Research Presentation Project

Homosexuality: Nature vs. Nurture

Jermonte Hatcher Instructor: Malcolm Campbell Date: 08 March 2014 Class: English 1101

Introduction
Sexual Orientation: What is Homosexuality?
Sexual orientation defines the group of people in which one is likely to find the satisfying and fulfilling romantic relationships that are an essential component of personal identity for many people(Sexual Orientation). Homosexuality can be defined as one of the many sexual orientations in which people can be intimately, emotionally, and physically attracted to another person who has the same sense of identity. This in turn refers to that person sharing the same attractions, related behaviors, and membership within the same community of the other person. Among many scientists, there are multiple reasons that an individual develops a type of orientation, which includes heterosexuality, bisexuality, gay, or lesbian orientations. Although much research has been done on the possible genetic, developmental, and social influences on sexual orientation, there have been no particular answers that have led researchers to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any direct, specific factors. Many scientists and researchers think that both nature and nurture play complex roles. There are two distinct justifications on how an individual determines themselves as being homosexual; nature and nurture. Nature in science means that you were born a specific way, while nurture means that the environment in some way influenced the mindset or manipulated the mindset of an individual to be a certain thing or think a certain way.

Source: American Psychological Association

According to current scientific and professional understanding, the core attractions that form the basis for adult sexual orientation typically emerge between middle childhood and early adolescence. These patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction may arise without any prior sexual experience. People can be celibate and still know their sexual orientation--be it lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual(Sexual Orientation). Homosexuality used to be thought of as a mental disorder prior to and also in the late 20th Century. It wasnt until 1973, that was the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder. The American Psychological Association followed as well and declared homosexuality to not be considered mental disorder in 1975. With being homosexual, different people of the LGBT Community have different experiences regarding their sexual orientation. Some people know that they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual for a long time before they actually pursue relationships with other people. Some people engage in sexual activity (with same-sex and/or other sex partners) before assigning a clear label to their sexual orientation. (Sexual Orientation). Along with these concerns, and also the continuous prejudices and political discrimination, homosexuals become apprehensive and it makes it more difficult for them to come to terms with their sexual identity as being different from the norm which makes claiming to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, etc. to be a slow process for many underrepresented individuals.

Source: Homosexuality
In a recent study using DNA linkage analysis, Hamer et al concluded that a gene that influences homosexual orientation in ma les is contained on the X chromosome. Studies of mammalian sexual behavior led to the hypothesis that a prenatal androgen( type of steroid hormone) deficit or loss, results in male homosexuality and that a prenatal androgen excess results in female homosexuality. Homosexual men and women report more cross-gender behavior during childhood than heterosexual men and women (Friedman, Downey). Cross gender behavior would be described for example, as boys wanting to fight, or boys wanting to play with toys designated for boys such as toy cars, balls, etc., but during the early developmental stage, they make the decision to be mentally fixated to play with the toy dolls, and play dress up for fun instead. This goes the same with girl as well. They are supposedly only thought to play with the toy dolls and play dress up, but instead, they play with the toy cars, and trucks and plays rough-fighting outside. Since sex differences in behavior appear to be influenced by prenatal sex hormones, the hypothesis that complex changes in prenatal androgen secretion influence sexual orientation remains reliable and effective. Some prenatal hormonal events may be under genetic influence, whereas others may occur as a result of environmental factors (Friedman, Downey). An example, according to Dr. Richard Friedman, who is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry for the Department of Psychology at Adelphi University, and the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, is prenatal stress, which inhibits the secretion of testosterone, and may influence sexual orientation in humans. In some people neither genetic or prenatal hormonal influences may determine sexual orientation as well. In turn , this would mean that there is no clear distinction of what causes individuals to become homosexual because the cause could be different for those homosexual individuals (Friedman, Downey). Although there has been rapid growth recently in our knowledge about human sexual orientation, fundamental questions remain. Enough data have accumulated to warrant the dismissal of incorrect ideas once widely accepted about homosexual people. Many areas of law and public policy are still influenced by views discarded by behavioral scientists. There are no data from scientific studies to justify the unequal treatment of homosexual people or their exclusion from any group (Friedman, Downey).

Source: Sexual Differentiation of the Human Brain: Relation to Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Sexual orientation refers to the gender (male or female) to which a person is attracted, i.e. to the opposite sex (heterosexual), to the same sex (homosexual), or to both sexes (bisexual). Sexual orientation, too, is determined during early development, under the influence of genetic background and factors that influence the interactions between sex hormones and the developing brain and becomes overt during puberty under the influence of sex hormones. The apparent impossibility of changing a persons sexual orientation in any way is an important argument against the role of society or environment on the development of homosexuality, and against the view that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). Sexual Orientation such as homosexuality, are programmed into our brans during the early stages of life. There is no evidence that ones postnatal social environment plays a crucial role in gender identity or sexual orientation (Bao, and Swaab 214 -26). Gender and orientation are considered to be preprogrammed into the brain or genes of an individual before birth. An example would be case of David Reimer, who was a little boy that another researcher (last name Money) followed throughout life from an experimental view. David at the time was an 8-month-old boy, who lost his penis due to a mistake during a minor surgical procedure. He was then made into a female in which, the testicles were removed before he reached the age of 17 months in order to facilitate feminization (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). According to Moneys recordings, he was developing as a normal female, and as it turns out, Reimer never identified as female, and that he in fact resumed his life as a male when he was 14 years old. Shortly, after though, due to bullying and other environmental and social issues, Reimer committed suicide in 200 4. This story illustrates the strength of the irreversible programming influence during the intrauterine period on gender identity (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). Family studies indicate that the development of sexual orientation is largely a matter of genetics. It is, however, still unclear exactly which genes play such a role. A number of genetic studies have suggested a maternal transmission, in example, an X-linked inheritance. The X-chromosome has accumulated genes involved in sex, reproduction and cognition. A meta-analysis of four linkage studies suggested that Xq28 may indeed play an important role in male homosexuality (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). given the complexity of the development of sexual orientation it is likely to involve many genes. A genome-wide linkage screening did indeed lead to the identification of a number of chromosomal regions and candidate genes that deserve more research and attention (Bao, and Swaab 214-26).

Discussion: Nurtures Effects on Homosexuality

Nurture is the most common thought or idea that society believes to be the cause of homosexuality.

In the United States, two particularly prominent influences fostering anti-homosexual attitudes have been religious fundamentalism and heterosexism, the belief in the moral superiority of institutions and practices associated with heterosexuality.
As adults, we all relate to the world based on a knowledge of who we are as individuals. There is a recognition of the self as an entity defined by our own individual sensations, thoughts, life experiences, and appearance. But we are not born with a knowledge of who we are, or what we are, because at birth we have no experience with being ourselves. The recognition of self is very important for survival because it allows the brain to become knowledgeable about the physical boundaries of the body that houses it and which it controls, and which it must protect and maintain in order to ensure its own survival. This process of recognition necessarily involves a child exploring every facet of its own body very early on in life, and becoming imprinted on all elements that are characteristic of itself. The inevitability of a child exploring its own body, coupled with this tendency for self-gratification, lead to a universal set of behaviors that have the potential to determine a childs sexuality (Gomes). We are not born gay according to many, and we are all born programmed mentally to be attracted to the opposite sex regardless of what has happened postnatal.

Discussion: Natures Effects on Homosexuality

Natures possible effects on people being homosexual are endless. There are incidences where the X chromosome has multiple genes that do indeed affect the femininity or the specific androgens which are steroid hormones to decrease r increase in the human body. An increase or decrease of either of the two can determine whether a child inside a pregnant mothers body will become male or female. But more importantly, some different genes as well (researchers arent sure which ones) will affect th e X chromosome in a way that makes the child have a greater than 50 percent chance of becoming homosexual or heterosexual. There is no solid proof that postnatal development plays a role of any importance when it comes to directing sexual orientation. On the contrary: children born after artificial insemination with donor sperm and raised by lesbian couples were heterosexually oriented. Proof for the idea that homosexuality is caused by deficient upbringing, or that it is a lifestyle choice or an effect of social learning is also lacking. Therefore, it is to our opinion totally irrational that some people still forbid their children to play with homosexual friends for fear that homosexuality may be catching or learned (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). Secondly, Nature appears to have profound affects before the child is actually born. Both structural and functional brain differences have been described in relation to sexual orientation. The first difference was found in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the biological clock, that was twice as large in homosexual as in heterosexual men. Allen and Gorski reported homosexual men to have a larger anterior commissure compared with heterosexual men. Since this structure is found to be larger in heterosexual women than in heterosexual men, which takes care of the leftright temporal cortex connection, it may be involved in sex differences relating to cognition and language (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). Functional scanning also revealed brain differences in relation to sexual orientation. The hypothalamus of homosexual men appeared less responsive to fluoxetine as that of heterosexual men, indicating different activities of the serotoninergic system.

Savic et al explored the influence of putative pheromones on sexual behavior. Putative pheromones excreted in perspiration in concentrations 10 times higher in men than in women. these pheromones stimulated the hypothalamus of heterosexual women and homosexual men in the same way. However, heterosexual men were not stimulated by a male scent, suggesting that pheromones may be a contributing factor in determining our choice of partner. The same results were found when they revealed that lesbians reacted to pheromones in a sex-atypical, almost reciprocal, way. Sex-atypical cerebral asymmetry and functional connections were also found in homosexual subjects but it proved impossible to primarily ascribe these to learned effects, which suggested a connection to neurobiological entities (Bao, and Swaab 214-26). This means that Nature is definitely a larger part of determining the sexual orientation of the child postnatallly due to the biological research found and examined.

Evaluation of Sources
American Psychological Association This website was one of the most reliable sources I could have used for this presentation. The American Psychological Associations website is the largest scientific and professional association/organization of Psychologists in the United States and Canada. It describes what sexual orientation, gender, and homosexuality in its entirety except for maybe a few details scientifically. Every section of the website has been documented and credited by the actual organization as a whole itself. I did with it has more background with the science behind what causes an individual to be homosexual. It does give some brief explanation about what it means to be homosexual and how it can affect the community and social life behind it. It also describes how children are affected and states that there has been no documented case where a child has turned homosexual from the environment. The audience for this publication is simply anyone who wants to know more about what homosexuality is and how it can affect the community outside of their homes. It most likely is directed towards other scholars, professors, and also young and older adults that may be in high school or college. It could very well be directed for other homosexual people who want to know more about what they can expect from society and what are the proper steps on living as a homosexual being. This audience ties into my topic because of course, all of these people still want to learn more about homosexuality and how it affects the outside world and also, how we can cope with being a homosexual human being.

Evaluation of Sources
Homosexuality This article was found on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte library article database. The article itself was peer reviewed and it comes directly from The New England Journal of Medicine. The article was written by Dr. Richard Friedman and Dr. Jennifer Downey of the Department of Psychiatry, at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. The sources that they used to create the article seems to be a very long list of credible books and journals as well. They also had help from two more people from The New York State Psychiatric Institute Library as well.

This article had only a couple paragraphs but, this article is in the running for being the most useful for facts and research that I had used for my presentation. The details provided in this article are very descriptive and scientific and gives the presentation a little more balance as to how homosexuality can be defined and how one can be homosexual in nature. It brings up both points by not ruling out either of the two ideas. Homosexuality can be caused in nature or nurture but it leans more forward on the nature side.
The audience in this article are Doctors and scientists who are interested in learning about the nature and nurture effects towards homosexuality. Because this is an article about homosexuality, but included in a journal of medicinal purposes, there also happens to be other things related to homosexuality such as DNA effects and how certain medicines or disorders could affect the homosexual community positively or negatively.

Evaluation of Sources
Sexual Differentiation of the Human Brain: Relation to Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

This source was by far the strongest source I had used in my presentation. The source was found on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Library article database. The article itself was also peer reviewed and it comes from a quarterly scientific journal covering all aspects of neuroendocrinology named Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. The credibility itself comes from the author. Dr. Ai-Min Bao is supported by Nature Science Foundation of China, Science Foundation of Chinese University, and The China Exchange Program of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The article itself had over 100 references and the facts and details were extremely graphic and very fulfilling. The author takes it another step up when he drew out illustrations of what he was describing from a scientific and professional point of view. The section I focused more on was Gender identity and sexual orientation in relation to sex differences in the brain (section 3). This section had not only scientific details but also had a more in depth look on actually how and why homosexuality is caused IF it is caused by natural effects. The audience in this article is a combination of both the scientists, doctors, and professors. It can also include the general public as well but more likely to be scholars or adults who may be in college and continuing research as well. But they all would use this article to continue research and to get a better understanding of how homosexuality works as a part of the human brain and the human life.

Additional Questions Raised

Possible Topics to Pursue Next: What are all of the possible genes that could cause a human being to become homosexual postbirth? How can a human being become homosexual after birth if it is possible? Based upon nurture, what social factors can cause a homosexual change in human beings?

-If any factors, what are those specifically?

Are there any links between homosexuality in animals as well as with human beings?

Based on the findings, whether homosexuality Is determined by nature or nurture, could that possibly change the way that homosexuality is socially accepted?

Works Cited
American Psychological Association. (2008). Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality. Washington, DC: Author. [Retrieved from www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/orientation.pdf.]

Bao, Ai-Min, and Dick Swaab. "Sexual differentiation of the human brain: Relation to gender identity, sexual orientation, and neuropsychiatric disorders." Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. 32.2 (2011): 214-26. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. http://www.sciencedirect.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/science/article/pii/S0091302211000252?np=y.
Friedman, Richard, and Jennifer Downey. Homosexuality. New England Journal of Medicine. (1994): 923-930. Web. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199410063311407. Gomes, Christopher. Sexual Orientation and Development: Link Between Childhood Gential Fixation & Homosexuality. True Nature: A Theory of Human Sexual Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar 2014. www.humansexualevolution.com/sexual-orientation-development.htm.