Cynthia Nixon: Being gay was a choice for me

The Sex and the City star, 45, told the New York Times: "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."

NEWS: Cynthia Nixon Announces Engagement

The actress is engaged to her longtime partner Christine Marinoni, who gave birth to their son, Max Ellington Nixon-Marinoni, last year.

Nixon was previously in a heterosexual relationship with Danny Mozes, with whom she has two children, Samantha and Charlie.

Nixon continued: "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."

Although Nixon is standing by her statement, some activists are angry about the actress's choice of words. Gay blogger and activist John Aravosis said on the AmericaBlog Gay website: "Every religious right hatemonger is now going to quote this woman every single time they want to deny us our civil rights."

Meanwhile, Nixon has recently appeared bald-headed on a talk show as she prepares to portray a professor with ovarian cancer in the Broadway play Wit.