The first thing I want to do with this blog is wish everyone a happy 2012. I hope 2012 brings everyone many great things and much progression. The title of the blog isn’t me asking you the question, but rather a question that was asked to me at a New Year’s Eve party. The question was an easy one for me to answer as a heterosexual male, but afterwards I thought about how it might not be as easy for everyone. There is no unnecessary pressure on me to ever question my sexuality. Whereas for a homosexual, the pressure of judgment from others might influence them to repress and question their sexuality. This pressure from the outside that forces individuals to question their natural self seems entirely unfair to me.
When I was younger and discussed homosexuality, I really couldn’t decide whether homosexuality was a force of nature or nurture. At that time, I argued that we most likely have to be born with a gay gene encoded, but that the environment triggered it. I ran with that idea for a while but never seemed to be completely satisfied with my answer. However, one night I was asked a question that really rattled me and made me rethink my position on the topic. A young heterosexual woman asked me on that night when I chose to be heterosexual and it occurred to me that it was never a choice for me, but rather I was born this way. It wasn’t as if I sat around with my family over dinner and discussed the benefits and disadvantages of a heterosexual life and a homosexual life. It wasn’t like picking the best college for me to attend. It simply wasn’t a choice, and so why would I ever question it? Why would anyone ever question their sexuality? Yet, it is still a question we are forced to ask because of this unfair treatment toward homosexuals. So, to me, a question like “Have you ever questioned your sexuality” is an useless question because I was born a heterosexual and I’ve never felt any pressure to question it because I live within the norms of society. However, this unfair question is asking homosexuals to choose between the person they actually are and being ridiculed, or choosing to live a lie and be accepted.
