Lifestyle Choice

Source

Some say it is a choice; others say it is an orientation.  Either way, I was born this way and I cannot change it.  When I was born, however, there were those who felt it was wrong.  When a child started showing tendencies, many parents corrected them.  Fortunately my parents were understanding and accepted me for what I was; they knew it was not a choice.  Forcing me to conform to society's norms would not have changed what I was.

There are unfavorable Bible verses on my orientation.  (This article says there are 25.)  Depending on how one interprets them, it would seem that my orientation is wrong, even evil.  History has also be unkind to people like me.  I even had a teacher in high school refer to me as sinister.   But it's part of who I am.  I'm not rebelling against society or making a statement.   I was born with this orientation.

You see, I was born left-handed.  Yes, my parents could have forced me to eat and write and do other things with my right hand, but deep down inside, I would still be left-handed.  There is a big difference between orientation and lifestyle.  I did not choose to be left-handed.  Although being left-handed does not define me, every fiber of my being makes me favor left over right.  Using my right hand to write or draw or do most anything seems very wrong.  I can do it, but it doesn't change the true me.

When my husband and I were discussing how people are treating homosexuality as a "lifestyle" choice, he jokingly called my holding a glass with my left hand as making a lifestyle choice.  This comment resonated very deeply within me as it is laughable to call my handedness a choice.  It would be much easier to be right handed - the modern world is designed for right-handed people and I have a daily struggle with technology - but I'm not wired that way so I can't conform.  (For a quick read on how lefties are discriminated against, read this list from Stanford University.) 

Choosing painting over bowling is a lifestyle choice; using my left hand to do either is my orientation.  I may be different, but it is who I am.  Telling me that I must become something I'm not or to refrain from being myself is wrong and cruel.  That applies to individuals with a different sexual orientation.  Lefthandedness is not a choice; neither is sexual orientation.