The Origins Of Homosexuality
ORIGINS OF HOMOSEXUALITY
- Part 1
In this article, we will probe into the development of homosexuality. Is it genetic or learned behaviour? What part do parents play? Peers? Included in the discussion will be some measures parents can take to ensure healthy development of their children’s identity.
There are no simple answers about homosexuality. No one has all the answers on the causes, although it is our firm conviction that homosexuality is LEARNED BEHAVIOUR. The foremost researchers in this field are in agreement: homosexuality is not genetic or inborn. It is not caused by a person’s genes or hormones, but by psychological and social factors in a child’s life. There seems to be a multiplicity of factors in the causation of both heterosexual and homosexual behaviour.
Hormonal Imbalances.
Many people who claim to be “born gay” attribute this fact to an imbalance of their hormones before birth. This area has been subject to intense research. At times, there have been reports of links or correlations between lower levels of hormonal substances and a homosexual orientation, yet other studies have not been able to confirm these findings. So today, there is still no proof positive that hormonal imbalances have anything to do with homosexuality.
The Androgen Factor
Until the eighth week of pregnancy, the gender of a human embryo remains undifferentiated as to male or female (some maintain that all humans are female regardless of genetic make-up to this point). During a six hour period in this eighth week, a hormonal fluid called androgen is given off by the sex organs if the child is to be male. This eliminates the female bodily characteristics of the male child. Without this flow of androgen, the child would grow up to become a normal female with the one exception that she would be sterile. This is important in our discussion of homosexuality because in some cases, although this is rare, the gonads give off an insufficient flow of androgen, thus leaving some of the female bodily characteristics in the male child. Androgen can be administered at birth and these female traits will disappear. However, if this is not done, the child may develop wide hips and excessive breast development. His muscle tone may be somewhat softer than in a normal man. Is this proof of being born gay? No, not at all! Many men who have this type of physical development are not gay at all, but firmly heterosexual. Androgen has been given to adults and never has this changed the direction of their sexual interest.
The reverse of this pattern is also true: a female embryo may receive a flow of androgen from a defective adrenal cortex. This also wipes away some of her female characteristics and she becomes a mannish-looking female. Perhaps the important fact in all of this is that, although this malfunction may severely handicap the child in developing normal relationships with peers and adults, the child will only become homosexual if he or she is pressed into this mold by hostile or unthinking people who will determine if their life develops normally or is twisted into a homosexual path.
Abnormal Chromosomes:
The only other possibility of someone being “born gay” is that a genetic defect has occurred. Each human has two sex chromosomes which determine whether they are male or female. Many abnormal conditions exist where there may be one or more extra chromosomes or a missing sex chromosome in the fertilized cell that becomes a human. This is an area of wide disagreement, yet again there has been no proof offered that chromosomal abnormalities produce homosexual people. There has even been, in some cases, indications that homosexuality is far less likely in some combinations. However, one condition exists which produces identical symptoms to the under-androgenized male. Research has found some with this genetic abnormality (called Klinefelter’s syndrome) involved in the homosexual lifestyle. Here again, we feel that this person has been forced into a homosexual mode by an ignorant and hostile society.
The Mother’s Behaviour During Pregnancy:
There has always been anxiety over a pregnant woman engaging in strenuous activities. Recent findings indicate, however, that usually this is beneficial and aids the mother in the child’s delivery. The whole issue of stress is still being deeply researched today and all the results are not in. There is no positive link proven to exist between stress and homosexuality.