Update: Cynthia Nixon Clarifies her "Gay by Choice" Comments

[JamesG]

Cynthia Nixon Sparks Controversy with "Gay By Choice" Statement
1/27/2012
by THR Staff


Former "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon made waves in a recent interview, in which she claims to be openly gay “by choice”, sparking a firestorm of controversy among gay rights activists.

“I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ‘I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.’ And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice.

And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me,” she told the New York Times.



“I am very annoyed about this issue. Why can’t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we’re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it, and I don’t think that they should define the terms of the debate.

I also feel like people think I was walking around in a cloud and didn’t realize I was gay, which I find really offensive. I find it offensive to me, but I also find it offensive to all the men I’ve been out with.”




Nixon is currently engaged to longtime partner Christine Marinoni, but was previously married to a man for 15 years. She has three children, one with Marinoni and two with her ex-husband, Danny Mozes.









Among the activists shaken by Nixon’s recent comments is Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen. According to the AP, Besen worries that Nixon’s comments could force people into programs that claim to cure individuals of homosexual attractions.





Blogger and Activist John Aravosis also took Nixon to task on his AMERICAblog Gay page.

“I think Nixon is using sloppy language to describe her fluidity. I think she's defining ‘gay’ as a lifestyle, to use the verboten word. She's defining ‘gay’ as being paired with someone of the same gender, not simply being attracted to someone of the same gender (or having 51% of your attractions being to that gender).

So she ‘chose’ to be gay because she ‘chose’ to act on an errant desire she had for a particular woman, and now lives a ‘gay lifestyle’, lives as a woman with another woman. That's not choosing to be gay any more than a gay person who chooses not to date or have sex. If you like both flavors, men and women, you're bisexual, you're not gay, so please don't tell people that you are gay, and that gay people can 'choose' their sexual orientation, i.e., will it out of nowhere. Because they can't.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...ity-wit-285365

[dakert]

People choose who they want to be with. Some people like vegetables-some dont?

[ThomasE]

Whether people are offended or not or don't like what she said, that's her business. That's how I see it.

[JamesG]

Cynthia Nixon Clarifies Comments: "Bisexuality Is Not a Choice"
Jan 31, 2012
by Joyce Eng


Cynthia Nixon has backtracked on her controversial sexuality remarks, saying that "bisexuality is not a choice."

The "Sex and the City" star drew ire from gay rights activists last week when she was quoted in a New York Times piece as saying that, for her, being gay "is a choice."






"My recent comments in The New York Times were about me and my personal story of being gay," Nixon tells The Advocate in a statement.

"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."







Nixon's clarification comes a week after several members of the gay and lesbian community, including celebrity chef Cat Cora, criticized the actress for her initial comments.

"I'm gay, and I was born this way," Cora told the ladies of "The Talk".

"I really feel like it was dangerous and irresponsible of Cynthia, especially in this environment today when so many young people are taking their lives."






Nixon, 45, is engaged to her partner of eight years, Christine Marinoni, who gave birth to their son Max last year.

Prior to their relationship, Nixon, who is currently sporting a bald head for a Broadway role, was in a 15-year relationship with Danny Mozes, with whom she has two children.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Cynthia-...e-1042603.aspx