A genetic study that has concerned many people is the search for the ‘gay gene’. The finding of this gene began in the 90’s and is still in question to whether the gene exists and if it truly influences sexual orientation. Several studies have been completed that look into sexual orientation through behavioral and molecular genetics. Most of these studies, however, have failed to be replicated and they bring about ethical issues.
Simon LeVay, a neuroscientist who studied brain functions and sexual orientation (Wikipedia contributors, 2014), published an article, “A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men,” in 1991, that suggested a biological reasoning to sexual orientation. The hypothalamus, which is a region of the brain that is involved in sexual behaviors, was assumed, by LeVay, to be a biological substrate for sexual orientation (1991). LeVay suggested that the anterior hypothalamus “participates in the regulation of male-typical sexual behavior” (1991). LeVay’s research indicated that there is a difference in volume of the third interstitial nucleus of the anterior hypothalamus (INAH 3) between women, homosexual men and heterosexual men. INAH 3 was found to be twice as large in volume amongst heterosexual men compared to that of women and homosexual men (LeVay, 1991). LeVay concluded that the INAH 3 is dimorphic with sexual orientation, meaning that INAH 3 is physically different when comparing sexual orientation amongst groups of individuals.
In 1991, a behavioral geneticist, Michael Bailey, proposed that genes may contribute to homosexuality in males (Wickelgren, 1999). Bailey found that 52% of identical male twins were homosexual compared to 22% of fraternal male twins (Wickelgren, 19...
... middle of paper ...
...o. 5119 (1993): 291-92. JSTOR. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .
Rice, William R., and Sergey Gavrilets. "Genetic Models of Homosexuality: Generating Testable Predictions." Proceedings: Biological Sciences 273.1605 (2006): 3031-038. JSTOR. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .
Schüklenk, Udo, Edward Stein, Jacinta Kerin, and William Byne. "The Ethics of Genetic Research on Sexual Orientation." Reproductive Health Matters 6.12, Sexuality (1998): 134-43. JSTOR. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .
Wickelgren, Ingrid. "Discovery of 'Gay Gene' Questioned." Science New Series.Vol. 284, No. 5414 (1999): 571. JSTOR. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. .
Wikipedia contributors. "Simon LeVay." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
The finding mean usually relies in the shadow of the fathers' absence. This could be changed if a father properly trains his son to be candid on his instilled values becoming a man. Therefore, it is not an uplifting question of why homosexuals occurs in the post-modern era. Genes may be related to the development of sexual orientation, recent studies shows that an increased choice of homosexuality in men whose mothers previously carried to many male children.
This represents a change in avenue of attack, not a broad ideological shift from historic eugenic arguments. Similarly, the search for the "gay gene," while a relatively new scientific concept, is highly reminiscent of previous understandings of queer sexuality, which located deviance in physical and/or hormonal "abnormalities." The idea that queer people's queerness is loc...
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...
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.
Sexual orientation is a topic scientists spend a great deal of time researching, however it is unclear what factors really have an effect on one’s sexual orientation. The role of biology, culture, socialization, and age contribute to the influences of sexual orientation.
What controls a human's sexual orientation? The long-standing debate of nature versus nurture can be extended to explaining human sexual orientation. Is it biological or environmental? The biological explanation has been gaining popularity amongst the scientific community although it is only based on speculations. It is argued that sexual orientation is linked to factors that occur during sexual differentiation. The prenatal exposure to androgens and their affect on the development of the human brain play a pivotal role in sexual orientation (2). Heredity is also part of the debate. Does biology merely provide the slate of neural circuitry upon which sexual orientation is inscribed? Do biological factors directly wire the brain so that it will support a particular orientation? Or do biological factors influence sexual orientation only indirectly?
In today’s world, people are learning a great deal in the rapidly growing and developing fields of science and technology. Almost every day, an individual can see or hear about new discoveries and advances in these fields of study. One science that is rapidly progressing is genetic testing; a valuable science that promotes prevention efforts for genetically susceptible people and provides new strategies for disease management. Unnaturally, and morally wrong, genetic testing is a controversial science that manipulates human ethics. Although genetic testing has enormous advantages, the uncertainties of genetic testing will depreciate our quality of life, and thereby result in psychological burden, discrimination, and abortion.
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 ...
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.
Though many researchers will agree that homosexuality is not genetic, still, others beg to differ. HRC.org published an article entitled “Guide to Coming Out,” the article states ‘sexuality and gender identity are not choices any more than being left-handed or having brown eyes or being heterosexual are choices…The choice is in deciding how to live your life.’ With society always shoving their view into the minds of Americans second of everyday, it is not that hard to see where the confusion arises.
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
"Scans See 'Gay Brain Differences'" BBC News. N.p., 16 June 2008. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. .
Starting in April of 1952 homosexuality was listed as a “sociopathic personality disturbance” by the American Psychiatric Association (PBS). Four years later, on August 30th, 1956, Evelyn Hooker conducted many psychological tests
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 ...
The sexual orientation of a person has been a critical debate over the past several centuries. For several...