By Mike Larkin


It has long been a bone of contention whether being gay is a choice or a compulsion.

And Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is sticking to her guns after she admitted for her it was the former, despite having to endure a homosexual backlash.

She has been lambasted by the LGBT community for making her feelings known as a public speaker, but has now spoke out in the New York Times to underline her feelings on the matter.

The 45-year-old who is engaged to her long-term partner Christine Marinoni, said: '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.

'A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out.

'I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.'

Happy family: Cynthia and Christine had their first child Max together last year

And she claimed the homosexuals who are bent out of shape about her feelings on the issue are bigots.

She said: '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.'

Cynthia is certainly no stranger to heterosexual affairs.

She was involved in a 15-year relationship with her college sweetheart Danny Mozes from 1988.

The couple have two children together, 15-year-old Samantha and Charlie, 9, but they split in 2003.

And just a year later the actress went public with her romance with 44-year-old redhead Christine.

The latter gave birth to the couple’s first child together last February, a baby boy they gave the colourful moniker Max Ellington Nixon-Marinoni.

Influential gay blogger and activist John Aravosis is one of those displeased by her choice of words.

Getting on swimmingly: Christine seems to get on well with Cynthia's other children

He said: 'It's not a "choice," unless you consider my opting to date a guy with brown hair versus a guy with blonde hair a "choice."

'It's only a choice among flavours I already like.'

And he claimed she was just giving people peddling anti-gay views extra ammunition.

He said: 'Every religious right hatemonger is now going to quote this woman every single time they want to deny us our civil rights.'



source:dailymail