Gay Genetics

The topic of this paper is definitely a sensitive one. Whether the reason is religious, political, or personal, we all seem to have an opinion on homosexuality, but how many of us have actually taken the time to do our homework on this matter. Before we choose to support or oppose the growing “LGBT” movement shouldn’t we arm ourselves with as much information as possible? Is homosexuality genetic, or does it start in the home? Although I did not find conclusive evidence to support genetics or nurture as the cause of homosexuality, I do feel there is enough logical theory to dismiss the “Gay Gene” as the cause of homosexual behavior. Research on this subject was hard to find, but I was able to gather some of the most popularly used material on homosexual genetics. I have analyzed all the information I have gather, looking at the material from all viewpoints available to me. I am confident that you will find my argument to be compelling, if nothing else.

Homosexuality has been around for thousands of years, dating back to the ancient Egyptians. The debate on the subject has been going on for almost as long. Aristophanes, in his Symposium argues that sexual desire alone is not strong enough to create homosexuality, but that the cultural environment allows or forbids it. You see, in his time homosexuality was common practice, with the focus being on sex. From this point of view it would be easy to make homosexuality a black and white, social issue. There was no title for homosexuals at the time and it stayed that way until about a hundred years ago. Giving homosexuality a title change the way we looked at it completely. Was it something someone could catch? Is it permanent or can it be cured? How do we stop our children from getting it? All of these questions created a wide spread panic and fear around homosexuality. Because of the negative thoughts and feeling surrounding homosexuality it was long labeled as a mental illness. In 1957, a woman named, Karen