I'm not a homophobic and would like readers to simply concentrate on the natural-unnatural distinction. — TheMadFool
You're confusing natural with normal. — Artemis
You've presented a homophobic argument, so the personal disclaimer appears inconsistent. The term "unnatural" carries a negative connotation, so your definition, which only references objective statistical claims, cannot attach to that word. It's like saying "fucked up" means those behaviors that fall outside the statistical norm, so therefore gays are fucked up (as are Jews, pianists, and philosophers, to name just a few). — Hanover
My comment is why should what's statistically common be treated as a normative in the sense of what anyone should be doing? X is statistically common. Y is statistically very uncommon. What gives x and y any comparative value, especially so that x is preferred? What would be the justification for that? — Terrapin Station
but I've begun to perceive much of what human beings do as unnnatural. — uncanni
Don't you think the biggest problems humanity has faced, is facing and will face is predicated on distinction or difference? — TheMadFool
Sure, but the problem is the folks who can't accept difference, not the folks who are different. — Terrapin Station
The former consider the latter unnatural/abnormal. — TheMadFool
That's their problem though. There's no normative weight to anything just because it's more common. — Terrapin Station
The minority want to belong to the majority — TheMadFool
The neutral words would be "less common." It's less common to be gay, black, a philosopher, or an Indian chief. Because most people aren't black doesn't make being black abnormal or unnatural in the way those terms are typically used. To say there were 2 normal people in the room along with a couple of blacks would be racist even should you offer the same heartfelt apology to them as you did to the homosexuals in this thread.I'm sorry. I didn't mean that but there really is no neutral choice in natural-unnatural or normal-abnormal distinction. I needed the LGBT rainbow to emphasize the qualitative aspect of the issue. Sorry to all homosexuals. — TheMadFool
If all you mean to say is that homosexuality is a statistically less likely sexual preference than heterosexuality, then just say that and avoid the judgment laden terms. Of course, just stating the obvious wouldn't give you much to talk about. — Hanover
What lies outside is the minority which can be described as "unnatural". — TheMadFool
Primarily, I was thinking about global warming, which I consider "unnatural" in that it's occurring because of human irresponsibility and unconcern. I definitely consider global warming "unnatural." — uncanni
Variety is an essential feature of nature and quite aptly the LGBT community's symbol is the rainbow. — TheMadFool
The only unnatural act is one you cannot perform.
Yes. As opposed to "straight." But these terms tend to take on multiple and often contradictory meanings as they are used by different voices over time. To be "straight" can also mean to be boring, uptight and puritanical. "Queer" now refers to all sorts of different performances or stances inhabited by both hetero- and homosexuals.
It's dialogically liberating to listen to and understand the same word one uses being used by others in different contexts which generate different meanings. When someone takes a monologic stance on the meaning of some of these terms, they refuse to acknowledge differences in word use and intentionality, or they attempt to impose a single meaning as "correct." I think on forums it's very easy to forget that we all have many different associations and meanings for words and concepts. — uncanni
No species has been found in which homosexual behaviour has not been shown to exist, with the exception of species that never have sex at all, such as sea urchins and aphis. Moreover, a part of the animal kingdom is hermaphroditic, truly bisexual. For them, homosexuality is not an issue. — a quote by Petter Bøckman found on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals
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