Understanding Homosexuality - Research Paper Example

Understanding Homosexuality For this paper, I have chosen to focus on homosexuality, while there are numerous areas that this discussion can take, I have decided to constrain my focus on understanding the reasons why people become homosexuals (Miron 337). The reason why I have chosen this topic is due to the rising number of homosexuality especially among young people. Over the years, activists have been pushing hard to have the gay rights recognized something that has triggered heated debate on the topic. In the recent years, several states have passed laws that recognize gay rights something that has triggered outcry among those against the practice. The reason why I chose to investigate this issue is because the attacks demonstrate a lack of understanding of the beliefs and arguments of social conservatives regarding this issue. This misunderstanding is born by the existence of two diverse paradigms or primary ways of comprehending the nature of homosexuality (Bayer 3). Of main concern to me is to understand whether there is anything such as what gay activists call the “gay identity” paradigm, which states that sexual orientation is something that is an inborn personal characteristic and that homosexual people are basically born that way. This paradigm also states that gay people can never become heterosexual and that gay people should never be viewed as different from the other individuals who are straight. Based on these assumptions, some people have pointed that preferring heterosexuality over homosexuality is equivalent to preferring one race over another. In most cases, this assumption has left me confused on how to treat homosexuals. Just like every other conclusions made my critics, the claims made about critics of homosexuality cannot be genuine is the presumptions of the gay identity paradigm are scientifically correct. Following this observation, it is therefore only wise to examine this debate in the light of both the critics and proponents of the homosexuality debate. The research in this paper will help me understand whether sexual orientation is something that someone can choose as they grow up or whether this is something that is inborn. The research will also help me understand whether a homosexual person can change their sexual orientation to become straight. In this analysis, the questions that I will be seeking answers are; Do homosexuals choose their sexual orientation? Should the rights of homosexuals be respected? Is there anything like gay identity? I believe that the answers I get to these questions will help change my perception about homosexuality and even if my perception does not change, I will be able to realize some of the challenges that homosexuals go through. Discussion In the discussion on gays, one question that is often brought up is what causes homosexuality. In order to grasp the phenomenon of homosexual relationships in the society, I embarked on investigating the available research on the origin and causes of such attractions. In my research, I realized that there are two major theories as to what brings about homosexuality. One of this is that homosexual orientation is basically engineered by hereditary and or biological factors which simply put imply that people are born gay. The other theory that is put across is that homosexuality is brought about by environmental and psychological influences as well as early childhood practices. In the public opinion, the last theory has been losing credence while the first has been getting favour in recent years. While the research of the renowned sex researcher Alfred Kinsley is usually quoted by those looking for the ethical endorsement of homosexuality, there is one issue on which he is rarely quoted and that is the biological rejection of homosexuality. In his numerous researches, Kinsley established that there was no scientific evidence that homosexuality was inherited. Despite this rejection, there have also been other studies conducted in recent years that have sought to prove the existence of a gay gene (Wardell 76). Some researchers have proposed the theory that the sexual preferences and conduct of homosexuals may be dictated by the composition of the brain, mainly if the brains of homosexual men, for example can be depicted to look like those of heterosexual women more than they look like those of heterosexual men. In one study conducted earlier on this century that featured the brains of cadavers of homosexual men and those of straight men, it was established that the brains of the heterosexual men looked different from that of the straight men. In essence, this research affirmed the concept that the brain of homosexual men is structurally different from that of the heterosexual men. However, this study by LeVay (1034) had some weaknesses in that it failed to point how the conclusion that some men were homosexuals and others straight was arrived at. There have also been various other studies that sought to establish a link between homosexuality and genetic composition. However, most of these studies have not established any link between genetic composition and homosexuality. What this means is that there is still some level of controversy regarding this subject since there has never been consensus on the role played by genes in determining sexual orientation. Perhaps the fact that there is no any association between homosexuality and genes is seen from studies, which show that in nearly all the cases of homosexuality among identical twins, one of them ended up being straight and the other straight. This reinforces my belief that genetic composition has nothing to do with homosexuality (Bailey and Pillard 1095). In rejecting the genetic theory observation, some scientists have pointed out that if this were the case, the practice would have died out a long time ago due to the low rate of reproduction among homosexuals. In most cases, those who point out that homosexuality is because of genetic composition fail to give any meaningful research to back their theories. This leaves their claims very weak and without any form of support. What this implies is that there are other causes of homosexuality and this is what the focus on homosexuality should concentrate on (Byne and Parsons 336). Over the years, there has been extended research conducted that investigates the issues of homosexuality rights and privileges they deserve. Those who claim that homosexual rights should be respected claim that denying these rights is equivalent to denying these people their human rights. In most part, the research on this area has focused mainly on how preferring heterosexual relationships over homosexuality is equivalent to choosing one race over another. Again, this discussion goes back to the issue of sexual orientation in that no one chooses to be gay but instead people are born gay. There are numerous researches on this area but again there is very little empirical research done to support this theory. Perhaps this explains why people have continued to question the idea of homosexuality rights with those against it instead claiming that this is a perversion in the society that should be criminalized. Just like every other debate, the reactions on this issue have been varied with one part of the society vehemently against it and the other being supportive. The church has particularly been vocal on this issue claiming that the issue of recognizing gay marriages should never arise since it erodes morality in the society. The claim that has been given is that God’s intention was that man and woman should come together and that any other kind of relationship is a perversion that would bring about the wrath of God. Of course this claim has been countered by critics who claim that there is nowhere in the bible where homosexuality is denied and instead claims that the church misinterprets the scriptures for its own benefits (Bem 328). On the issue of gay identity, there has been a lot of research trying to prove that gays are born that way and that they cannot change. Unfortunately, most of the research originates from activists with the intention of passing along their message. Majority of the research points out that people realize whether they are gay or not during the teenage years, since this is the time when sexual orientation takes place. The research further points out that homosexual can never change their sexual orientation since asking them to change is equivalent to demanding that they change who they are. However, anti-gay activists who claim that most homosexuals pick the behaviour when they are grown counter these claims and as such they can change when they are offered the right guidance or if they are exposed to an environment where the practice is not tolerated (Byne & Parsons 336). From the presented body of research, it is apparent that those who promote gay rights have very little evidence on why the practice should be tolerated. Although research has been conducted on the theory, which proposes that homosexuality is contained within the genes and that there is nothing that someone can do to change this, there has been other research that has been conducted to counter this fast research. This brings the conclusion that those who promote gay rights do so for their own selfish reasons since there is very little concrete research to back their claims. The only group that gives solid reasons on why homosexuality should be rejected is the church, which quotes specific bible passages on why the practice should not be allowed to take root in the society (Greenson 370). Summary After a careful review of this subject, I find that my views on the issue of homosexuality have not changed. This is because I have encountered very little proof that homosexuality is something that someone is born with and that very little can be done to change this aspect. Although at first I encountered research, which nearly supported this claim, upon further search I found even more research that dispelled this first idea. This has made my views on the matter unchanged from my previous ideologies. Perhaps the only thing that has changed is my attitude towards homosexuals since I now see those advocating for gay rights as people who are misguided in their search for the truth. After conducting this research, I now find myself with a better comprehension of homosexuality. My understanding of this topic is mostly based in the area of the various theories on the causes and genesis of homosexuality. While the information has done very little to change my earlier viewpoint on the matter, I am now better placed to deliberate on the matter since I now understand all the sides of this debate. In the past, my opinion on the matter was based on viewpoints but I now find myself in a position where I can discuss the issue based on reason and information and not merely on sentimentality. Despite this confidence in the research in encountered, I still feel that I need to dig for more current research on this issue since information keeps on changing with each passing day. In this paper I have looked at the two theories that are existent on what causes homosexuality. The two bodies of research in this field are the genetic theory and the environmental theories, which claim that homosexuality is brought about by genetics and environmental/psychological factors respectively. However, given the fact that most researchers have found the environmental and psychological theories invalid, I have only chosen to concentrate my research on the genetic theory. Research on the subject has unearthed very little evidence that genetics have any role to play in making someone homosexual or not. This means that there is either need for new research proving this claim or that homosexuality continues to be treated as a sort of sexual perversion (Gundlach 137). Works Cited Bailey, Michael, and Richard Pillard,. “A Genetic Study of Male Sexual Orientation.” Archives of General Psychiatry 48 (2011): 1081-1096. Print. Bem, Daryl. “Exotic Becomes Erotic: A Developmental Theory of Sexual Orientation.” Psychological Review103.2 (2006): 320-335. Print. Byne, William, and Parsons, Bruce. “Human Sexual Orientation: The Biologic Theories Reappraised.” Archives of General Psychiatry 50 (2010): 228-239. Print. Greenson, Ralph. “Dis-Identifying From Mother: Its Special Importance for the Child.” International Journal of Psychoanalysis 49 (2011): 370-374. Print. Gundlach, Ralph. “Childhood Parental Relationships and the Establishment of Gender Roles of Homosexuals.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 33 (2012): 137. Print. LeVay, Simon. “A Difference in Hypothalamic Structure Between Heterosexual and Homosexual Men.” Science 253.5023 (1991): 1034-1037. Print. Miron, Baron. “Genetic Linkage and Homosexual Orientation.” BMJ 307 (2013): 337-338. Print. Bayer, Ronald. Homosexuality and American Psychiatry: The Politics of Diagnosis. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007. Print. Wardell, Pomeroy. Dr. Kinsey and the Institute for Sex Research. New York: Harper & Row, 2010. Print. Read More