ohmygay:

It’s a topic that has caused a lot of debate, even within the Queer community. What causes someones sexual orientation? Is it nature? Nurture? both?

I’ve decided to explore a few ideas on the issue. First I’ll look at the Nurture side.

Nurture

1. Freud: Who doesn’t love Freud? The pioneer of psycho analysis thought that an overbearing mother and absent father caused men to be gay. However if this were the case there would be lot more men out there who were raised solely by there mother who are gay. It would also mean that gay men wouldn’t come from families where the mother was either absent or withdrawn. This just isn’t the case so unfortunately Freud’s thoughts on the matter don’t add up.
2. Traumatic Experience: This is a favourite of evangelicals. That homosexuals have had some childhood trauma that led them to be gay, and that the ones that deny it are just repressing some experience. Well it’s sort of to argue that one hasn’t been abused to someone who is dead set on the idea that you have been. It’s sort of like trying to explain to them (the evangelicals) that the Earth has to be older than 10,000 years because science proves it. They simply argue back that the devil has made it appear that way to trick us. Logic like this is ridiculous. In anycase obviously Homosexuality is not the cause of childhood abuse because a) no where near all Queer people were abused as a child and b) there are loads of straight people who were abused as a child and they’re still straight.
3. Unpleasant Experience with the Opposite-sex: This by very definition is odd. Yes if I were to have sex with a woman it would be an upleasant experience - likely for both of us - BECAUSE I’M GAY! Obviously I’m not going to enjoy throwing my junk into something I want nothing to do with. Also some homosexuals who have had sex with opposite sex have enjoyed the experience but were simply not attracted to their partners - or they are a little bi. In anycase this idea doesn’t hold up because people have had good experiences with the opposite sex, and also because straight people have had really bad experiences with the opposite sex and they’re still straight. Similarly Queer people have sure had their fair share of bad experiences with the same-sex but guess what - still Queer.
4. Parents Allowed Child to do Not Gender Conforming Activities: Examples: Boy puts on mom’s make-up, high heels, or plays with dolls. Girl plays baseball, wears pants, plays with trucks. I’ll refute this using myself as an example. I played a number of sports, had trucks and cars galore, G.I. Joes, and loved and thing that went bang/crash/smash/boom and I’m Gay. This is the case with many Queer people. Also a number of straight and Queer people didn’t gender conform when they were young. However the concept of gender for a young child typically doesn’t have the rigid lines we have in our minds as adults.
5. Couldn’t Get a Member of the Opposite-Sex: A) Portia de Rossi B) Neil Patrick Harris C) All the hot Queers out there. It’s not a matter of can’t get. It’s that we just don’t want.

Nature

1. It’s in the Genes (DNA): This is the favourite arguement of many within the Queer community and of those who support it. Basically the theory is that sexual orientation is determined by our genetic make-up. A combination of a number of different genes that play a role in who we are attacted to - even down to whether we prefer blondes or brunettes. A number of studies have shown some genetic link to sexual orientation including an increased likelihood of having a homosexual child if there is a history of homosexuals on the mother’s side, an increased prevelance of homosexuality among deaf people, dramatic increase in prevelance among identical twins (70%), and an increased prevelance of homosexuality among those who are left handed. While I personally agree that genes play a role in sexual orientation I don’t believe it is in the same way that most people do, but I’ll get into that later.
2. It’s Natural: Homosexual relationships can be seen in hundreds of different species across the planet. It is quite prevelant within bird and mammals. Swans who mate for life will mate with member of the same sex and at a percentage higher than the 10% often cited for humans. Dolphins, Chimps, Penguins, Cats, Dogs, Horses, the list literally goes on and on. This isn’t something that is “unnatural”. For more on this see either my Oh My Gayvolution or Queer Animals, It’s a Big Gay Old World posts.
3. Hormone Imbalance: This theory was popular in the mid 1900’s but was quickly discredited when hormone injections into homosexual patients didn’t work. - Oh the good old days when we were subjected to barbaric experiments.
4. Prenatal Hormones: My personal favourite theory goes like this; Prenatal Hormones released between the 3rd and 5th month of pregnancy cause/influence ones sexual orientation. The hormones released can vary causing someone to be mostly straight, bi, totally homosexual, etc. This theory accounts for the varying sexual orienations (or fluidity) that we have today (it’s not just heterosexual, bi, and homosexual). It also accounts for why in some cases one identical twin is heterosexual but then the other is homosexual. Each twin has it’s own amniotic sac in the whom and subjected to different levels of prenatal hormones and this accounts for difference in sexual oriention. Now I mentioned before I still think genes play a role, and I do… with the mother. It believe the reason we can see an increased prevelance of homosexuality on the mothers side if there have been relatives who are homosexual is because genetically the mother is more likely to produce prenatal hormones that would cause one to be homosexual. Genes may also play a role in how susceptible the fetus is to those hormones as well. So it would appear sexual orientation is very complex - and that’s because it is.

Most importantly in this debate is while every single Nurture argument can be refuted by simple examples of real people who don’t fit into it the Nature side of the coin is much harder to refute or disprove.

Whatever the cause of sexual orientation ends up being it will be very complex guarenteed. In the end we shouldn’t be so concerned as to why or how but instead accept ones sexual orienation for what it is and move on.

Slainte!