Homosexuality is not a sexual preference - Essay Example

?Introduction Sexual orientation of an individual describes a general attraction to either the same or opposite sex. Having attraction to same sex isoften called homosexuality in which two persons belonging to same sex have an inclination to like each other. This may often end up in doing any type of sexual or other activities and result into closeness of the persons belonging to same sex. American Psychological Association defines Sexual Orientation as “Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes. Sexual orientation also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions.” (American Psychological Association) It is however, important to understand that homosexuals often face difficulties which are difficult to overcome and put them in socially disadvantageous position. Not only they face strong psychological issues but they are also being discriminated based upon their sexual orientation and are often considered as odd man out in the society. The overall societal response to homosexuals therefore varies according to cultures and historical periods and is still considered as unfavorable in many societies. Though some States have allowed the Gay Marriages however, still there are some States where it is not legal. Such situation may suggest a split opinion about the homosexuals within the country. Similarly, Military has relaxed its rules to allow same sex marriages however; it has still not been accepted by the Military personnel and has hard time dealing with it. Gay parents are still not accepted by many people and their children suffer significant childhood trauma to actually deal with this situation. Not only they are being bullied growing up but they are being put in a situation which may be entirely out of their control and still they may face the consequences of the same. This paper will argue and discuss and prove that homosexuality is not a sexual preference. History of Homosexuality Though the term homosexuality has been coined in late 19th century however, its history dates back to Greek era and often reference is made to the Plato’s Symposium to the recent Queer theory. It is suggested that the largest amount of data which is available regarding the history of homosexuality comes from Greece. Right from the work of Plato and other Greek authors to the artwork, homosexuality has been comprehensively discussed and depicted in different sources in Greek literature. (Ekwo,15) It is also believed that homosexuality has been present in Greek culture more than any ancient culture and therefore most of the references regarding the historical origins of the homosexuality. It is also important to understand that despite such tendencies, there were some regional variations even across the whole Greece therefore it is important to keep this factor distinguished. Some notable persons such as Alexander the Great has also been considered to have interest in boys and other men. However, the overall number of such persons is relatively low. (Crompton) In ancient Greece, having particular interest in any same sex individuals was not considered as a moral issue but it was seen from the perspective of the individual preferences and choices. To ancient Greeks, Gender was irrelevant and more preferences were given to beauty and character found in either sex. Exercise of moderation as well as the social and economic status of the persons were taken into consideration too while anyone was actually attracted to any particular sex. There were also distinctions based upon having relationships with the slaves as well as freemen. Sex with freemen were considered as problematic in nature however, with slaves it was relatively easy. Besides, there were clear distinctions based upon the role being played by the partners during the overall relationship. The active and passive role, inserative and penetrative role played by partners’ involved and passive roles were mostly assigned to persons who were considered as inferior to the dominating person. (Dover) Roman Empire however saw a consistent increase in negative attitude towards same sex relationship even before Christianity became influential during the era. It has been suggested that Romans tackled the issue of same sex relationships from a conquest mentality and sex among same gender roles was heavily penalized. It is however, important to note that until Christianity becomes a dominating force in Roman Empire, there is a very little evidence in terms of having harsh penalties against persons involved specially in same sex intercourse. The role of Christianity on the issue of same sex however, is considered as debatable nonetheless, it has stronger influences in restricting the overall spread of such tendencies within the societies where it started to take its roots. Over the period of time, however, it has started to become more significant within European societies that same sex relationships and marriages were considered as immoral and unnatural and laws against the practice became relatively stricter. It is however, important to note that 18th and 19th Centuries saw a more secular argument in terms of same sex marriage. Theology was no longer one of the key criteria to dominate the debate on the same sex marriages or relationships and as the scholarship on the subject started to improve. It was also during this era that the serious efforts were taken to understand the psychology of the same sex relationships besides research on medicine. It was also during this era that the same sex relationships started to become norm. Homosexuality in other regions such as Africa has been less considered in the research however it has been present since long. It not only took variety of forms but it was also socially sanctioned where women were forced to remain in relationships on long term basis. Male warriors in Africa were also believed to be taking young males in their 20s in their relationships and even participated in sex with them along with performing other household work. Same patterns have also been observed in other parts of the world also. Psychological Studies It is not clear as to what is critical reason behind homosexuality and at what age exactly does people start to develop their sexual orientation however, psychology is considered as one of the major reasons for developing homosexual tendencies. Other factors such as cultural, social as well as economical are also considered as few of the reasons as to why people develop homosexual tendencies. Psychology is considered as one of the earliest disciplines to actually see homosexuality as a discrete phenomenon. Earlier attempts to describe homosexuality were mostly based upon pathological models and described it as a mental disorder. However, there are also opinions that homosexuality is a normal variation of sexual preferences of an individual. It is often considered as a positive variation of the sexual preferences. Sigmund Freud postulated that each human being is actually bi-sexual in nature and the change in sexual orientation towards homosexuality takes place mainly due to interaction of individuals with their parents and others. He however, suggested that homosexuality should not be related with the pathology only. Later psychoanalysts however did not subscribe to these ideas completely and argued that rather than bi-sexuality, heterosexuality is natural and that individuals become homosexual when normal heterosexual outlets become too threatening for the individuals. Psychological theories also outline that it may be difficult to achieve generalization of the homosexuals. It is also not uniformly correlated with any given personality traits and therefore to suggest that homosexuality can fit into one particular group may be difficult to assume. Genetic Studies Though scientists have failed to identify any gene which can be considered as gay or lesbian gene however, strong research studies have pointed out towards the roles of genes in determining the sexual orientation of the individuals. Some studies focused on exploring and understanding the family histories of the gay men and it was discovered that there are certain genetic factors especially on the maternal side. It has been suggested that mothers whose children are gay specially tend to have more offspring. (BBC) Research studies on the brothers having homosexual tendencies also indicated that unrelated pair of brothers often the same genetic material. These findings critically highlighted the importance of genetics in understanding as to how individuals engage into the homosexual activities and what role their families can play in this. Studies have also suggested that homosexual brothers tend to have relatively higher probability of developing same genetic material and therefore have relatively larger chances of being influenced by the genetic tendencies existing in their families. (McClatchy) It is also important to understand that some of the studies on understanding the genetics of homosexuality have failed to administer certain criteria for conducting statistically significant studied. One of the key criteria is to have samples on the random basis have been violated in many studies on understanding the genetic nature of homosexuals. However, overall evidence is strong that genetics do have an influence on the sexual orientation of the individuals and it is relatively higher in male homosexuals as compared to females. Hormonal Influences Studies on animals have suggested that parental hormonal influences can have impact on the sexual orientation of the children. Studies have revealed that homosexual men have hormonal response patterns mid-way between heterosexual men and women. Though these studies are not considered as conclusive however they do indicate that some biological factors do play a role in determining homosexual nature of men. (Hamer, Hu and Magnuson, 323) Some research studies have also concluded the replication of same trends across the whole DNA of the humans. Gay brothers tend to share same stretch of other DNAs also and indicate that not only particular hormonal influences have an impact on the homosexuals but other DNAs are affected too of the persons having same sexual orientation. Twin Studies Various twin studies where researchers attempted to study the homosexual tendencies of the twin brothers. There is a higher proportion for the identical twins to be having gay tendencies if one brother is also. In fraternal brothers, this ratio is relatively low however it still exists whereas in genetically unrelated brothers this was virtually non-existent. (The Economist)These studies clearly suggested that homosexuality has something to with the biology of the persons involved in such behavior. Heritable factors as well as individual and specific environmental factors also play an important role in determining the sexual orientation in twins. Studies have suggested that even twins can have different sexual orientation if those factors are different for them. Twin studies therefore also pointing towards environmental factors as significant besides discussing about genetic similarities between twins having homosexual sexual orientation. (ScienceDaily) Twin studies however are limited due to their statistical significance because the overall sample size is limited. Chromosome linkages It has been suggested that the arrangements of a mother’s genes could have an impact on the sexual orientation of the children. These studied continue to fuel the debate that there may exist what is called a gay gene in humans because mothers can have an impact on determining the sexual orientation of their children. The X chromosome inactivation suggests that this phenomenon was relatively different in mothers having at least 2 gay sons. Normally, this phenomenon is considered as random in nature however; it is relatively different and show different patterns in mothers having gay children. These skewed results also provided strong evidence about the impact of biology on homosexuals. (Than) Epigenetic Studies Some studies have suggested that not only does the gene play a role but the environment and epigenetics of the individuals have a role too in determining the sexual orientation of the individuals. Various studies have suggested that the ratio of identical twins having same sexual orientation is approximately 50% therefore rest of the 50% are considered to have other significant influences which may not allow them to adapt similar tendencies as their brothers. Epigenetic studies suggest that individual set of DNAs or almost all DNAs have the ability to make an individual to actually adapt to a particular sexual orientation. It therefore outlines that it is the DNA which actively determines as to what sexual orientation one person will actually adapt. These studies are based upon the notion that identical twins with identical DNAs are not necessary to have the same sexual orientation and as such there are certain other factors which contribute towards the determination of sexual orientation. The above discussion suggests that biology as well as psychology can have an impact on possessing a particular sexual orientation. It therefore can easily be suggested that being homosexual is not simply a sexual preference but the overall tendencies and inclination to adapt to this behavior has psychological as well as biological roots which actually determine as to whether a certain person will have any tendency to be a homosexual or not. Counter Arguments and Response to them Despite the fact that scientific fact above presented a new way of looking at the issue of homosexuality however, the issue is still deeply rooted into some of the fundamental issues. Religion, trends, abusive childhood behaviors, mental disorder etc are some of the key arguments raised against homosexuality as a sexual preference. Against the Religion There are actually different opinions regarding what Bible clearly says about Homosexuality and whether it condone or denounce it. Though in some verses, Bible clearly outline about the male prostitutes and suggest that they will not go to heavens however, many still argue that Bible have actually failed to tackle the issues where committed males engage into homosexual behaviors and are in a committed relationship. There are also other arguments regarding the homosexual behavior and homosexual rape and many believe that Bible condemns homosexual rape and not the homosexual behavior itself. (Kelly) Bible therefore tends to be silent on whether people chose the homosexuality as a preference or there is something else which actually determines the homosexual nature of the individuals. It clearly suggests in several of its passages regarding whether homosexuality is a sin or not, it is relatively silent or many argued that it is not clear on this issue of homosexuality and whether it is denounced or not. The dominating views in Christianity however, are favoring the assumption that Bible condemns homosexuality and for Christians it is a sin. Many however, also combine their personal opinion with that of what is being written in Bible regarding the position of homosexuals within Christian society. Trend or a Phase The fact that very people are gay or lesbians clearly suggest that overall tendencies are relatively low. The recent debate on the gay and lesbians also point out to the argument that adapting a particular sexual orientation is actually a trend or a phase. People chose it and when the trend is over, people will actually revert to their natural sexual orientation. It is argued that it is a new trend for the current youth and is sort of cool thing to do. As such, it is suggested that this trend will be over sooner or later despite the fact that overall perceived moral acceptance for the gays and lesbians is on the rise. (Gallup) It is therefore critical to note that homosexuality is not a new trend and throughout the history has remained a fact. Greek were actively involved in having homosexual relationships therefore it will be difficult to assume that homosexuality is a phase which will pass but rather it is a permanent phenomenon with deep historical roots.  Treatment for homosexuality There are various options available to treat the homosexual tendencies of the individuals and with the proper therapy and other psychological treatments, this can be corrected. The conversion techniques can really help homosexuals to actually revert to their natural sexual orientation and psychology is believed to have some sort of success in ensuring that the condition can be corrected if individuals are ready to pursue it consistently in order to overcome it. Cognitive behavioral approaches are also being used to cure the homosexuality however; there are certain limitations on such studies too. Considering the overall legal, social and personal issues involved, such therapies are also considered as limited and may not be used effectively. Twin Studies Though on one hand, Twin studies indicate that certain genetic relationships between the twins which can result into using any particular sexual orientation. It is however, important to understand that twin studies results are split in nature and indicate that there may be other factors involved too which can result into the development of such sexual tendencies. Twins which have been reared apart tend to have very limited correlation in terms of having same sexual orientation and therefore clearly suggest that though it may be possible to have same sex orientation in twins but the overall relationship is not strong. (The New York Times) It is however, important to understand that these studies are limited due to sample size restrictions and select group bias exists in such studies. Twin studies tend to have larger control variables in place therefore their results may not be completely relied upon. These studies also suggested that unique environmental factors also played a significant role in determining the sexual orientation of the individuals. (Whitehead and Whitehead) Abusive Childhood Experiences There have been studies pointing out to the argument that homosexuals witness rape, household torture, violence and sexual assaults during their childhood. Children exposed to such an environment therefore tend to have higher probability of adapting homosexual behaviors. (Tillman). It is however, critical to understand that even having abusive childhood experiences actually do not indicate that homosexuals is an adapted behavior because the overall number of people reporting such incidents is relatively low. It is also critical to understand that evidence is also presented where the boys under the age of 19 were actually forced to come in sexual contacts with other male members suggesting that coercion may have been one of the reasons to force people to live a life of homosexual. (JL, Bartholomew and Oram) Further, there have been incidences where those reporting the childhood experiences as non-negative and non-coercive in nature indicating that such behaviors may not be particularly associated with the childhood abuses. Mental Disorder Earlier psychological studies have suggested that homosexuality is also a mental disorder and many individuals involved in this behavior tend to suffer from depression, stress as well as other mental disorder which further complicate their stay in adapting a particular sexual orientation. The fact that APA removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in 1973 however, it is still believed that it is also a mental disorder. Many cross cultural studies have however suggested no deviance between the behavior of homosexuals and heterosexual individuals. (Ross, 132). The overall incidence of mental disorder and facing mental illness by the homosexuals therefore may not be an issue which is particular to the homosexuals. Even in most famous studies, the overall ratio of persons being reported for the mental disorders having homosexual orientation is very low. However, studies on understanding the behavior of homosexuals and its link with mental disorder were performed using different statistical methods with significant control being used over the sampling of respondents. The above discussion suggests that though there are certain studies and arguments pointing towards the fact that homosexuals tend to have psychological roots however, the overall evidence is relatively weak. Many studies have conclusively suggested a little difference between the behavior of heterosexual and homosexual individuals. Though childhood abuse and trauma is also one of the reasons for having different sexual orientation however, evidence also suggest that many respondents believed that sexual activity during their childhood was non-coercive in nature. Conclusion It is important to understand that homosexuality is not a sexual preference however; it is a combination of genetics as well as environmental factors. Many research studies outlined above have critically suggested the link between the genetics, chromosomes and other genetic similarities between the gays and lesbians. These studies have clearly demonstrated that the individual genetic make-up of the individuals, the X-chromosome inactivation in mothers as well as other factors actually contribute to the adoption of such behavior. Further, environment also plays a role in determining the sexual orientation of the individuals. Homosexuality has been in existence since Greek times and it was relatively common and was even discussed by Plato. Most of the historical references of homosexuality still belong to the Greek era and it is suggested that Greek culture has special place for Homosexuality. There was however certain differences in the way people actually chose their partners based upon their social and economic status. Slaves were often given the inferior status in the relationships however, within freemen there were critical differences. It is also important to understand that homosexuality has been considered as against the religion. Though there are different arguments regarding the position of homosexuals however, there are certain clear instructions from Bible which denounce homosexuality. Overall, homosexuality is not a sexual preference but it is something which is acquired due to certain factors. These factors range from being genetically coded in that manner to having certain childhood influences. It is certainly not a sexual preference which is being willingly adapted by people. Works Cited American Psychological Association. Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality. 2012. 03 December 2012 . BBC. Doubt cast on 'gay gene. 23 April 1999. 3 December 2012 . Crompton, Louis. Homosexuality and Civilization. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2003. Dover, K.J.,. Greek Homosexuality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989. Ekwo, Emmanuel M. Homosexuality: Explaining the Zeitgeist. New York: AuthorHouse, 2010. Gallup. Americans' Acceptance of Gay Relations Crosses 50% Threshold. 5 May 2010. 4 December 2012 . Hamer, Dean H., et al. "A Linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation." Science 261.5119 (1993): 321-327. JL, Stanley, K Bartholomew and D Oram. "Gay and bisexual men's age-discrepant childhood sexual experiences." Journal of Sex Research 41.4 (2004): 381-389. Kelly, Michael Bernard. Seduced by grace: contemporary spirituality, gay experience and christian faith. New York: Clouds of Magellan, 2007. McClatchy. US researchers find evidence that homosexuality linked to genetics. 1 December 2008. 04 December 2012 . Ross, M.W. "Homosexuality and mental health: a cross-cultural review." Journal of Homosexuals 15.1 (1998): 131-152. ScienceDaily. Homosexual Behavior Largely Shaped By Genetics And Random Environmental Factors. 30 June 2008. 04 December 2012 . Than, Ker. Mom's Genetics Could Produce Gay Sons. 24 Feburary 2006. 04 December 2012 . The Economist. The evolution of homosexuality. 23 October 2008. 04 December 2012 . The New York Times. Gay Men in Twin Study. 17 December 1991. 4 December 2012 . Tillman, James. Study: Homosexuality Linked with Childhood Trauma. 27 July 2010. 5 December 2012 . Whitehead, NE and ,BK Whitehead. My Genes Made Me Do It. Layfayette, Louisiana.: Huntington House, 1999. Read More