You shouldn't get to define someone else’s homosexuality

Question: Are people born gay?
Position‹4 of 4: It doesn't matter if people are born gay
Argument1 of 2›: You shouldn't get to define someone else’s homosexuality

The reasons someone is gay are highly personal. Nobody should be allowed to tell someone else why they are gay.

The argument

Dogmatically arguing that homosexuality is either predetermined before birth, the result of environmental influence, or a concerted choice, attempts to define sexual orientation in a very constrictive manner. Some homosexuals, or straight people, might believe that they were born this way. Others might believe that they made a choice. Others might trace it back to formative experiences in their childhood. Any attempt to discount another person’s belief on how their identity was shaped is an ill-conceived attempt to define their sexual orientation and should be avoided.

Context

Pushing one theory of the origins of sexual orientation as the only explanation attempts to define everyone’s sexual preferences through one specific lens.

Premises

[P1]Dogmatically insisting that homosexuality is predetermined, environmentally caused, or a deliberate choice tries to define sexual orientation in an overly constrictive way. [P2] Individuals differ in how they understand the origin of their own orientation, and discounting another person's account of how their identity was shaped is an ill-conceived attempt to define it for them. [C] Because no one should define someone else's homosexuality, it doesn't matter whether people are born gay.

Counter-arguments

Understanding what factors influence our sexual orientation is important for both improving public attitudes to homosexuality and securing gay civil rights. It is not an attempt to force one party’s world view on the others, but a legitimate attempt to understand human development and illustrate why those that oppose gay rights are engaging in a bigoted act no better than racism or sexism. Growing public support for same-sex relationships has directly emerged from the increase in public belief that gay people are born gay and that homosexuality is innate.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P4] Understanding how people come to be gay is important for improving public attitudes towards homosexuality.