Nature vs Nurture: The Evolution of Sexuality

Sexuality over the years has been defined and reshaped in many ways by different researchers and experts. In the CNN article, “Being Gay is not a Choice,” James Hormel defines sexuality as something that you are born with and cannot hide or ignore your true identity. In the article, Hormel recalls the times in his life where he felt alone and when he hid the truth. Hormel goes on to state how he “spent the first 35 years of my life trying real hard not to be gay”(Hormel, pg. 1). However, despite Hormel 's views I disagree with this article in many ways as it shows little evidence on how someone could in fact be born gay. An individual decides his identity and sexuality, which in most cases is tied together with how one is raised and the environment in which one is raised in. John Hormel’s article on sexuality can be countered by an article written John D’Emilio. His article, “Capitalism

The War selected men and women from across the country with different backgrounds and placed them in sexually segregated camps. “The war severely disrupted traditional patterns of gender relations and sexuality, and temporarily created a new erotic situation conducive to homosexual expression” (D’Emilio pg. 106). At the time of capitalism and war, young men and women whose sexual identities had not been formed where placed in single sex training facilities where they would only interact with their own sex. This made the transition for most soldiers difficult and allowed for some already lesbian or gay individuals to interact and unify because of the confines of the war. The temporary freedom of sexuality allowed for men and women to challenge some of their heterosexual upbringings. In addition to gay identities resulting from the restrictions of war communities witnessed a large increase in bars and other meeting places for gays to meet and unify post World War