D.F. Swab was the first person to note that there was a physical difference from homosexual people to heterosexual people. Many scientists believe that it has to do with the development of the hypothalamus, which is a part of the brain which has shown to differ between homosexuals and heterosexuals. A homosexual man has the hypothalamus about twice the size of a heterosexual man. In 1993, Dean Hamer, a scientist at the National Cancer Institute, wrote in the Science Journal an article called “A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation”. He found that homosexuality is passed down from the mother. However, for lesbians it is different. Hamer suspects that women’s sexual preference may be less genetically programmed than men’s. However, he still believes that it is passed down in families.
On the other hand, there is the idea that we choose to become homosexual. This means that through our experiences we become homosexual. Some psychoanalysts believe that an overbearing mother and a distant father can cause a boy to become gay. They say that the boy is taught to act more like a girl, causing them to become homosexual. Thomas Schmidt wrote an argument called “Straight& Narrow? Compassion and Clarity in the Homosexual Debate”. He believes that being homosexual is a choice. He believes that for many external factors cause this. For example, if a child is bullied as a kid and considered a ‘sissy’, he might relate better to the girls in his class. He believes that the idea of feminism has a large influence on females becoming lesbian.
According to Craig M. Pease and James J. Bull, “it is estimated that 2%-5% of men are gay, 1%-2% of women are lesbian, and these percentages appear to hold across cultures.” (Chapter 23)So, through all this research, I have come to believe that it is a little bit of both nature and nurture. I believe that some people are born with a larger tendency to become homosexual. We should never judge someone because of their sexual orientation. In 1994, the APA finally stated, "...homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor a moral depravity. It is the way a portion of the population expresses human love and sexuality".
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://themusicslut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/777px-gay_flag.png&imgrefurl=http://themusicslut.com/2009/06/happy-new-york-city-2009-gay-pride/&usg=__uDrvFsa4V4RbX6A7U4-hmDu9tpY=&h=480&w=777&sz=3&hl=en&start=80&zoom=1&tbnid=FiBnHivJIhB55M:&tbnh=101&tbnw=164&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgay%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1R2SKPB_enHN340%26biw%3D1135%26bih%3D542%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1628&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=742&vpy=190&dur=6895&hovh=176&hovw=286&tx=88&ty=149&ei=84-FTOrfJ8KC8gbc5OzbDA&oei=Ao-FTLbWJIGLnAfLx5G1Dg&esq=23&page=5&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:80&biw=1135&bih=542
WORKS CITED:
(http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html)
Bull, James J. and Pease, Craig M. “Biological Correlates of Being Gay” Online. 11 April 2003. Available http://www.utexas.edu/courses/bio301d/Topics/Gay/Text.html.
Thompson and Devine. “Homosexuality: Biologically or Environmentally Constructed?” Online. 8 April 2003. Available http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/Research/ HNatureProposalsArticles/Homosexuality.biologicall.html
Sonya Safro “ Nature versus Nurture: Homosexuality’s Link to Biology and Society” January 17,2008. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1910
Very well written, Natalie - excellent research and well put together.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Natalie. Homosexuality depens on both the environment and the genetics we are born with. Some people ahev more tendency than others to be gay or lesbian.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this because people need to be open with every sexuality!
ReplyDeleteReally good and interesting points of very well-written. I agree with all your ideas and conclusions!
ReplyDelete