, is what I'm saying.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference."
http://www.soulforce.org/resou...-homosexuality/
|
|
Post: #675647 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 6:01AM |
|
|
I just think it's kind of insulting to say that gay men are gay because they're more like women than normal, and that lesbian women are lesbian because they're more manly than normal.
You're insinuating that we all have hormonal imbalances.
"I am reminded of a colleague who reiterated 'all my homosexual patients are quite sick'—to which I finally replied 'so are all my heterosexual patients'." -Ernest van den Haag, psychotherapist
|
|
Post: #675649 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 6:03AM |
|
|
Yes, I actually read an article how hemispheric dominance in the brain may be a part of orientation. You know, the whole left brain right brain thing? I'm sure being gay is caused by several genetic and biological things. After all, many functions in the body are determined by hundreds of genes; it's not like there is just one doing only one thing. It follows that orientation would be determined by several genes and also biological development and such.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference."
http://www.soulforce.org/resou...-homosexuality/
|
|
Post: #675652 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 6:10AM |
|
|
|
I think trying to determine why we are attracted to the people that we are is like trying to determine why some people like certain kinds of music while others don't. But that's a different conversation entirely
"I am reminded of a colleague who reiterated 'all my homosexual patients are quite sick'—to which I finally replied 'so are all my heterosexual patients'." -Ernest van den Haag, psychotherapist
|
|
Post: #675654 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 6:17AM |
|
|
No one's really sure what causes some people to be straight and some people to be queer. That's where the whole nature vs nurture argument comes from--if people don't have an answer, they're going to argue about it anyway. I don't think birth control could affect your sexuality, but I also don't think hormones are 100% to blame for sexuality. It's like saying a woman with more testosterone than most women is only athletic because of the extra testosterone; it doesn't really make sense.
I'd say take the birth control, if you're comfortable with it. Don't let your parents pressure you into it, but don't refuse it just because there's a slight chance you might maybe be attracted to a guy. If you have any questions, you could always look on the Planned Parenthood website, or Google in general.
I'd also like to point out that generalizing gay men as feminine and lesbians as masculine is inaccurate, as most generalizations go. There are masculine lesbians, there are feminine gay men, but there are also people who fall between or outside of those binaries. Just be careful when you generalize.
"Look at all of the little lesbians
frolicking in the snow!" ~Koda
|
|
Post: #675657 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 6:29AM |
|
|
1st: Jordan and Laura, theory is fact, "only a theory" is quite puzzling because I cannot fathom what lies above fact.
2nd: Laura, the hormone hypotheses are still heavily pushed while being heavily and easily disproven. Estrogen and testosterone do not even play much role in that sort of mental/sexual development, that is more of the role of other androgens, though that is still very unlikely. You do not see many non-sterotypical gays/lesbians solely because you do not notice them as they are less obvious. And even if levels of hormones would be atypical on average for gays/lesbians, assuming that that is the cause is a simple causal fallacy as it is clearly not applicable in all cases and if a trend showed it would be more likely that the hormone difference would be caused by a factor associated with homosexuality or its cause than the other way around.
3rd: Autumn, the "left brain - right brain" thing has not been accepted as anything remotely factual in a long time, but it is unfortunately passed around. In fact most major centers of you brain are intersected by the center to insure that they have the greatest number and most direct connections with the central axons to transfer information at high speeds. Also if whole sectors of the brain were kept to only one side, they would be too easily damaged or lost as the sides of your head jostle easier. I just really hate to see that passed around further, personal peeve.
There are however noted differences between the brains of gay men and straight men which suggests a difference in the way information is either processed or sorted which suggests a difference in the amygdala or prefrontal cortex (something even pointed out during WWII from Nazi medical study autopsies). The argument of nurture is out of the window in that case at least and any sort of hormonal drugs would be completely ineffective in altering it.
However, studies of homosexuality in women have remained largely behavioral and very little has been done as far as biology. Also sexuality in women has been shown time and time again to be likely to be an entirely different beast than in men. I see no real reason to accuse the birth control of it, but to call it an impossibility is wrong. And for those who think I may be saying that homosexuality does not exist or is a choice in women, I am not, but it has been shown to be much more fluid and very different than in men.
|
|
Post: #675675 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 9:12AM |
|
|
Techie Shaun, that's one definition of theory but in the context it was said, it was under this definition:
"a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact. Synonyms: idea, notion hypothesis, postulate."
|
|
Post: #675678 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 9:37AM |
|
|
When used in reference to science you use the scientific definition of theory. Context is very important when using words as that is what creates the definition itself. If I am to say that running all day has "sapped" your energy you are to assume that sapped means drained based on the context, not turned into a sugary substance as a form of storage. Or more likely if I say that you briefly "kissed" a freshly painted wall I am not to assume that you puckered your lips for it, I gain from the context that you are far more likely to have brushed up against it with something like an elbow or your back. It is especially important to use correct context words when the incorrect usage of them continues to be common in a dangerous way. I have met those who think germ theory or theoretical physics is the same as a germ hypothesis or hypothetical physics and have avoided things such as vaccinations because of it. Context matters a great deal and should be payed attention to.
|
|
Post: #675679 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 9:47AM |
|
|
Since you have such a good grasp of context, you should have understood the meaning of "theory" in the sentence "a theory, not fact."
|
|
Post: #675680 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 9:52AM |
|
|
|
@ Brianna: I said that was one of MANY reasons I didn't want to go on it, didn't I? Which means that there are OTHER reasons I don't want to. Like I already have a difficult enough time binding cos my chest is... Large enough... So I don't need birth control to make it worse. I also have a regular period and my symptoms aren't too bad so I don't need it for that. I'm also not sexually active and I don't plan on becoming sexually active for awhile... Like maybe once I turn 18 but even then maybe not... So I don't need it for that either. There are even more reasons than that but I'll stop there .
To see us dance is to hear our hearts speak- Hopi Indian saying
|
|
Post: #675683 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 12:21PM |
|
|
Seeing as a lot of the comments here are based on science, I would just like to point out that brth control, logically, should not want to make you "mate" with anything. Think about it. We want to mate so we can reproduce. The majority of birth control pills essentially trick your body into believing it's pregnant (hence why you can't get pregnant). So really birth control should have little effect. Then again, the problem with brains is that we each have a different one. The same chemical in one person can cause a completely different effect in another.
|
|
Post: #675686 , Sat 18 Aug 12, 1:25PM |
|
|
 |
 |
LIKE THIS PAGE
|
Who's Online
Last 15 mins: 31 guests, 11 members: roflhead, Callumw3, geekling, ChristianCripp, TMC_Bryan, Kimberley, james123456, blacksummer, Selvi, 9thEcho, LoveGlitter89 QA Ethos
Above all else, QA should be a friendly community. Contact us when our Terms are broken.
Events and promos
Check out
The Official QA Blog
|
Not much of a Blogger
That one life-long scar...
Three's A Crowd... or is it?
Lily Helena Knight
Things that grow
Just so.
My new life
Trip to the zoo!
![Laura is full of love and productiveness for a few days [Avatar]](images/?img=avatars/17439wee.jpg?i=3){kind=small}
![Lizzie is dancing :). [Avatar]](images/?img=avatars/16504wee.jpg?i=1){kind=small}
![Techie Shaun is paradoxical, indefinitely [Avatar]](images/?img=avatars/6243wee.jpg?i=0){kind=small}
