“For religious reasons, I no longer have sex with men and don’t plan to. … Homosexuality is a choice.”

–David Bianco, founder of the gay-press syndication service Q Syndicate, in his “Over The Rainbow” column, Dec. 16.

Source: Rex Wockner

Comments about this message, submitted to Ex-Gay Watch’s former blog location:

What Bianco should have said is “homosexual behavior is a choice,” just as heterosexual behavior is a choice. No one knows all the determinants of sexual orientation. There is strong evidence for at least a significant, genetic, inheritable component to sexual orientation. As far as I know, there is no scientific evidence at all to suggest that sexual orientation is something that people choose, in any ordinary sense of the word “choose”.

Duane Williams • 1/26/03; 11:00:27 AM

Duane, the column in question argued that sexual orientation itself as a category is not the most useful way of thinking about homosexuality. Rex (who’s a friend of mine) in this case strung together two pieces of my column (which you can find in its entirety at http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/feature.html?sernum=440) that I hadn’t linked in the column itself by proximity or logic. As for “no scientific evidence at all” that people have can choose homosexuality, that can only be true if you dismiss the thousands of people who have spoken out from the left (see queerbychoice.com) and the right (see peoplecanchange.com) who assert that their own homosexuality or bisexuality was or is a choice.

If you take a look at my column as a whole, or even better, my “bullseye” column offering a new way of thinking about sexuality (http://www.qsyndicate.com/ov_rainbow.htm#bullseye), you’ll get a fuller sense of how I view choice and sexuality.

—David Bianco • 4/30/03; 10:07:41 AM

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