Gradient of Individual Genetic Multiplicity - Term Paper Example

Homosexuality Name: Institution: Date: Introduction Homosexuals do not choose who they are and they believe they were different since an early age. Homosexuals did not make a conscious decision to be homosexual. There is an interesting collection of brain and behavioral differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals (Garnets & Kimmel, 2013). Many findings point to the fact that homosexuality is innate. Whether homosexuality is innate or acquired remains a controversial debate that seeks further research to deal with ambiguities. Despite the ambiguity with regard to scientific research on homosexuality, this essay demonstrates using reported scientific findings that homosexuality is indeed innate and not acquired. Studying different traits from childhood indicate that sexual orientation is innately determined and not acquired. Discussion Homosexuality defines overt sexual activities between two partners of the same sex. Sexual orientation is the overall sexual responsiveness of an individual to members of his same sex. The concept that sexuality is innate has long been present in the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender (LGBT) community (Bogaert, 2006). Many researchers believe that sexual orientation is to some degree biologically determined since no single environmental explanation can account for the development of homosexuality. Human sexuality is intricate and affected by many things. Twin studies for quite some time have demonstrated a genetic precedent for sexuality. Family relationship analysis has tried to place specific genes determining sexuality. When comparing dizygotic and monozygotic twins’ sexual orientation, it was discovered that concordance rates in monozygotic twins were more likely than dizygotic twins (Horvath, 2000). This discovery suggests that sexual orientation is somehow partially heritable. From the behavioral geneticists’ perception homosexuality is innate apart from the fact that the phenotype development is subject to environmental factors at least in utero. A trait like homosexuality can be heritable in the view that one shows the trait from an individual to another in a population as a result of differences in the genomes of the individuals within the population. It is not by differences in the environments within which they have been raised or the manner in which they have been treated by other members in the population. Homosexuality is not a characteristic that is immutable hence it is different from other traits like gender, race, or a lineage that define an already existing quasi-suspect or suspect classes. Homosexuality in men is partly due to putative gene in a small part on the X chromosome that is passed down from the mother. Further research has not been able to give original results hence questioning the genetic association. Consequently the influence of X chromosome is highly controversial with regard to sexuality. Brain development and prenatal hormones play a major role in sexuality development (Bogaert, 2006). Chromosome association researches with regard sexuality have demonstrated the presence of massive contributing factors in the genome. Studies done showed that men who were gay had more male uncles who are gay as well as cousins on the side of the mother of the family as compared paternal side. Homosexual brothers who indicated this maternal dominance were further investigated for linkage of X chromosome. Differences in the outlook and function in men and women are thought to come up before birth. Research has indicated that male homosexuality relates to birth order although in a weak way. It is discovered that many males that grow into homosexual adults report being mildly to extremely gender non-conformist when they were children; and there is good evidence of their reports being reliable. Homosexual adults are likely to have been gender nonconformist during their childhood. Experimental evidence shows that humans develop sexual attraction to people they see as dissimilar and nonspecific autonomic arousal can result into increased eroticism. Men who have older brothers have a high chance of being gay, showing that different hormonal imbalances in the womb can result into multiple sexualities in grownups. Morphological differences have been witnessed in the brains of gay and straight men after autopsy. Recent studies on adult women and men have indicated that men who are gay possess brain responses same as straight females, whereas lesbian women possess brain responses that are same as straight men (Garnets & Kimmel, 2013). This fact points to a biological argument for sexuality that may not be necessarily engraved in genetics, but in the functionality in the brain; as directed by responses directed towards maternal hormones in the course of early development. However, sizes of the sample as well as selection bias adversely affect these studies. Not many people volunteering for brain scans may possess unique and special relationship with their sexuality. Fundamental biology is of the perception that the development of whichever trait in an organism needs at least the interaction between genes and cellular machinery within which these genes are contained (Serre & Svante, 2004). Evolutionary psychologists also accept the fact that sexual orientation and gender are adaptations and hence innate, a lot of them content that interactionist hypothesis concerning development of these traits. On the other hand, there is support for homosexuality being acquired by interactionists. Manipulation of the developmental environment that changes the phenotype cannot be ruled out. A trait can be vulnerable to environmental change hence given credence to homosexuality being acquired. Any environmental change that would influence the development of a trait in a substantial way that is conspicuous might be beyond the threshold of the viability of the organism. Manipulation of the developmental environment and demonstrating that the phenotypic results vary would offer evidence in favor of the interactionist hypothesis with regard to behavioral genetic account (Garnets & Kimmel, 2013). Consequently, this hypothesis state that environment has a role to play in determining sexuality of human being, and the argument can go both ways according from what side one is arguing from. Interactionists are not against the fact that purely social processes can possess constraining effect on the development of some traits (Horvath, 2000). They add that the interactions happen within the biological systems like the case of Maternal Immune Response Hypothesis with regard to the causes of humans’ homosexuality. This hypothesis is an interactionist hypothesis. Homosexuality can be acquired if the environment has a dominance alteration on the sexual orientation of a person during development. Any change in the sexuality cannot be attributed entirely on the environment. Some behaviors that have been regarded as innate they have been demonstrated to require environmental processes on at least some degrees. The environment has an influence on certain traits despite them being innate. Evolutionary psychology is of the belief that many aspects regarding human sexuality are as a result of natural selection. When a trait is heritable there is no inference about the development processes involved in the ontogeny of the trait, or the degree to which the trait is subject to be altered by environmental influences. Since a trait demonstrates a high degree of heritability under a particular set of environment conditions, does not preempt the probability that other genes that are not yet tested may have a paramount effect on the trait (Horvath, 2000). Therefore, variation in the environment within which the organism is raised would or could have a remarkable effect on the development of the eventual adult phenotype. Conclusion There is adequate evidence to justify the claim that homosexuality is innate. Sexual orientation has been demonstrated to be prenatally determined. Consequently homosexuality can be justifiably said to be an innate trait in human beings. The absence of a homosexual gene does not rule out the chance of homosexuality being biologically determined before a baby is born. There is a lot of biological evidence that points to the fact that sexuality is inborn. Inasmuch as interactionists explain the impact of environmental influence, the much evidence pointing to innateness of sexuality cannot be ignored. Homosexuals do not choose their sexual orientation, but it is biologically determined. This essay has pointed to this fact. References Horvath, C.D. (2000). Interactionism and Innateness in the evolutionary study of human nature, Biology and Philosophy, 15: 321-337. Serre, D., & Svante P. (2004), Evidence for gradients of human genetic diversity within and among continents, Genome Research 14(9): 1679-1685. Bogaert, A.F. (2006), Biological versus non-biological older brothers and men's sexual orientation, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 103(28): 10771-10774. Garnets, L., & Kimmel, D.C. (2013), Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual, Experiences, New Jersey: Columbia University Press. Read More