The Rights of Homosexuals Issues - Essay Example

? Homosexuality June 14, Homosexuality In today’s world, the issue of the rights of homosexuals plays a decidedly significant role in the struggle for liberty against the oppression of minority groups. While many people openly support rights of homosexuals, homosexual marriages, and the related issues, there is still a lot of prejudice against this kind of people. This can be found in everyday stereotypes about them, most of which depict them in a negative way (American Psychological Association, 2008). The question of whether being homosexual is something that one grows to learn and acquire with time is one of the reasons people find it easy or hard to support homosexuality. As such, when people are convinced that someone is born homosexual as opposed to acquiring those traits in life, they are likely to be more tolerant of their lifestyle. However, to the public, especially in the conservative quarters, acquired homosexual tendencies are harder to accept and significantly easier to oppose. This paper will try to examine and demonstrate that being homosexual is more to do with nature than nurture and some of the pros and cons of the bringing up of twins, one of them being homosexual and another one heterosexual. Using an analogy of twin girls, one of whom becomes a lesbian, the paper will demonstrate that homosexuality can indeed occur naturally and that such people are born a result of nature and not nurture. Take the hypothetical case of two twin girls. Both are born in the same household and by the same parents. They are brought up in an almost identical environment. They eat the same food, watch the same TV shows, and have a nearly identical list of friends, since they have friends from the same neighborhood. Ultimately, the argument is that, since one of them becomes a lesbian when the other remains heterosexual, the trait cannot have been learnt, since both of them would be either homo- or heterosexual. By revisiting the lives of these two girls, it is easy to see why one can logically claim that homosexuality is inborn. Should a contrary assertion be true, then one would expect that two girls who are brought up in an almost identical environment should have the same sexual orientation. However, by virtue of the fact that the girls have taken up different paths (in terms of gender identity), it is evident that one was born with pre-existing homosexual inclinations and would apparently be homosexual irrespective of the way she was brought up. On the basis of this illustration, one can deduce that homosexual tendencies are not always or exclusively acquired through experience and socialization but are a part of the genetic makeup of the individual. According to Ramon Jonson, “the nature concept explores the possibility that one may be born with an inherent attraction to members of the same sex” (Johnson, n.d). Should this be true, it would then appear that a lot of injustice has been committed over the years by the anti-homosexual groups, who have often opposed homosexuality by calling it an unnatural act. If one can be born with the propensity for it, then it is no more unnatural than heterosexuality. Besides, in 1990, Dr Swaab has discovered that in postmortem examinations, a portion of homosexuals’ brain was different from that of the straight brain. As such, one can assume that there is a scientific possibility that homosexuals are simply born different (Jonson, 2003). Further and more recent proof of this is evident in the test carried out with homosexuals. It was discovered that they reacted to men’s sweat just as the latter reacted to women’s’ (Carver, n.d.). To revert to the initial subject, the parent who is charged with the task of bringing up the two aforementioned girls will face a plethora of challenges. Chief among these will be explaining to his/her daughters why their sexual orientations are different. Since we can assume the twins are intimate friends, each will no doubt know about another one’s sexual desires. However, they may not understand that the differences are natural. Often, when one finds oneself attracted by members of one’s own sex, one’s initial feeling is not always comfortable. Such a person may grapple esteem issues and can be affected by notions about homosexuality that are perpetuated by society. These are often brought about by the fact that society has misinterpreted the concept, and many individuals understanding of homosexuality is warped and built around misinformation and prejudice promoted by conservative and many religious organizations. “In spite of the relative rate of homosexuality, it remains misinterpreted and contentious to much of the public” (Bazemore & Bienenfeld, 2011). As such, the parents’ first challenge would be to explain to a lesbian daughter that she is not a freak and that it is all right to experience such feelings. The girl will want to understand why her sister is different from her, and this may prove difficult for parents to explain. Upon, attaining puberty, the gay twin will undergo a myriad of challenges. She will have to undergo self-discovery again with the onset of puberty. In as much as they may understand the concept of being gay while they are young, they may feel left out since considering that gays are a minority, she may not have as easy a time finding dates as her sister. Furthermore, due to physiological changes, she will draw a lot of attraction from boys who may shun or make fun of her when they discover her sexuality. This is worsened by the comparisons that will be no doubt made to her sister. Besides, bearing in mind how expressive teenagers are her peer group may not be as open minded as she is and may try to make her feel inferior. As such, it will require a level of stoicism many teens may not be capable of achieving. In fact, gay teens are likely to have a harder time than the rest since most to live in an environment filled with age mates trying their best to look unique, and yet be like the rest of the group/pack/gang at the same time. This can be very confusing if one is gay. Unless she is very open minded and tolerant, she may begin to imagine there is something wrong with her. As her education progress, she will discover the literary opinions on gays most from retrospect, in this respect; she will have problems relating to popular literature and art especially the historic material. These also include, teen experiences found in entertainment media that hardly ever make reference to homosexuality such as novels, movies, and fairly tales, which inevitably seem to be centered on heterosexual romance. However, on the bright side, if one can convince the child that it is normal to experience those unusual feelings, the parent may have some advantages. One is that the girls are likely to accept each other and acquire the capacity for critical thought and open-mindedness. Besides, when there are two of them with different orientation, the parent can discover this early enough because of the distinctive behavior patterns. Sharing information about the child’s sexuality can also help them see past the sex side of it and understand the loving and relationship aspect. As such, they can guide the girls to the understanding of why and how they are different and ensure they know it is perfectly normal. The parent can also learn to accept the girl’s sexuality in time; some parents, when faced with “unusual” sexuality of their children, react in a shocked manner. Others are offended and try to change the child without understanding where they are coming from and what they feel. References Johnson, Ryan. (April 30, 2003). Homosexuality: Nature or nurture. All Psych Journal. Retrieved on 14th June 2012 from http://allpsych.com/journal/homosexuality.html. Bazemore, Patricia, & Bienenfeld, David. (Aug 4, 2011). Homosexuality. Retrieved on 14th June 2012 from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/293530-overview. Johnson, Ramon. (n.d). Nature vs. nurture. Retrieved on 14th June 2012 from http://gaylife.about.com/od/naturevsnurture/i/naturevsnurture_2.htm. American Psychological Association. (2008). Sexual orientation and homosexuality. Retrieved on 14th June 2012 from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx Carver, Noelle. (n.d). Human attraction: Types of pheromones. Retrieved on 14th June 2012 from http://www.ehow.com/info_8206153_human-attraction-types-pheromones.html Read More