Preview

Sexual Orientation in Relation with Biology

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
391 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sexual Orientation in Relation with Biology
The cause for homosexuality

Intro: The 1998 Matthew Shepard, a gay student, was murdered as a form of hate crime against homosexuals. Right now there are teenagers who are beaten and threatened by their parents for “being or choosing to be gay”. Stephen Fry a famous comedian, was condemned by a church for his nature saying you couldn’t be a member of our church. He is not being condemned for what he does, he is being condemned for what he is. “you're a child made in the image of god, oh no you are not, you’re a faggot. And you can’t go to our church and heaven. This is disgraceful, and obscene. Time and time again people are being condemned for what they are.

Contentions: “Despite almost a century of psychoanalytic and psychological speculation, there is no substantive evidence to support the suggestion that the nature of parenting or early childhood experiences play any role in the formation of a person's fundamental heterosexual or homosexual orientation. It would appear that sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment. Sexual orientation is therefore not a choice.” Was stated by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2007.
“Sexual orientation probably is not determined by any one factor but by a combination of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. In recent decades, biologically based theories have been favored by experts. Although there continues to be controversy and uncertainty as to the genesis of the variety of human sexual orientations, there is no scientific evidence that abnormal parenting, sexual abuse, or other adverse life events influence sexual orientation. Current knowledge suggests that sexual orientation is usually established during early childhood.” This was stated by the American Academy of Pediatrics stated in Pediatrics in 2004
In July 2010 a group of geneticists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science an Technology altered the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Many areas of science resolve the issue of homosexuality as a sexual ethics dilemma by analysing the causes of homosexuality. Sigmund Freud claimed that homosexuality is a personality disorder resulting from a person’s failure to deal with repressed issues of sexuality from infancy and to develop fully into mature sexuality. He claimed that the causes of homosexuality simply trace back to the relationship between a child and their parents. Many researchers believe that homosexuality may be the result of an imbalance of the hormones or a genetic disorder. Both these arguments go some way to solving this dilemma as both conclusions suggest that homosexuality is not a moral choice and cannot be prevented or supressed.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Simon Levay

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In Gay, Straight, and the Reason Why: The Science of Sexual Orientation, author and neuroscientist Simon LeVay examines a plethora of research done by scientists across the globe who’re trying to unlock the puzzle of sexual orientation. Although most people are attracted to the opposite sex, a minority of people are attracted to the same (or both) sexes. Why? For over a century, psychologists, biologists, and sociologists have been examining this phenomenon. After pouring over all the data currently available, and conducting intensive research of his own, LeVay’s conclusion on the origin of sexual orientation closely matches my own; non-heterosexual orientations are caused mainly by biological factors.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In this paper will be discussing how biological factors such as nature, i.e. genetics and other environmental influences factor in to our sexual orientation and gender identity. Next I will focus the discussion based upon my evaluation of the nature versus nurture agreement, and decide which one has a larger influence over gender identity be it nature or nurture. Lastly, the paper will talk about current arguments in biopsychology might be able to help with bringing about a resolution to this debate.…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biological theorists believe nature is what causes homosexuality. Although, many theorists have carried out investigations into linking homosexuality to an individual’s psychological development or an illness. Karen Hooker a biological theorist did her first experiment in 1957, she explored both heterosexual and homosexual individuals from the same age group and IQ levels. However, she could not prove that homosexuality is caused because of psychological development or an illness leaving her with no correlation.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stonewall Riots

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Religion is a key source of social knowledge, and in 1977, religious acceptance of gayness was merely a glimmer in the eye of progressive theologians. Gay rhetors lacked the necessary religious materials to rebut scourge rhetors, and the dialogue came to an inevitable dead end. The scourge/affirmation polarity was beneficial to the position espoused by Bryant and her allies, and the inevitable dead-end reveals the danger that polar opposition poses to pro-gay rhetors. Scourge rhetoric incorporating references to children presented a troubling persuasion dilemma for lesbian and gay rhetors. First, reference to child molestation is a powerful visceral weapon in the fundamentalist arsenal. Second, it plays into traditional stereotypes of gays, recalling old social knowledge of lesbian and gay persons to stymie the attempt to create new knowledge. Third, the focus on the consequences of gayness enabled anti-gay rhetors to move the discourse from an argument about the need for a particular antidiscrimination measure back to the affirmation/scourge opposition. It gave citizens a rationale on which to premise their distaste for gays without directly expressing distaste for the moral worth…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Despite a great deal of research, one concrete cause for homosexuality hasn’t been found. The cause could be hormonal, genetic, biological, environmental, social, or many of these things. In her review of Simon Levay’s book, Gay, Straight, and the…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1992, Vice-President Dan Quayle said that homosexuality "is more of a choice than a biological situation...It is a wrong choice." (PBS). Quayle's statement counters the sentiment of many homosexuals that their sexual orientation is neither a lifestyle nor a personal choice, it is innate and unchangeable. The question as to whether homosexuals are born gay, or through some experience or mere choice, choose to be that way is one that has brought about a significant amount of conflict throughout the last decade. There is a common belief according to liberals that people are either born gay or straight. Conservatives believe that sexual orientation is actually a choice made by the individual. Much of the current media presume that the answer to the question is a solved scientific problem in which all evidence points to a biological, most likely genetic, basis for a homosexual orientation. However this question has been researched very lightly, yet there is still evidence defending both sides. Also, many of the studies that have led people and the media to believe that sexual orientation has a biological basis, have been contradicted later by more in depth studies. The evidence covers 2 major studies; studies pertaining to the human brain including the possible differences in hormonal influences, and how environmental factors such as abusive childhood experiences can affect sexual orientation. Until recently, sexual orientation was simply deemed sexual preference. The two clearly have very different meanings which has led the term to be considered politically incorrect since the two terms vary largely regarding the manner as by which sexuality develops. A preference is a choice, whereas orientation is merely something that defines us and that we have no control over. These differences become important when their rights are put into the hands of the law, separate from the…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Biological perspectives focus on the possible roles of evolution, genetics, and hormonal influences in shaping sexual orientation.” (Rathus, 2011 p. 291) Some evolutionary perspective hypotheses are still speculative but there are also thought that homosexuality alliances bind the group members together emotionally that gives them a better chances of survival. Studies that have also been done on the family tree of homosexuals where women who are related to someone who is homosexual will then be more likely to have an offspring who is then homosexual as well. These studies have us believe in the genetic perspective with considerable evidence that suggest homosexuality orientation runs within your families genetics. There also have been evidence that found on the X sex chromosome that may be linked to gay male sexual orientation. While there has been a so called "gay gene" that may be found, researchers have not yet found a particular gene that is specifically linked to a person sexual orientation and neither do scientists know how this potental gene relate to sexual orientation. Also studied, the hormonal influences on our bodies to see if there are any links that determine sexual orientation. To help further this determination there have been studies done on pregnant rats where testosterone has been blocked and the male offspring were likely to show more feminine mating patterns. “It remains possible that imbalances in…

    • 1479 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A family is molded by every member who contributes and helps in any way, whether it be a mother and father, two mothers or two fathers. Stability is created through a unified family and becomes the baseline for how children progress through their adolescent years into adulthood. “Lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide a supportive and healthy environment for their children” (APA and Patterson, Ph.D.). Research has shown that the development and mental health of a child is unrelated to their parents’ sexual orientation. One’s sexual orientation has not shown to affect the fitness of an individual or couple to raise a child nor has it shown to affect a child’s sexual orientation. The only predictor of a child’s psychological and social adjustment is the quality of parenting given. “The vast majority of lesbian and gay adults were raised by heterosexual parents and the majority of children raised by lesbian and gay parents eventually grow up to be heterosexual”…

    • 2476 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    For an example of nurture children who were both born with an injured or damaged reproductive organ, males usually can be raised successfully as females. In order to understand which factor is the deciding factor of a person’s gender, both sides of the case must be fully evaluated. DNA studies which appear to prove that gender is a genetic trait. Researchers have analyzed the makeup of the human brain of homosexuals and heterosexuals seeking a connection between gender and the brains physiology. They found when studying the part of the brain directly related to a persons’ sexual drive, that homosexuals had an enlarged hypothalamus, whereas heterosexuals had a normal one indicating a direct correlation between the…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sexual Orientation

    • 856 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Psychologists say that sexuality is determined in the early stages of childhood but is not a conscious decision. Basically, people are born with their sexuality. That being said, many parents assume there might be something off about their child if they show interest in activities meant for the opposite sex. If their little girl doesn’t like to dress up and would rather play in the dirt, parents start to get suspicious. If their little boy likes dolls and is not all that interested in going outside or playing video games, parents think there’s a possibility of them being gay. But a very important thing to understand about sexuality is that there is no way to tell what sexuality someone is just by how masculine or feminine they are. That is because, like afore mentioned, gender is a spectrum. There are gay men that are very masculine but then some that are also extremely feminine. There are lesbians that seem like straight girls to others because they aren’t as masculine as the stereotypical lesbian. This applies to other…

    • 856 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Homosexuality has been a hot topic for the last fifty or so years, as it has been at various times in the past. There are different theories pertaining to the history of homosexuality. Essentialists say it has existed in all times and cultures, while social constructionists believe that it has arisen only in certain places and eras (ancient Greece, for instance) (Bailey 54). Its social acceptability has varied widely as well. The stigma of non-heterosexuality has faded considerably in the twenty-first century. Psychology no longer views homosexuality, bisexuality, and transexuality through a lens of pathology, instead recognizing that lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgenders (collectively referred to as LGBT individuals) have particular issues related to their minority status and the ways in which they are viewed by American society (Garnets and Kimmel, Introduction 2). Formation of an identity that is faithful to the self rather than formed according to societal expectations is now encouraged and recognized as healthy. Nonetheless, many in the heterosexual population are not fully informed about homosexuality and struggle to understand how the needs and outlooks of their LGBT neighbors differ from their own. This paper looks at several aspects of the lives of LGBT individuals, and argues that equal rights for this community have yet to be achieved in this country.…

    • 3097 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    According to The Leadership Conference, in 2007, the amount of hate crimes committed against homosexuals reached as high as 1,265, and they became the “third most frequent target of hate violence over the past decade.” In 2007, a man was fatally beaten outside of a bar in Greenville, South Carolina—he was openly gay. In 2008, a 28-year-old woman was raped by four men in Richmond, California—she was openly gay. Again, in 2008, a 15-year-old boy was shot twice in the head by a fellow classmate in Oxnard, California—he was openly gay. In all of those cases of hate crimes, offensive words were used to mock their homosexuality.…

    • 107 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When you think of a child being raised in a gay community and being often surrounded with the familiarization of lesbians and gays, you may think the child will later in life turn homosexual. Some might, it’s is their choice and there’s nothing wrong with it. However, people that grew up with homosexual parents say that they have never pressured them to follow in their footsteps.…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Same Sex Love in Viet Nam

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There are many researches about cause and people’ attitude toward homosexuality. Firstly, we will show some researches about homosexuality.Homosexuality was seen as one kind of disease - sexual deviation and needed to cure (DSM – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – US Mentally Group). In contrast, some researchers believe that homosexuality was an inherited abnormality which could not be cured simply because it was inherent. However, in the end of 1940, Kisey and his colleague composed this opinion by their research more than 450 homosexual histories. He was convinced that there was absolutely no evidence of inheritance. On the other hand, a handful of studies during the 1990s have claimed to offer evidence in favor of a biological or genetic cause for homosexuality such as: a study of brain structure by Simon LeVay, a study of twins by J. Michael Bailey and Rechard C. Pillard, and a study of “gene linkage” and “gene markers” by a team led by Dean H. Hamer. Some other researches based on upbringing, experience, and social environment, cultural actors finds the cause of homosexuality such as early childhood developmental factors, parental influence, and urbanization, the social organization of sexuality, demography and education (John O. G. Billy, Koray Tanfer, William R. Grady and Daniel H. Klepinger, “The Sexual Behavior of Men In the United States,” Family Planning Perspectives 25, no. 2 (March/April 1993): 59, Robert T. Michael, John H. Gagnon, Edward O. Laumann, and Gina Kolata, Sex in America: A Definitive Survey (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1994), 177–79.). Although there is much discussion about the cause of homosexuality, the origins of it are not…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays