Subject:
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Re: New poll: sexuality and Lugnet
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Mon, 20 Sep 2004 03:42:46 GMT
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Viewed:
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832 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal wrote:
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What I’m pretty sure is that homosexuality is not normal-- that is,
normative. It is the exception, and not on par with heterosexuality, as
suggested by some. I don’t say this to be mean, merely as an observation of
the GP.
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“Normative: That which is not perceived or experienced by members of a society
as odd, peculiar, outlandish, or even as deserving of unusual attention, because
either: (a) it is culturally typical, conventional, and encountered commonly in
the societal mainstream; and /or (b) due to typical cultural experiences, the
phenomenon is well within the range of the “expectable” or consistent with an
aspired norm, even if the norm is rarely actualized or attained”
John, normative is entirely culturally based, and on a specific society’s
culture at that. By that definition, there have been throughout history, and are
today, societies and subcultures where being gay *is* normative, as well as
those where it is not.
As for normal, I wouldn’t dispute that there are a lot fewer homosexuals around
than there are heterosexuals, whatever set of numbers you work from. That
doesn’t make homosexuality not normal, any more than the fact that there are
very few natural redheads around makes them not normal.
If you define normal as being “like the majority of people” then no, gays are
not normal, nor are people with blue eyes, geniuses, adults who like to play
with LEGO, farmers, pilots, murderers, monks, and just about every other
category of people you like to name.
If you define normal as being “something which can be expected to occur”, then
all those categories above are normal along with many others. Cars break down
very seldom on a per-mile basis, but it’s normal for them to do so.
Now a rain of LEGO frogs, that I’d say is not normal!
Kevin
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: New poll: sexuality and Lugnet
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| (...) Scratch "normative". "Norm" would have been a better choice. (...) Yes, that is how I was intending the word to be understood. (...) Agreed. I didn't mean to attach a pejorative meaning to "not normal". I was just reacting to something that (...) (20 years ago, 20-Sep-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: New poll: sexuality and Lugnet
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| (...) Hmmm. Can we do that? You are implying that the two are equal and interchangable things. It seems to me that being heterosexual is the default, and then something happens (socialization, etc), and some become gay. There is a great deal of (...) (20 years ago, 20-Sep-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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