Nowadays it is popular to say that homosexuals are born that way and that sexual orientation is unchangeable.
Another theory involves hormones. Much attention has also been given to genetic studies. Among homosexual males and females who have identical twins, about half of their twins are likewise homosexual. Since monozygotic [identical] twins are genetic duplicates, it seemed logical to conclude that some mysterious gene caused the deviation. However, note that half the twin siblings were not homosexual. If this trait were really genetically programmed, would not all the twins have it? True, genes and hormones may play some role. Even so some strongly feel that environment contributes significantly to sexual orientation.
Consider the environment of ancient Greece. Spurred on by the erotic stories about some of their mythological gods, the writings of philosophers such as Plato, and the culture of the gymnasium where youths performed unclad, homosexuality became the rage among the elite in the Greek-speaking world. I once read a book entitled Love in Ancient Greece, where it stated, “it was considered shameful in Crete for a well-born boy not to have a [male] lover.” No mysterious gene or hormone caused such decadence. It flourished because Greek culture permitted, yes, encouraged it! This well illustrates how powerful a role environment can play.
No doubt the flood of pro-homosexual propaganda has done much to spread that viewpoint today. Allusions to homosexuality abound in TV, movies, music, and magazines. Cable television has given some youths easy access to hard-core pornography. Androgynous (unisex) styles of dress and grooming have become chic. Some experts also feel the antimale propaganda promoted by some feminists has contributed to the rise of lesbianism. Youths may also receive exposure to influences by association with classmates who openly advocate the homosexual life-style.
Sometimes, faulty family environment also seems to play a major role. A boy needs acknowledgment, love, and approval from his father. What can result when a father fails to give his child this needed attention? Emotional distress. Male homosexuality is almost always the result of problems in family relations, particularly between father and son.
Not all with homosexual inclinations necessarily come from dysfunctional families. It does appear, though, that some boys are wounded in a very specific way. As a consequence of his early sense of rejection by father the homosexual carries a sense of weakness and incompetence with regard to those attributes associated with masculinity, that is, power, assertion, and strength. He is attracted to masculine strength out of an unconscious striving toward his own masculinity.
As a counselor, I once talked to a young man in my office and he said, “My father was an alcoholic and regularly beat my mother and, at times, us children. When I was 12 years old, he walked out. I keenly felt the lack of a father. I always longed for someone to fill the void I felt every day. When I finally developed a friendship with a good man who I thought could fill that need, I began to experience sexual feelings for him.”
Interestingly, significant numbers of homosexuals are victims of childhood molestation. Such molestation can produce lasting physical and emotional damage. For some it may create what one writer called a “distorted sexual identity.”
Scientists may never resolve exactly how much of a role nature and nurture play in same-sex attraction. But one thing is clear: All humans are born with the tendency to succumb to certain thinking and inclinations.
I agree with much of what you said, and it was all very elegantly worded, but I would advise against the use of Freudian psychology. Freudian psychology is where the term "pseudoscience" originated, when a scientist noticed that Freud would attempt to use evidence that directly contradicts his argument to try to support it. The example the scientist noted was homosexuality. Freud was attempting to make the argument that an over attachment to the mother caused the male to associate his sexuality with that of his mother's, but when examples of homosexuals raised by single fathers arose, he argued that they had an over attachment to their fathers. Freudian psychology has been all but dismissed in light of modern psychology.
It is also worth adding that epigenetics is believed to play a role in sexuality, as suggested by the homozygotic twin studies.
What I find most confusing about the relationship between psychology, sociology, and biology in the debate about sexuality is how conversion therapy has been conclusively proven to be ineffective, and yet the ancient Greeks, as you mentioned, had strong inclinations towards bisexuality. Were sexuality a primarily sociological phenomenon, it wouldn't be so immutable. If it were primarily biological, then the sexuality of the ancient Greeks wouldn't have been so starkly different from that of the puritanical colonies. The only conclusion that this really leaves is that sexuality is a characteristic strongly influenced in childhood, and after maturation it becomes so ingrained in the mind that it becomes a fundamental part of a person's identity. This conclusion contradicts some psychological research, though. The primary contradiction lies in the fact that homophobic men are more likely to be aroused by homosexual pornography than non homophobic men are. This suggests that part of a person's sexuality can remain suppressed in the unconscious mind, unbeknownst to the conscious mind, and yet a person's identity seems to exist primarily in the conscious mind.
Any further insights or opinions that you have on the subject would be very much appreciated, as this is a topic that I rarely get to have an educated discussion over.
Good question Zon. Transgender is not necessarily homosexuality. There have been studies that show that there is a biological basis for transgender identity.
Male and female brains are, on average, slightly different in structure, although there is tremendous individual variability. Several studies have looked for signs that transgender people have brains more similar to their experienced gender.
One such study used MRI to examine the brains of 24 female-to-males and 18 male-to-females—both before and after treatment with cross-sex hormones. Their results, published in 2013, showed that even before treatment the brain structures of the trans people were more similar in some respects to the brains of their experienced gender than those of their natal gender. For example, the female-to-male subjects had relatively thin subcortical areas (these areas tend to be thinner in men than in women). Male-to-female subjects tended to have thinner cortical regions in the right hemisphere, which is characteristic of a female brain. (Such differences became more pronounced after treatment.)
Trans people have brains that are different from males and females, a unique kind of brain. It is simplistic to say that a female-to-male transgender person is a female trapped in a male body. It's not because they have a male brain but a transsexual brain. Of course, behavior and experience shape brain anatomy, so it is impossible to say if these subtle differences are inborn.
Overall the weight of these studies and others points strongly toward a biological basis for gender dysphoria. But given the variety of transgender people and the variation in the brains of men and women generally, it will be a long time, if ever, before a doctor can do a brain scan on a child and say, “Yes, this child is trans.”
Homosexuality a personal choice or not
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Nowadays it is popular to say that homosexuals are born that way and that sexual orientation is unchangeable.
Another theory involves hormones. Much attention has also been given to genetic studies. Among homosexual males and females who have identical twins, about half of their twins are likewise homosexual. Since monozygotic [identical] twins are genetic duplicates, it seemed logical to conclude that some mysterious gene caused the deviation. However, note that half the twin siblings were not homosexual. If this trait were really genetically programmed, would not all the twins have it? True, genes and hormones may play some role. Even so some strongly feel that environment contributes significantly to sexual orientation.
Consider the environment of ancient Greece. Spurred on by the erotic stories about some of their mythological gods, the writings of philosophers such as Plato, and the culture of the gymnasium where youths performed unclad, homosexuality became the rage among the elite in the Greek-speaking world. I once read a book entitled Love in Ancient Greece, where it stated, “it was considered shameful in Crete for a well-born boy not to have a [male] lover.” No mysterious gene or hormone caused such decadence. It flourished because Greek culture permitted, yes, encouraged it! This well illustrates how powerful a role environment can play.
No doubt the flood of pro-homosexual propaganda has done much to spread that viewpoint today. Allusions to homosexuality abound in TV, movies, music, and magazines. Cable television has given some youths easy access to hard-core pornography. Androgynous (unisex) styles of dress and grooming have become chic. Some experts also feel the antimale propaganda promoted by some feminists has contributed to the rise of lesbianism. Youths may also receive exposure to influences by association with classmates who openly advocate the homosexual life-style.
Sometimes, faulty family environment also seems to play a major role. A boy needs acknowledgment, love, and approval from his father. What can result when a father fails to give his child this needed attention? Emotional distress. Male homosexuality is almost always the result of problems in family relations, particularly between father and son.
Not all with homosexual inclinations necessarily come from dysfunctional families. It does appear, though, that some boys are wounded in a very specific way. As a consequence of his early sense of rejection by father the homosexual carries a sense of weakness and incompetence with regard to those attributes associated with masculinity, that is, power, assertion, and strength. He is attracted to masculine strength out of an unconscious striving toward his own masculinity.
As a counselor, I once talked to a young man in my office and he said, “My father was an alcoholic and regularly beat my mother and, at times, us children. When I was 12 years old, he walked out. I keenly felt the lack of a father. I always longed for someone to fill the void I felt every day. When I finally developed a friendship with a good man who I thought could fill that need, I began to experience sexual feelings for him.”
Interestingly, significant numbers of homosexuals are victims of childhood molestation. Such molestation can produce lasting physical and emotional damage. For some it may create what one writer called a “distorted sexual identity.”
Scientists may never resolve exactly how much of a role nature and nurture play in same-sex attraction. But one thing is clear: All humans are born with the tendency to succumb to certain thinking and inclinations.
Just my opinion!
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Ascelin
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Zonfire80
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I agree with much of what you said, and it was all very elegantly worded, but I would advise against the use of Freudian psychology. Freudian psychology is where the term "pseudoscience" originated, when a scientist noticed that Freud would attempt to use evidence that directly contradicts his argument to try to support it. The example the scientist noted was homosexuality. Freud was attempting to make the argument that an over attachment to the mother caused the male to associate his sexuality with that of his mother's, but when examples of homosexuals raised by single fathers arose, he argued that they had an over attachment to their fathers. Freudian psychology has been all but dismissed in light of modern psychology.
It is also worth adding that epigenetics is believed to play a role in sexuality, as suggested by the homozygotic twin studies.
What I find most confusing about the relationship between psychology, sociology, and biology in the debate about sexuality is how conversion therapy has been conclusively proven to be ineffective, and yet the ancient Greeks, as you mentioned, had strong inclinations towards bisexuality. Were sexuality a primarily sociological phenomenon, it wouldn't be so immutable. If it were primarily biological, then the sexuality of the ancient Greeks wouldn't have been so starkly different from that of the puritanical colonies. The only conclusion that this really leaves is that sexuality is a characteristic strongly influenced in childhood, and after maturation it becomes so ingrained in the mind that it becomes a fundamental part of a person's identity. This conclusion contradicts some psychological research, though. The primary contradiction lies in the fact that homophobic men are more likely to be aroused by homosexual pornography than non homophobic men are. This suggests that part of a person's sexuality can remain suppressed in the unconscious mind, unbeknownst to the conscious mind, and yet a person's identity seems to exist primarily in the conscious mind.
Any further insights or opinions that you have on the subject would be very much appreciated, as this is a topic that I rarely get to have an educated discussion over.
What about transgender people? How come some people are born uncomfortable with the body they were born as?
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Good question Zon. Transgender is not necessarily homosexuality. There have been studies that show that there is a biological basis for transgender identity.
Male and female brains are, on average, slightly different in structure, although there is tremendous individual variability. Several studies have looked for signs that transgender people have brains more similar to their experienced gender.
One such study used MRI to examine the brains of 24 female-to-males and 18 male-to-females—both before and after treatment with cross-sex hormones. Their results, published in 2013, showed that even before treatment the brain structures of the trans people were more similar in some respects to the brains of their experienced gender than those of their natal gender. For example, the female-to-male subjects had relatively thin subcortical areas (these areas tend to be thinner in men than in women). Male-to-female subjects tended to have thinner cortical regions in the right hemisphere, which is characteristic of a female brain. (Such differences became more pronounced after treatment.)
Trans people have brains that are different from males and females, a unique kind of brain. It is simplistic to say that a female-to-male transgender person is a female trapped in a male body. It's not because they have a male brain but a transsexual brain. Of course, behavior and experience shape brain anatomy, so it is impossible to say if these subtle differences are inborn.
Overall the weight of these studies and others points strongly toward a biological basis for gender dysphoria. But given the variety of transgender people and the variation in the brains of men and women generally, it will be a long time, if ever, before a doctor can do a brain scan on a child and say, “Yes, this child is trans.”
Hope this helps.