"Bonobo Sex and Society: The Behavior of a Close Relative Challenges Assumptions About Male Supremacy in Human Evolution" by Frans B. M. de Waal, Scientific American, pp. 82-88, March 1995. This article's subtitle does not adequately describe just how many cultural assumptions it challenges, as de Waal documents that same-sex sexual contact is just as common among all members of bonobo society as opposite-sex sexual contact is.
"Animals prefer Homosexuality to Evolutionism", published on subversions.com, December 1999. "'Some primatologists want to deny that homosexual behaviour has anything to do with pleasure. There is a streak of puritanism running thorough American primatology that says a behaviour can't exist just for sexual pleasure,' [Linda Wolfe] says. 'At a conference in Madison some three years ago, I raised this idea and got drummed out of the room.' Her scandalised colleagues rubbished the idea with remarks such as: 'Well, if that was the case we'd all be in the aisle now having sex,' she recalls."
"Why Biological Exuberance? Author Bruce Bagemihl, Ph.D., Explains the Thoughts Behind the Book" by Bruce Bagemihl, 1999. "I also wrote Biological Exuberance to expose and challenge the limitations of the 'nature vs. nurture' debate. Too many times, evidence of homosexuality in animals is used to support the idea that homosexuality is entirely biologically determined, genetically controlled, or otherwise fixed at (or before) birth—and more broadly, to argue for its 'naturalness' in people."
"Biodiversity = Sexual Diversity" by Bruce Bagemihl, from his book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, 1999.
"Ritual" by Bruce Bagemihl, from his book Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, 1999.
"Beastly Bisexuals" by Gayle Eleanor and Robert Aquinas. Another article on bisexuality of our nonhuman relatives, and how instructive it is with regard to the natural potential of all human beings.
"'I Was Born This Way' as Justification for Gay Rights Harms the Gay and Lesbian Community" by No Springs, December 28, 2002. "Whether or not one chooses to lead his or her life as a gay man, a lesbian, or a bisexual is irrelevant—consenting adults should be allowed to do whatever they want so long as they do not harm others through their actions."
"Un/cut: One Diasporic Pervert Challenges Erotophobia" by T.J. Bryan a.k.a. Tenacious, June 2000. ""I am a one-time heterosexual turned bi-sexual turned lesbian turned dyke turned queer and I am still searching."
"A Slow Torturous Death: This Rambling Mess of a Book Has Some Redeeming Qualities" by Gordon Bowness (review of Bert Archer's The End Of Gay (And The Death Of Heterosexuality), from Xtra!, Toronto, Canada, October 21, 1999. "The next millennium will be one where everyone will look at anyone as a potential sexual partner. There will be no more homosexuals nor heterosexuals, just a variety of sex acts."
Interview with Gore Vidal by Vincent Kovar.
"VK: You have described sexual orientation labels as adjectives describing acts rather than nouns describing people. Do you still feel this way?
"GV: It seems so obvious that I no longer repeat myself other than to add that only in a so weirdly superstitious and sectarian a county as the U.S. could a personal identity be forged out of sexual desire, the most fluctuating of all transient emotion."
"The Happy Hooker Gets the Girl: 'Happy Hooker' Xaviera Hollander tells all about her new memoir, her reissued ’70s sex tome, and 'turning gay' in midlife" by Cathay Che, from The Advocate, August 20, 2002. "'I turned gay about five years ago,' Hollander begins. 'I always had women as a second dish, for when I was a bit fed up with men. But now I have a relationship with a woman, Dia, that I write quite a bit about in [my memoir], and we’ve been together five years.' Now men are the occasional side dish for Hollander, 59, whose sexual adventures continue."
"Why I Turned Queer on October 26, 2001" by Howard. Not the most highbrow account, but whatever works for you . . .
"I Want to Be Gay!" by Dwayne Walker
Gore Vidal Biography from The Knitting Circle. "Although he showed disdain for those who paraded their homosexuality, he also mocked those who sought to legislate for morality. He rejected the terms 'homosexual' and 'heterosexual' as meaningless as categories of people. He disliked the usage of the word 'gay', and insisted that 'homosexual' is an adjective, not a noun."
"Jennie on Sexuality" by Jennie Kermode in Glasgow, Scotland. "I have recently come across the theory of imprinting as applied to sexuality . . . which suggests that all or most people have the potential to be attracted to other people regardless of gender, but that, when we are children, our social experiences, and the pressure of cultural values, encourage us to develop a sexual preference based on the ideals of the culture in which we live. I think this could explain a lot of things. After all, most of the people I know (excepting myself) grew up assuming they were attracted (only) to the opposite gender, whether or not that actually turned out to be the case."
"Love Without Labels: A Documentary Film About the Fluidity of Sexual Desire" by Bruce Glawson
"Sex Change" by Tim Bergling, from Instinct magazine, December 2001. "[S]ome human psychology experts tell me this closet attraction between the fairer and the fairier sex is not at all uncommon. 'This is simply being open to another person's beauty, sexiness and how it might stimulate us despite our self-defined sexual orientation,' says Michael Shernoff, a psychotherapist in Manhattan. 'What fun, and how pleasantly confusing this kind of response can be!'"
"'Some Are Born Bisexual, Some Achieve Bisexuality, and Some Have Bisexuality Thrust Upon Them...': Tom Robinson Onstage at BiCon '97"by Steve Pointer, from Bi Community News, No. 22, U.K., October 1997. "Many teenage boys see 'getting your end away' with the opposite sex as vital to establishing a masculine (i.e. heterosexual) identity. Nothing queer about me, no sir. For as long as I had that attitude, all my attempts to 'go out with' or 'get off with' women were doomed. But once I said 'fuck it I'm queer' at the age of 23 and stopped pretending, life got a whole lot simpler. Paradoxically the result was not only a lot more enjoyable gay sex but that I also ended up going to bed with women for the first time. . . . Once you've tried the wide variety of experiences on offer, doing it with a woman can just seem like one further flavour to sample. That inventiveness—and the fact that we're not trying to prove anything—paradoxically means straight women quite like going to bed with gay men."
"You Can Only Give Up 'Identity' Once You Have One" by Marlene Ellis, from Bi Community News, No 31, U.K., August 1998. "You cannot proactively politicise anything if you can't name and define it—unfortunately. That's why identity politics will live on for those that haven't got but need one—the disenfranchised, economically deprived, women/men denied, migrant ignored, working classes dismissed etc., etc. . . . 'identity' will not disappear on account of the intellectually enlightened or the privileged few that now regard it as superfluous to their postmodern awareness."
The Pink Triangle FAQ states that "For some, sexual identity is arrived at after a conscious and careful decision, a choice. They may prefer the term 'sexual preference.' For others, sexual identity is something they have felt strongly ever since they can remember, and the only choice involved is the choice to openly acknowledge that identity. Such people may prefer the term "sexual orientation."
A Bisexuality Primer from the British Columbia Bisexual Network, Canada. "Many people assume, solely, that bisexuality is just a phase people go through. In fact, any sexual orientation can be a phase. Humans are diverse, and individual, sexual feelings and behavior can change over time. . . . An orientation that may not be permanent is still valid for the period of time that it is experienced."
Interview with Mark Simpson from Nois, a queer magazine in Spain, August 2000 (only available in Spanish)
"Sex, God, and Money: The Three Forbidden Subjects . . . Why?"by Anonymous
"Imagining Deregulated Desire: Written on the Body's Revolutionary Reconstruction of Gender and Sexuality" by Christy R. Stevens. An essay on Jeanette Winterson's novel Written on the Body, a love story in which the protagonist's gender is never specified.
Book Review by Eleanor J. Bader discussing Jan Clausen's book Beyond Gay or Straight: Understanding Sexual Orientation, 1996
The 1997 Internet Survey of Queer and Questioning Youth conducted by OutProud and Oasis Magazine found that 8% of their queer respondents said they chose to be queer; 6% said they believe they can [currently] change their orientation, and 1% said that they have successfully changed their orientation in the past. (It should be noted, however, that the fact that this survey was filled out primarily by readers of Oasis Magazineand visitors to the OutProud website introduces considerable bias into the survey. OutProud and especially Oasis Magazinehave printed numerous statements denying the possibility of choice, and neither appears to have ever printed much in support of choice. This may have either influenced their readers to stop believing in choice, or simply influenced those who do believe in choice to stop reading these websites and look for friendlier environments elsewhere.)
The 'Where Ya From?' Survey and The 'Gay Origins' Survey by The Data Lounge, and a Web Poll by Solo Friction Magazine are three more online surveys on this subject, and these surveys are still ongoing—although unfortunately their scientific value is absolute nil since they're short enough for one person to conveniently fill them out many, many times. Also, the Data Lounge surveys again appear alongside a set of articles which fairly consistently promote "gay gene" theories and also promote the idea that "gay gene" theories will help the queer rights cause. But in case you're curious anyway—last time we checked, 5.7% of The Data Lounge's queer respondents strongly agreed with the statement "Your sexual orientation is mutable, subject to control by your will" and another 4.1% also agreed [but not "strongly"]; while 5.2% of The Data Lounge's respondents strongly disagreed with the statement that "Your sexual orientation is pre-programmed, as much a part of who you are as your eye-color" and another 1.8% also disagreed [but not "strongly"]. Meanwhile, fully 18% of Solo Friction Magazine's respondents (whose poll did not appear alongside any propaganda advocating one viewpoint or the other) said that they chose to be gay, compared to 42% who said they believe they were born gay and 17% who said they "couldn't care less." To participate in these surveys and polls yourself and see the latest statistics gathered in them, follow the links above.