First of all, he was obviously being cynical. But just because it annoys me that people speak so surely about things that we don't know: Writing in Archives of General Psychiatry Byne and Parsons note the role that “choice” plays in the development of one’s “sexual orienta- tion”: “Conspicuously absent from most theorizing on the origins of sexual orientation is an active role of the individual in constructing his or her identity.” The authors explain: “This is not meant to imply that one consciously decides one’s sexual orientation. Instead, sexual orientation is assumed to be shaped and reshaped by a cascade of choices made in the context of changing circumstances in one’s life and enormous social and cultural pressures.” Byne and Parsons, “Human Sexual Orientation: The Biologic Theories Reappraised,” 236–237.