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The nature and causes of homosexuality
Homosexuality in society today
Research on homosexuality
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Homosexuality Homosexuality is a tendency of sexual desire towards members of the same sex. It is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation found in the heterosexual-homosexual continuum, along with heterosexuality and bisexuality. The causes and nature of homosexuality are still contentious topics, even presently. An article on the subject is reviewed below to provide more insight into the phenomenon. Homosexuality cannot be described fully as a paraphilia. Paraphilia designates atypical sexual desires. “Is Homosexuality a Paraphilia? The Evidence For and Against” examines whether homosexuality ought to be categorized as paraphilic or as a completely different kind of sexual interest. The question is assessed by paralleling …show more content…
According to the findings, homosexuality possesses a pattern that largely correlates, but not completely, discrete from that recognized among the paraphilia. At the minimum, if homosexuality were to be understood as a paraphilia, it then would be quite distinct from them. Important terminology identified include heterosexuality which is the predominant sexual interest in the opposite sex, homosexuality describes a sexual interest in individuals of the same sex and pedohebephilia which designates sexual interest in minors. Further, teleiophilia which describes primary sexual desire in the adult of either sex, androphilia which describes predominant sexual interest in adult males and gynephilia which describes primary sexual desire towards adult females. Finally, there is euphilia describes what can be considered normal sexual behavior as disparate from the paraphilic (Cantor, 2012). Therefore, the inquiry seeks to uncover if individuals in same-sex relations are euphilic. The author admits that the scientific investigation of the correlates and other linked qualities is imperfect. While some of the findings have been sought and …show more content…
Nevertheless, the two seem to diverge by sex ratio, handedness, fraternal birth order, neuroanatomy, IQ and cognitive profile. Correlation of the two phenomena with regards to physical height and prevalence turned out to be inconclusive. Therefore, when the above information is deliberated on together, the data seems more congruent with the supposition that homosexuality is a quality that is different from paraphilia. The study implies giving a slight idea of the correlation between homosexuality and paraphilia as for the most part the findings are only tentative and inconclusive. The study can be said to lay a foundation to future inquiries into the phenomena to establish the true link between
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 is very diverse, in some instances normality is based on the cultural context of the individual 's society. In "The other side of desire" by Daniel Bergner, the author goes in depth into the lives of four individual 's whose lust and longing have led them far down the realms of desire. The current paper addresses the four individual 's Jacob, the Baroness, Roy, and Ron each exhibits a paraphilia that may or may not meet the full criteria in the DSM-5. Furthermore, each person’s specific paraphilia is conceptualized and explained in depth. Countertransferential issues anticipated before working with these individuals is analyzed and clarified. Also, the apprehension of sexual arousal and sexual behaviors is conceptualized into normality
Sexual orientation is a term used to describe a person’s physical, sexual, and romantic attraction to another person, whether they be Male or Female. The term is relatively new and the idea of having a homosexual identity has only been around for one-hundred years at the most (APA).
Paraphilia has evolved as a term generally referenced as sexually deviant behavior to a broader term and divided into a disorder by the DSM-5. Paraphilia’s are often misconstrued as sexually deviant behavior that is misunderstood by the general public. In this paper, I will attempt to have a better grasp of what a paraphilia is, how to treat paraphilia from a therapeutic standpoint and attempt to discern when a paraphilia may need additional referrals and/or treatment. This paper will also examine the difference between a paraphilia that may be treated through cognitive behavioral therapy and paraphilic disorders, in which distress is found and may need further intensive treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one method of psychotherapy
The quest to find a biological substrate for homosexuality resembles an earlier movement in research to determine the nature of I.Q. scores. Both revolve around finding a biological basis for differences in human behavior. Like the previous research on intelligence, the research on homosexuality is plagued with difficulties. One large obstacle in this type of research is the difficulty in making statements about causality from correlational studies (simple, linear relationships between two variables) (4). In other words, it is difficult to determine what comes first the chicken or the egg.
Homosexuality can be described as a romantic or sexual attraction or act between people of the same gender, and it can also be a term used to refer to a person's sense of identity based on the same attractions or behaviors. Homosexuality is among the three main categories of sexual orientation, alongside heterosexuality and bisexuality, and up to the present day, the scientists have not been able to know the factors that determine the sexual orientation of different people. Some of them, however, guess that sexual orientation of different people is caused by a complex interplay of the hormonal, genetic and environmental influences, and it is not a choice for the people concerned.
The term sexual orientation is known as the preference of one’s sexual partners, whether the same sex, opposite sex, or both sexes. Sexual orientation occurs when a child reaches the adolescent stages in life (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Adolescents activate their sexual orientation within four steps that create their identity. Adolescents are unaware of their identity at the beginning stages of sexual orientation. They work their way into the exploration stage by learning their preference of sexual partners. Once they are aware of their sexual identity, they will start the process of acceptance. Once acceptance is achieved, they will begin to integrate their sexual orientation into their lives (Gallor & Fassinger, 2010).
Sexuality is a fundamental part of our self-discovery, involving much more than just being genetically or anatomically male and female and it is not defined solely by one 's sexual acts (Ministry of Education 1989, p.79 cited in Gourlay, P 1995). The notion that sexuality is fixed and innate disregards the social aspects that impact ones’ sexualities. Gagnon and Simon (1973) further commented that sexuality is a feature of social
The debate over homosexuality as nature or nurture dominates most topics about homosexuality. People often confuse the nature/nurture issue with the development of gay identity. In fact, the nature/nurture argument plays a small, insignificant role concerning gay youths (Walling 11). Homosexual identity is the view of the self as homosexual in association with romantic and sexual situations (Troiden 46) Many researchers have either discussed or created several models or theories concerning the development of homosexual identity. However, the most prominent is Troiden’s sociological four-stage model of homosexual identity formation. Dr. Richard R. Troiden desc...
Despite the large collection of literature of sexuality that has been accumulating, human asexuality has been largely ignored. Asexuality is controversially considered to be a sexual orientation and people who identify as asexual are people who typically do not experience sexual attraction (Asexuality Visibility and Education Network, 2013). Though research on sex and sexual orientations has been done for centuries, the first real suggestion that there might be people who fall outside of the heterosexual – homosexual orientation spectrum came from Kinsey and colleagues in 1948. These individuals were put into a separate category and were identified as having no erotic response to hetero- or homosexual stimuli, but otherwise they were largely ignored by the researchers (Kinsey, 1953). Later, researchers linked asexuality with negative traits and pathologies, including depression and lower self-esteem (Masters, Johnson, & Kolodny, 1986; Nuius, 1983). An issue with these studies, however, is that the researchers defined asexuality in a way that most current asexuals do not agree with. For example, in a study done by Bell and Weinberg (1978), there were references made to asexual homosexuals who simply hid their homosexuality. Many asexuals, otherwise known as Aces, would struggle with this definition because homosexuality implies a type of sexual attraction: attraction to your same sex. Because Aces typically do not feel sexual attraction to anyone or anything, they should not be classified under the same label as a closeted homosexual. Another issue is that none of these studies actually focused on asexuality. Instead, they were added on the side and generally ignored.
The method was used in this study, half women and half men participants in the sexual orientation nonverbal test. All dyads consist of individuals of the identical sex. All homosexual participants were conscious of their own sexual
Genetics, biology, and upbringing are all key aspects in determining one’s sexual orientation. Many of the factors are combined to make up how a person feels or who he or she is attracted to. There is no definite answer to why someone has a particular orientation, but there are studies that sugge...
The sexual orientation of a person has been a critical debate over the past several centuries. For several...
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 ...
Sex is generally defined the medical definition involving the sex organs, and participation by more than one party, but as humans are complicated beings this is insufficient to provide an account of sex. In Thomas Nagel’s essay “Sexual Perversion” he addresses the psychological account of sexuality with a phenomenological approach. Nagel describes a scenario of Romeo being aroused by Juliet, and Juliet being aroused by Romeo, and Romeo being aroused by Juliet’s arousal, and so on and so forth (Nagel 37). This progression of sexual arousal between two parties is the basis for which Nagel understands of sex. This progression eventuates in physical contact wherein the other becomes more and more “possesible” by physical contact, and the progression of arousal (Nagel 39). This progression of arousal in two parties, and the embodiment by physical contact is how Nagel describes sex. This definition provides Nagel with a basis for describing sexual perversion as anything that lacks the progression of arousal between two or more conscious individuals eventuating in physical contact that emb...