Homosexuality is a choice
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| English: Gender symbols, sexual orientation: heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality. Česky: (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Some researchers have studied twins. The study by Bailey and Pillard, published in 1991, reported that when one twin is homosexual, the number of times the other twin is also homosexual occurs more often than the general rates of homosexuality in society. The media reported this as proof that homosexuality is genetic. But Bailey and Pillard themselves clearly stated that this study did not prove that homosexuality was solely caused by something genetic. Interestingly, this study also looked at the rest of the family and found that the rate of homosexuality among the rest of the family, including adopted brothers was 200-300% more frequent than the general rate in society. And so the data indicates that something is causing homosexuality to occur more frequently in the families that were studied but that it can not be genetics because the increase also occurs in adopted brothers who do not share any genes at all with the rest of the family.
Others have studied hormones and brain structures looking for other possible causes that are biological but not genetic. While they have found there may be biological differences between heterosexuals and homosexuals, they can not determine if these possible differences cause homosexuality or they are the result of homosexual activity.
Still others have studied sociological and psychological causes for homosexuality. And they have found substantial evidence that homosexuality is developed (something you grow into) and that sexual orientation is not fixed but changeable.
When all of the work being done to understand causes is put together, the question about what causes homosexuality seems best answered as follows.
First, science does not have a firm answer that everyone in the field of science let alone everyone else can agree on. The origins of homosexuality are still not clearly understood by scientists.
Most researchers agree that homosexuality is multi-causal and complex; many factors contribute to the development of same-sex attraction. Most researchers, including Dr. Dean Hamer, the "gay gene” researcher who is himself a gay man, agree that homosexuality is due to a combination of social, biological, and psychological factors. Dr. Hamer has said, "Genes are hardware…the data of life’s experiences are processed through the sexual software into the circuits of identity. I suspect the sexual software is a mixture of both genes and environment, in much the same way the software of a computer is a mixture of what’s installed at the factory and what’s added by the user (P. Copeland and D. Hammer (1994) The Science of Desire. New York: Simon and Schuster.)”
It is also important to note that the combination of factors is different for each person.
Now a comment is needed about the second part of the question - is homosexuality a choice? Human choice can be accurately viewed as one of the factors influencing the development of sexual orientation but this does not mean that people consciously decide their sexual orientation. No one decides on a specific day that from that day onward that they will be a homosexual or a heterosexual. No one can decide that they will experience opposite-sex or same-sex attractions. Instead, sexual orientation is shaped and reshaped by a series of many choices and response to circumstances in one’s life and enormous social and cultural pressures.
Returning to the question - is homosexaulity genetic or is it a choice? The answer is neither. The simple question of what causes homosexuality appears to have a rather complicated answer. And we do not have to adopt a simplistic either/or approach when looking for what causes homosexuality.
"Perhaps one of the biggest concerns for the person on the street is whether we are stuck with our genetic inheritance, or whether we can overcome our genes. ‘Absolutely,’ Hamer reassures. ‘One of the biggest myths is that something is genetic is therefore fixed. This simply isn’t true.’ It’s what we do with our genes that matters. Someone who relishes novel experiences might use this trait for good or for bad — to become a great explorer or a violent criminal. ‘All these genes do is to give us a disposition one way or another. Whether we act on that —or don’t — is very much a matter of our free will.’” [The Power of Our Genes: An Interview with Dean Hamer, Science & Spirit, December 1998].
