Sexual Orientation Sexual orientation refers to one's degree of emotional and erotic attraction to members of the same sex, opposite sex or both sexes. Heterosexual persons are romantically and erotically attracted to members of the opposite sex, whereas homosexual persons are attracted to those whose sex match their own. A person who is bisexual is attracted to both men and women. According to a recent national survey, about 7 percent of all adults regard themselves as homosexual or bisexual. That means that roughly 7 people out of every hundred are bisexual or homosexual; 50 million people in the U.S. alone are gay, lesbian, or have a family member who is homosexual. The question is, however, do they choose to be gay or is it genetically predetermined. I once asked a homosexual friend why he chose to be gay if it was indeed such a headache. "Choose to be gay?" he asked. "It is NOT a choice. If I could choose to fall in love with a woman, marry her and live a so-called normal life, I would do so in a minute." I was surprised, because being as naïve as I was, that possibility had never occurred to me. Then, I asked him if it was possible to pretend, for the sake of an easier life. He replied, "Pick a woman, any woman. Now imagine having to have sex with her and spending the rest of your life with only her and never touching a man again." I shuddered at the thought! He smiled and said, "That is exactly how I feel. I have no desire to touch a woman in any other way than a friend would touch a friend. All I am attracted to is men." Recent scientific discoveries are fast supporting this claim. Whereas history has always assumed that homosexuals chose to "sin" and be "different," studies are claiming the exa... ... middle of paper ... ...ve, not Adam and Steve." However, when they are pressed to explain why, exactly, it is wrong, they cannot come up with good reasons. With the evidence of the predetermined genetic disposition of homosexuals and interpretations of the Bible bringing to light the acceptance of all men, society no longer has any excuse in discriminating. Instead of being discouraged by the hate crimes and lack of support from the masses, homosexuals are becoming more determined then ever to earn equal rights and an equal place in society. Thanks to a constitution that allows for equal rights under God, new evidence will eventually win the equality in all areas of life that all people deserve, whether heterosexual or not. With any luck, children of today will grow up with a better understanding and an acceptance so that the oppression of homosexuals will be nonexistent tomorrow.
In Brandon Ambrosino’s “I am Gay – but I Wasn't Born This Way”, the author states his reasoning as to why he believes he chose to be gay. Being one of the few who questions the born this way ideology, Ambrosino, along with other LGBTQ activists, are “cast as homophobic, and their thinking is considered backward”(par 10). However, just because an argument like this is popular, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Even scientific organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) believes that people have no control over their sexual orientations, however, no findings have been found that determine if sexual orientation is determined from hormones, genetics, or cultural influences(par 21), therefore contradicting the previous claim.
Most scientists and psychologists believe that homosexuality is caused by a gene determined at birth much like your hair, skin, and eye color are determined, meaning homosexuality is not a choice and is no more a choice than choosing your skin color. Studies known as adoption studies show that sexual preference is genetic by adopting a young infant child and placing them in either a homosexual or h...
The first possible cause of homosexuality is genetic factors. Homosexuality is a trait from birth (Buchanan, 2000). Studies found that identical twins share many common traits. A study found that identical twins normally share homosexual behavior if one of them is homosexual. This proved that genes are likely to cause homosexuality. In addition, according to (Santinover, 2002), homosexuality is a heritable behavior. Based on heritability studies, almost any human trait is heritable including the homosexual behavior. He stated that behavioral genes are found in specific chromosome. Thus, the behavior is obviously heritable. Moreover, Italian University of Padova (2004) believes that homosexual trait is passed from mother to male offspring by natural ...
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
10.7 million Americans consider themselves Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender, which is about 3.4% of our population. How does homosexuality occur? Is a man gay because of a missing father and an overbearing mother? Is a woman gay because of her desire to please her father by showing that she is worthy of the love she cannot seem to receive from him? Recently, most studies on the genetic liabilities of homosexuality have focused on men, but it is believed that the observations from these experiments also apply to women. Homosexuality is not strictly genetic, but epigenetic, and has characteristics of a hereditary trait.
It is my observation that the average person gains insight into the nature vs. nurture debate when some particular human trait that is politically or socially volatile at the time is announced as having a specific genetic origin. This observation was confirmed when, in surfing the web, I came across an article entitled, "Female Inner Ear Comes Out of the Closet (1)." While reporting on a study published by a UT psychology professor who found that homosexual women exhibit tones in the inner ear similar to those of male test subjects, the Daily Texan journalist, with no explanation or sources, effortlessly mixes and confuses the social construction with the "science" of sexual orientation—even in her or his title. Attempting to get to the root of how an individual's sexual preference is determined, and the subsequent attempt to designate these individual tendencies into definitive statements regarding large groups in society has become a seductive topic for numerous media sources within the past decade or so. A closer look at this debate reveals the relative error of exploring one side without an equal exploration of the other.
Scientists have asked the question of whether homosexuality is a choice or something the individual has no control over. The search for the ‘gay gene’ is a relatively new study. According to Pease and Bull (2000) the physical sex of an organism is determined by the gonad type, testes or ovaries, as well as secondary sexual traits. An organisms sexual preference is determined by its preferred sexual partner, if the organism prefers to have sex with its own sex, it is classed as homosexual, however if it prefers to have sex with the opposite sex, it is classed as heterosexual. Gender identity is a separate topic that is very pertinent. G-+ender identity is how an organism sees itself, is it male or is it female. The gender identity of an organism can be separated from the sexual preferences, for example, a male who sees himself as female may still have a sexual preference for woman.
Paul Mountjoy wrote the article “Modern science says homosexuality is not a choice” and states: “The question of whether homosexuality is a choice remains on the front lines of criticisms, as many in common society believe one chooses to be lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). However, 40 years of study indicates homosexuality is not a personal choice. The APA has declared LBG as not a mental illness or disorder with no identifiable dissimilar psychopathology, as both heterosexual and homosexual behaviors are normal aspects of human sexuality” (Mountjoy, Paul, Washington Times). This article fully states that not only is being homosexual isn’t a disease, but also that there is no choice in being straight, gay, or even bisexual. That they are normal aspects of human nature. They said there is “no identifiable dissimilar psychopathology”, meaning that it is normal to be gay or
Genes are thought to play a critical role in sexual orientation, however which genes are actually contributing this effect is unknown. There are some genes being explored carefully, but there is no strong evidence existing. An example that demonstrates the correlation between genes and sexual orientation is twin studies. Evidence shows when one twin is homosexual the other twin will have a 50% chance of being homosexual as well. There seems to be a high concordance rate of sexual orientation between family members (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). It is evident, biology play a significant role in the development of sexual orientation, however much research is still being conducted to prove its
The concept of sexual orientation, which is a person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person, is a modern sociological construct (Macionis, Jansson, Benoit, & Burkowicz, p. 190, 2016). The predominant classifications of this concept are heterosexuality, meaning the sexual attraction to someone of the opposite sex, and homosexuality, the sexual attraction to someone of the same sex (Macionis et. al., p. 190, 2016). With the large majority of society’s acknowledgment towards these two sexual identities, it leaves little to no room for those who find themselves in neither ends of these categories, to receive any sort of recognition. More specifically, the visibility for those who establish themselves as bisexual, defined as the sexual attraction to people of both genders, face misconceptions from a portion of society (Macionis et. al., p. 190, 2016). Whether it may be from heterosexuals or homosexuals, someone who falls in between the two identities seem to encounter greater difficulties in gaining social acceptance. Despite having its place in the term, LGBTQ, which is an abbreviation for the community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and people of other sexual orientations and
...nts for people who are believers that your surroundings and the way you grow up make you become gay or not. Some behaviorists believe that sexual and gender identification differences result from family roles, friends and other peers, or things such as masculine and feminine stereotypes. Some say that if you are a male child living in a household with multiple sisters, that they can either go one way or another; very masculine or very feminine, becoming gay. Also, if you grow up in a household that may be very strict and stereotypical and all about what is “politically correct” the kid may be scared enough and feel the need to have to be straight. When you think about it and look at parent to child relationships, they can be a big help. Although children may not think it or want to believe it, their parents have a large influence on what they do or who they become.
According to Jeffrey Satinover, MD, there is no evidence that shows homosexuality is genetic. Stating “homosexuality may run in families but you get viruses from your parents too, and some bad habits…” (Top 10 Pros). Brian S. Mustanski, PhD, agrees that though there may be no ‘gay’ gene, multiple genes potentially interacting with the environment could explain sexual orientation. Ex- gays are living proof that homosexuality is not fixed permanently. Therefore, for someone to be born gay, obviously that person would not be able to change ones sexual preference.
From the moment people born, there are certain basic functions that will be with them throughout their lives. The abilities to eat, breathe, sleep, or to have the capacity to learn are a natural occurrence for most people. There are, however, traits that are specific to each individual. They are traits that set them apart from everyone else. The traits such as eye color, ones dominate hand, or susceptibility to a specific disease are a few traits that aren’t easily changed. However, there are some that are controversially questioned as to whether or not one is born with the trait or if it is a learned behavior. One of the biggest of these controversies is the question of whether sexual orientation is a choice or something that is beyond the individual’s influence. Although the evidence is commonly disregarded because of personal beliefs or opinions, sexual orientation is not a choice.
Sexual orientation describes patterns of sexual and romantic attraction towards someone else. Normally one pole attracts the other, but in this case, it does not work like that. There is little information on why a person’s sexual orientation might be deviated from what is normal. Research shows that this problem may be due to the role of genes, the environment, hormones, the way a family raised the kids, or because of the brain itself. According to Sigmund Freud, all human beings are bisexual, but they become heterosexual or homosexual because of the experiences they live with their parents and other people. Psychologists and psychiatrists have a negative attitude towards homosexuality. However, there are no norms, or empirical evidence supporting the idea that attraction towards the same sex is a form of mental illness or a psychopathology. Homosexuality is a matter of choice rather than an abnormality due to brain dysfunction (APA, 1975; 1987).
In order to discuss the biology of gender identity and sexual orientation, it is necessary to first examine the differences between multiple definitions that are often mistakenly interchanged: sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sexual orientation is defined by LeVay (2011) as “the trait that predisposes us to experience sexual attraction to people of the same sex as ourselves, to persons of the other sex, or to both sexes” (p. 1). The typical categories of sexual orientation are homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Vrangalova and Savin-Williams (2012) found that most people identify as heterosexual, but there are also groups of people that identify as mostly heterosexual and mostly gay within the three traditional categories (p. 89). This is to say that there are not three concrete groups, but sexual orientation is a continuum and one can even fluctuate on it over time. LeVay (2011) also defines gender as “the ...