When Did You Choose To Be Gay?

The recent viral thread on Twitter is fighting against the idea that being gay is a choice.

British musician Simon H decided to make a joke out of the old “gay is a choice” argument. He posted on Friday that he chose to be gay on “a beautiful spring day.”

“For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought, “You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner’s hand…”

So. Gays. When Y'all choose to be gay?

For me it was a beautiful spring day and I just thought, "You know what, I really want to disappoint my parents, offend my church, limit my options, lose my rights, live in fear of homophobic abuse, be afraid to hold my partner's hand…

— Simon H (@FreelanceCynic) March 22, 2019

Of course, Twitter loves to make witty and inclusive jokes out of situations like this, so many users jumped to join the fun.

That led to many wonderful responses, such as choosing to be gay during the height of the AIDs panic, when living in homophobic households, and when already in unhappy heterosexual relationships.

You can check out a few of the tweets down below.

It was a Tuesday. I was bored. And I couldn’t spell straight.

— Mike Wilkinson (@Mike___MK) March 22, 2019

It was during the 80s at the height of AIDS panic and stigma. I thought, y'know, I'll have some of that…

— Alan Palmer 🏳️‍🌈 (@PalmerAlan) March 23, 2019

https://twitter.com/robfwalter/status/1109278108157272064

Someone told me I could be gay temporarily, you know just to try it for a year. After my 365 day trial ended I just went month to month. Now I can’t find the support number or email address to cancel so I just stay gay.

— Ken Jennings stan acct (@TotchosInABox) March 22, 2019

At the time people were yelling 'poof' at me and throwing rocks at me as I walked home from school, I was like – wow – I love being at risk. I should do this more.

— Bill Roberts (@Bilboroberts) March 23, 2019

When I was born and the doctor handed me the clipboard I checked off the rainbow box because it was pretty….I had no idea what it meant at the time🤦🏻‍♂️🥺

— davey✊🏼 (@jerseyh0mo) March 23, 2019

I decided while I was in a “happy” hetero relationship, I thought I know what I’ll do, I’ll ruin everything and disappoint everyone out of spite. Even though they had done nothing for me to feel that way. I thought, I’ll stop myself having kids and I’ll just be a cool uncle

— Marky B (@markybram) March 23, 2019

I caught the gay when I was about 5. Extremely rare tv virus. I saw an episode of Sailor Moon and I’ve been the Moon Princess every since pic.twitter.com/pxwSWDDBxW

— UnLegendary Virgin Femme Queen (@Chaebuttabby) March 23, 2019

I saw other “girly, weird boys” getting endlessly tormented and threatened at school, and thought to myself “man that looks great, sign me up!”

— Energy Void™ (@zeilreigan) March 23, 2019

When being black in America didn’t seem like a great enough challenge. I thought to myself, how can I make this worse?

— Wash your hands before you text me. (@pocpsa) March 24, 2019

https://twitter.com/Baulked1/status/1109366177506168834

I just felt like the constant fear that me and my gf will be sexually or physically harassed/assaulted by straight men was something that was missing for my life. None of my relationships being taken seriously and my family ostracizing me was an added bonus! Overall I recommend

— Kathryn (@KathrynNicassio) March 23, 2019

I was going to be straight but then I realised I don’t look good in a fleece.

— Phil Mews Author (@PhilMews) March 23, 2019

Loving all the replies! Please keep them coming.

— Simon H (@FreelanceCynic) March 22, 2019

What are some of your favorite responses to the Twitter thread, and when did you choose to be gay or LGBTQ?