 It may or may not come as a surprise that until 1973, homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder. Furthermore, it was only in 1994 that the American Psychological Association issued the statement: "homosexuality is neither a mental illness nor a moral depravity. It is the way a portion of the population expresses human love and sexuality". Astoundingly recent as this may seem, homosexuality is still a hotly debated psychological phenomenon and the most influential research in the field is through the biological approach, which asks whether homosexuality is inherited. Are we born to be gay?
The greatest of all scientific debates is perhaps Darwin’s nature or nurture theory, and when it is applied to Homosexuality there are two outcomes. Either we inherit Homosexuality in the form of genes from our parents, or we respond to the environment around us and “learn” to be gay. However, both seem too strict about how an individual can become gay. Most psychologists believe that to select either one of the two reduces the complexity of the issue; saying that we are gay only because of our genes, or only because of our environment.
Darwin himself believed that “we do not … in the least know the final cause of sexuality”, and therefore to label it as a product of either nature or nurture, exclusively and exhaustively, would be naïve. However, the American Psychological Association writes that “sexual orientation is not a choice…it emerges from most people in early adolescence with no prior sexual experience". This is what is seen as a determinist view, it supposes that homosexual feelings are not learned but simply form part of who we are, and is triggered at a particular point in someone’s life.
Research into the biological causes of Homosexuality date back to the 1930’s and kicked-off with the pioneering work of Alfred Kinsey at the University of Indiana. Kinsey aimed to discover what percentage of adult men had engaged in homosexual behaviour, and then use this percentage to explore how Homosexuality came to be. Interestingly, when asked if they had engaged in homosexual relations, a large percent of the population tested answered "no", however when asked if they had engaged in sexual relations with a person of the same sex, the percentage answering "yes" nearly doubled. Despite these findings all Kinsey really achieved was to put the word, ‘homosexuality’, into common language.
Although many experiments have been conducted into the causes of Homosexuality, the work of D.F Swaab in 1990 lends evidence towards those who believe there is a biological difference between Heterosexuals and Homosexuals. Swaab found a physical difference in the brain of a gay man when compared to that of a heterosexual man. The part of the brain responsible for sexual drive and function was twice that of a heterosexual man. Further research conducted into the brain has been used as a basis for the biological approach to homosexuality. It is believed that the part of the brain responsible for sexual drive is not altered by differing sexual practices and is therefore determined from birth; this supports the nature side of our debate.
Upon examining family trees of homosexual men; on each subject's mother's side, there were markedly larger numbers of homosexual men
Most controversial was the popular belief on the existence of the “gay gene”, a theory that initially caused a widespread media storm and prompted scientific journals to announce that homosexuality was inherited. As with all genetic theories of behaviour it was soon widely disputed, and there is increasing emphasis placed on the social-environmental factors that could contribute to homosexuality. The issue with the “gay gene” research was the political stress placed upon the study. If homosexuality were to be a normal variant in human life then there would be no basis for intolerance and prejudice. This ideal however has not been proven, and as with most theories regarding complex behaviour, there never is going to be a straightforward answer.
"whether or not we learn or inherit our sexualities has little bearing on a need for self-pride and self-respect."
If in the future a gay gene was located and homosexuality was proved to be an inherited part of human behaviour, it would encourage greater acceptance in society. It would show that people could not ‘help’ being gay since they have no control over their genes. On the other hand, to believe that ‘we learn to be gay’ might be to encourage the notion that we choose to be gay. This also is not necessarily the case and perhaps soon, a new theory will shed light on how homosexuality exists.
We must, I suppose, justify the desire to spend so much time proving our existence. The search for a “gay gene” seems to hint at a need to prove our claim on this planet. If only we can prove that homosexuality is a variation of the norm, then perhaps we shall reduce intolerance in society? Not to discredit the valuable work that occurs daily across the world, but for all young gay men and women, it is important to realise that your place in society is as valuable and as necessary as anybody else’s. And whether or not we learn or inherit our sexualities has little bearing on a need for self-pride and self-respect.Only registered users can write comments.
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