This whole Cynthia Nixon “is-being-gay-a-choice” debacle has my head spinning. Though I think sexuality is genetic, I’m actually not sure it’s relevant. What if it’s not genetic? What if I made the conscious choice to be attracted to the opposite sex from the age of two (which is actually when I remember my first crush on a boy)? Choice or not, I should be able to share my life with whoever I see fit. So when Cynthia Nixon enraged the gay community with her assertion that she “chose” to be gay, she was forced to clarify. Read her long-winded explanation below.
“My recent comments in The New York Times were about me and my personal story of being gay. I believe we all have different ways we came to the gay community and we can’t and shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into one cultural narrative which can be uninclusive and disempowering. However, to the extent that anyone wishes to interpret my words in a strictly legal context I would like to clarify:”
“While I don’t often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have ‘chosen’ is to be in a gay relationship.”
“As I said in the Times and will say again here, I do, however, believe that most members of our community — as well as the majority of heterosexuals — cannot and do not choose the gender of the persons with whom they seek to have intimate relationships because, unlike me, they are only attracted to one sex.”
“Our community is not a monolith, thank goodness, any more than America itself is. I look forward to and will continue to work toward the day when America recognizes all of us as full and equal citizens.”
I actually think that forcing the gay community to label their sexuality does even more damage. We don’t all fit into pre-defined buckets, and Cynthia Nixon should not have to define her sexual preference.