Biological Argument of Homosexuality 1

Biological Argument of Homosexuality M. Dominguez

Social Psychology Dr. E. Maloney

Biological Argument of Homosexuality 2

Abstract After such research I came to the conclusion that homosexuality is not something just merely learned or chosen by an individual, but instead a complex inherited genetic gift from our ancestors. To support my point I will be discussing a case study in which a healthy newborn boy was sexually reassigned/raise a girl, I will also discuss how sex hormonal levels affect ones personality, and finally some visual markers associated with homosexuals.

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Nature versus nurture has always been a huge controversy in regards to homosexuality. Since the beginning of film making, homosexuals were feature as a source of amusement and/or comic relief. The gay men were featured as overtly feminine and names such as sissies became a popular discriminatory term. Lesbian women were/are still called dikes usually describing the masculine looking/acting ones. Society projects gender roles onto everyone, men should be aggressive and unemotional while women should be passive and emotional. The gay community, more times than not, usually does not follow societal norms. Some argues that homosexual people are just against conforming, that it is a choice one makes. The truth is that men are not mostly masculine and women mostly feminine, because many of us had two parents. Children take on traits of both their main teachers, their parents. The father passes on not only his masculine traits, but also the feminine traits he was taught by his mother. Alfred Kinsey did a survey, published in 1948, in which he introduced the Kinsey Scale. People were asked if the ever reacted sexually to a person of the same sex, 0-6 was the scale one would use to self-report their answer. The result showed that 46% of the men surveyed reported having had reacted sexually to persons of both sexes and 37% have had at least one homosexual experience. This study gives way to the estimate 10% of people in a general population are homosexual. This goes to show that these gender roles society tries to enclose us in, are too limiting and specific. There are too many unique people on this earth to say how one gender should act or think. Gregory B. Lewis in his article Does Believing Homosexuality Is Innate Increase Support for Gay Rights concluded that Americans who believe homosexuality is innate more likely to support the rights of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals. (P669) This direct

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correlation intrigued me and I decided to research whether or not Nature or Nurture has more influence on ones sexual identity. After such research I came to the conclusion that homosexuality is not something just merely learned or chosen by an individual, but instead a complex inherited genetic gift from our ancestors. To support my point I will be discussing a case study in which a healthy newborn boy was sexually reassigned/raise a girl, I will also discuss how sex hormonal levels affect ones personality, and finally some visual markers associated with homosexuals. David Reimer was born as a male identical twin on August 22nd, 1965 along with his brother Brian. David however had a urinary issue and their parents were recommended to have the boys circumcised. Well, Davids circumcism went wrong and his penis was beyond repair. The parents along with a Psychologist decided in order for David to have a healthy life they would have to sexually reassign the 22 month old and raise him as a girl instead. David was brought up as a girl and also given hormonal treatment to further the reassignment. When David was about 8 years old, he was already question his female identity and felt more like a boy. At the age of 13 he was experiencing suicidal depression and his parent finally told him the truth about his gender identity. At age 14 he decided to go by his male identity, David, and underwent treatment to reverse the reassignment. David eventually got married to a woman and became a stepfather of three children. He committed suicide at the age of 38. Hormonal treatment did not change his gender identity after birth, but prenatal sex specific hormones (androgens) testosterone/estrogen when introduced to the fetus in the womb greatly affects development.

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Androgens, or sex hormones, include testosterone the male masculinizing hormone and estrogen the female feminizing hormone. These hormones are released naturally while in uttero. The fetus is usually exposed to the correct amount of each hormone depicted by our genetic code. The mixture of androgens can be affected by certain conditions and/or drugs. Heino Meyer-Bahlburg, Anke Ehrhardt, Laura Rosen, and Rhoda Gruen of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University wrote about such direct correlation between androgens and homosexuality in their work titled Prenatal Estrogens and the Development of Homosexual Orientation. For example, some mothers are affected by a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), in which their fetuses experience androgen excess. Diethylstilbestrol (DES) was a drug previously given to pregnant women in order to prevent a miscarriage. DES reacts with the estrogen receptors therefore increasing the testosterone levels within the fetus prenatally. Both these interactions expose the fetus to high levels of androgens. The results were that the female babies were reported to be more masculine in their behavior than other girls not exposed. A significant amount of these women now identify themselves as homosexuals compared to a normal general population of children. Fraternal birth order affect describes the direct correlation between number of older brothers and the odds of homosexuality in later-born males. Ray Blanchard discusses the research on this phenomenon is his work Review and theory of handedness, birth order, and sexuality in men, he also goes on further to point out that the left-handed males in this fraternal birth order are not affected. He predicts that the fraternal birth order effect may be triggered when fetal cells (or cell fragments) enter the maternal

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circulation, an event especially common during childbirth. If these cells are from a male fetus, they may include substances that only occur in, or on the surface of, male cells. The mothers immune system recognizes these male-specific molecules as foreign and starts producing antibodies to them. Following maternal immunization, maternal antimale antibodies are available to cross the placental barrier and enter the brain of a male fetus. These antibodies somehow divert the sexual differentiation of the fetal brain from the male-typical pathway, so that the individual will later be attracted to men rather than women. The probability-or strength-of maternal immunization increases with each male fetus, therefore the probability of homosexuality increases with each older brother. (P53) The exact process is unknown as of yet but many argue that the amount of male sex hormones excreted are diminished after each sequential male birth. Fetal exposure in uttero appears to be very influential in the formation of ones sexual orientation. Can one look at a males hand and determine whether or not that person is a homosexual? Since George (1930) demonstrated the sex difference in males 2nd digit versus the 4th digit on ones hand and Manning et al. (1998) pointed out its potential utility as a marker for prenatal sex hormones, numerous empirical studies have corroborated this normative sex difference. In the article Sexual Orientation and the Second to Fourth Finger Length Ratio: A Meta-Analysis in Men and Women written by Teresa Grimbos from the University of Toronto, Khytam Dawood, Robert Burriss and David Puts from Pennsylvania State University, and Kenneth Zucker from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in which they collected data from of sample comprised of 1,618 heterosexual men, 1,693 heterosexual women, 1,503 gay men, and 1,014 lesbians. The data showed the gay men who were exposed to lower levels of the androgen

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testosterone, tended to have a longer 4th digit versus their 2nd digit of their hand similar to heterosexual women. Also, Lesbian women whom experienced lower levels of the androgen estrogen, tended to have a more equal amount of length between their 2nd and 4th digit similar to heterosexual men. David Reimer could not abandon his innate sexual orientation despite all the attempts by his parents, doctors, and psychologist. Psychotherapy and hormonal treatment did not fix Davids inner problem of feeling different than the other girls he knew. He at age 8 knew what he was inside and by the time he was 14 his parents finally confessed their mistake of agreeing to sexual reassignment when David was 22 months old. I do not personally know of any cases where a homosexual was turned straight or vice versa. I have read about studies where lab animals had hormone therapies performed on them in uttero and male monkeys acted more life females and vice versa. I do believe a scientific biological explanation for homosexuality makes a lot more sense than the belief one chooses such lifestyle. Why would someone choose to be a second class citizen? Why would someone choose the inequality homosexuals experience? Why would someone choose the lifetime harassment from ignorant groups including religious sects? The answer is we dont.

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References

Blanchard, R. (2008). Review and theory of handedness, birth order, and homosexuality in men. Laterality, 13(1), 51-70. doi:10.1080/13576500701710432

Bogaert, A. F., Blanchard, R., & Crosthwait, L. E. (2007). Interaction of birth order, handedness, and sexual orientation in the Kinsey interview data. Behavioral Neuroscience, 121(5), 845-853. doi:10.1037/0735-7044.121.5.845

Francis, A. M. (2008). Family and Sexual Orientation: The Family-Demographic Correlates of Homosexuality in Men and Women. Journal Of Sex Research, 45(4), 371-377. doi:10.1080/00224490802398357

Grimbos, T., Dawood, K., Burriss, R. P., Zucker, K. J., & Puts, D. A. (2010). Sexual orientation and the second to fourth finger length ratio: A meta-analysis in men and women. Behavioral Neuroscience, 124(2), 278-287. doi:10.1037/a0018764

Lewis, G. B. (2009). Does Believing Homosexuality Is Innate Increase Support for Gay Rights?. Policy Studies Journal, 37(4), 669-693. doi:10.1111/j.1541-0072.2009.00330.x

Lippa, R. A. (2003). Are 2D:4D finger-length ratios related to sexual orientation? Yes for men, no for women. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 85(1), 179-188. doi:10.1037/00223514.85.1.179

Meyer-Bahlburg, H. L., Ehrhardt, A. A., Rosen, L. R., Gruen, R. S., Veridiano, N. P., Vann, F. H., & Neuwalder, H. F. (1995). Prenatal estrogens and the development of homosexual orientation. Developmental Psychology, 31(1), 12-21. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.12