How to find out if your kid is a pre-homosexual?

Is your child destined to become a homosexual? Perhaps! Researchers looking into the onset of sexuality in children have come up with a checklist (okay, that's a serious oversimplification) to determine if your wee one is a "pre-homosexual." And it's not just whether little Billy prefers to play with Barbies.

Scientific American points us to research from J. Michael Bailey, a psychologist from Northwestern University, and Canadian psychiatrist Kenneth Zucker:
So on the basis of some earlier, shakier research, along with a good dose of common sense, Bailey and Zucker hypothesized that homosexuals would show an inverted pattern of sex-typed childhood behaviors (little boys preferring girls as playmates and infatuated with their mothers’ make-up kits; little girls strangely enamoured by field hockey or professional wrestling…that sort of thing). Empirically, explain the authors, there are two ways to investigate the relation between sex-typed behaviors and later sexual orientation. The first of these is to use a prospective method, in which young children displaying sex-atypical patterns are followed longitudinally into adolescence and early adulthood, such that the individual’s sexual orientation can be assessed at reproductive maturity. Usually this is done by using something like the famous Kinsey Scale, which involves a semistructured clinical interview about sexual behavior and sexual fantasies to rate people on a scale of 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual). I’m a solid 6; I often say that I wanted to get out of a vagina at one point in my life, but ever since then I’ve never had the slightest interest in going back into one.

The research is actually somewhat old (1995) but has been expounded upon by further studies. Which are slightly uncomfortable to read!
Another caveat is that researchers in this area readily concede that there are probably multiple—and no doubt very complicated—developmental routes to adult homosexuality. Heritable, biological factors interact with environmental experiences to produce phenotypic outcomes, and this is no less true for sexual orientation than it is for any other within-population variable. Since the prospective and retrospective data discussed in the foregoing studies often reveal very early emerging traits in prehomosexuals, however, those children who show pronounced sex-atypical behaviors may have “more” of a genetic loading to their homosexuality, whereas gay adults who were sex-typical as children might trace their homosexuality more directly to particular childhood experiences. For example, in a rather stunning case of what I’ll call “say-it-isn’t-so science”—science that produces data that rebel against popular, politically correct, or emotionally appealing sentiments—controversial new findings published earlier this year in the Archives of Sexual Behavior hint intriguingly that men—but not women—who were sexually abused as children are significantly more likely than non-abused males to have had homosexual relationships as adults.

Part of me wants to think "Oh god, tell me that Richard Cohen isn't right." And the other part of me thinks, "If all these bigots really don't want their sons to turn out gay, they'll actually work harder to keep their kids safe from pedophiles. Like those in the Catholic Church."

Revelation

Lately I'm wondering of the question whether it's a sin being gay and whether it's my choice or am I innately gay. A lot of bloggers have discussed on this issue before. Anyway, I'm writing this as i feel the urge to do so. I will not touch much on the issue but more will be focussed on my past, present, and future.


I begin to discover that I actually like guys since I was in my teenage years. I still remember that I used to keep a scrap book where I would paste pictures of half naked guys which I cut from magazines and newspapers. I enjoyed looking at those pictures and getting hard on. While my friends always talk about the hot chicks in school, I never join them. My friends are so crazy about footballs and basketballs while I don't even like watching football matches (except for World Cup... but i like cute footballers). I always mixed well with the gals and are close to them especially when I was in upper secondary.


I like shopping very much and I bet you can hardly find guys who do so. I can happily go shopping with girls and they always ask for my opinion bout their dresses. I can wait for them while they shop and of course they are very willing give comments when I shop for clothes. Unlike my many other male friends, I'm willing to spent lavishly on what I wear and what I eat. I always take good care of my skin. I even spent hundreds of ringgit to seek treatment from dermatologist during my acne outbreak when I was in Form 5 (of course it was my mum who was paying).


I still remember vividly how I enjoy PE (physical education i.e. sport) class as I got to see my handsome classmates changing for sports, that's when my eyes enjoy browsing at my naked male classmates. There was also one time when my close friend play with me and hugged me tightly from behind. I pretended to struggle though I actually like him hugging me. He is very handsome and I like him very much. But too sad he is straight and already had a girlfriend at that time. We seldom meet now as we go to different university now.


Though I am a horny guy at times, I only started watching gay porn when I was 18. Haha...shock ya! I think all these while my behaviour and character do somehow show indication that I am gay. I don't have any problem admitting to myself that I am gay. But I am not ready to come out yet. Still hiding in the closet. I think this is due to the stigma attached to being gay. Prejudice and discrimination against gay are reflected in the stereotypes of members of the gay community. I believe many of you will agree with me that gay still encounter extensive prejudice and discrimination because of their sexual orientation. Verbal harassment being the most common form. I fear of coming out because I afraid my family and friends will reject me for being who I am. I truly know that hiding my real identity would somehow has some psychological effect on myself as I have to suppress myself and try to act straight. But what to do? Anyway, I have been trying to know more about the gay community and get in touch with those who have gone through the process of coming out as I know later in future I will join them and be proud of being who I am. For now, I can only pray for the best!


(Sometimes, I feel suffer when I think of myself as gay. I feel really lonely at times. Seeing that most of my straight friends having romantic relationships reminds me of how lonely I am. I do hope one day in the future the society will change and accept people like us.)

Ambush

It was raining cats and dogs this afternoon. Attended a meeting for almost an hour and it was still raining when the meeting ended. My coursemate, MS, asked whether I would follow her and other girls for dinner. I nodded and we decided to go for dinner at Mid Valley. Met up with the other girls there and only manage to come to an agreement on where to have dinner after a long deliberation. As usual, we gossiped about everything while waiting for our food. Everyone of us were busy talking about the recent campus election where lotz of nasty incidence had happened. (what happened in the campus were not of importance...). The conversation went on and on till we were at the end of dinner. We talked about places of fine dining and suddenly one of them suggested a place and said I shall bring CJ to dine there as it will be very romantic. CJ is one of my closest friend at university and I am always be seen to be together with her. Rumour has it that I like her and that we are a couple. (but who would ever know that I like guys and not gals) Then, MS asked me which type of gals I like and she said I suppose to like gals like CJ. I jz kept quiet, not responding to their questions. All of them ambushed me. MS even ask me when I would get married. I didn't answer. They cleverly make a conclusion that my silence means that I agreed to what they have said and my non-denial implies that I like CJ. How could I explain to them that CJ is only a close friend and I am actually gay? MS ambushed me again and looked at me trying to get an answer from me whether I like CJ. 'You've asked me the wrong question!' I replied MS. Does my answer impliedly told her that I'm gay? I didn't intend to signal her. But it jz happened. She didn't asked anything further. Paid our bills and went window shopping. I had already be ambushed by my other coursemates for several times. They jz can't let me go without me admitting that I like CJ. But the fact is that I'm gay and CJ is only a good friend of mine. Really don't know how to handle all those questions. (by the way, CJ is a beauty who a guy might fall in love at the first sight)