The Cause of Homosexual Behaviors

The Cause of Homosexual Behaviors

The cause of homosexual behaviors has long been a controversial topic debated by scientists, psychologists, and many others among the general population. The Newsweek article Born or Bred discusses many possible causes of homosexuality.

According to the research done in 1991 by neuroscientist Simon LeVay, the area of the brain that controls sexual activity called the hypothalamus, was less than half the size in homosexual males compared to heterosexual males. This result tells us that homosexuals might not have gotten a chance to choose their sexuality because they were simply born into it. But there are loopholes in this research because Levay's subjects were all cadavers, therefore he could not dispute nor verify Kenneth Klivington's argument that, "the brain influences behavior, behavior shapes experience, experience affects the organization of the brain, and so forth." Klivington seemed to think that there are environmental factors to be considered when dealing with the causes of homosexuality. He believes that sexual orientation has certain affects on brain structure as he points out, "the brain's neural networks reconfigure themselves in responses to certain experiences."

Psychologist Michael Bailey and psychiatrist Richard Pillard conducted a research involving the study of homosexuals among twins. The result of their research concludes that genetic factors take on a big part of a person's sexual orientation. This can lift the burden of self-blame from homosexuals because they are no longer the blame for their own sexuality.

The three major theories that are used in an attempt to explain the causes of homosexuality are biological, psychoanalytical, and learning theories...

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...d in sexual orientation." I've always believed that a person's sexual orientation is something way more complicated for the environment to be able to tamper with. In my opinion, environmental factors may be able to affect a person into making temporary judgments or to experiment new things. But the person's true sexuality is defined within one's self and is permanent. I also believe that many more studies can and will be done on the causes of sexual orientation, but it is unlikely that someone will be able to reach a definite answer. In the words of Evelyn Hooker, "Why do we want to know the cause? It's a mistake to hope that we will be able to modify or change homosexuality…If we understand its nature and accept it as a given, then we come much closer to the kind of attitudes which will make it possible for homosexuals to lead a decent life in society."