By Zachary Agovino
For years the debate has been raging, and continues today, about whether or
not sexuality is a choice. I'm going to lay it out right here, it's not a
choice. There's plenty of evidence that it's caused by biological
processes during birth and development, including hormones. During
development of the fetus, it has been shown that some hormones may affect the
sexuality of the child through brain development [1]. This is shown
through observations in the cognitive differences between straight men and
homosexual men. For example, gay men and straight women on average have
equally proportioned brain hemispheres, and lesbian women and straight men on
average have slightly larger right hemispheres.
There is also evidence of homosexual behavior in nearly all species of animals in the wild [2]. For example, we know that male bottlenose dolphins engage in same sex relationships to facilitate group bonding. And that some female Layson Albatross will pair up for life in and raise their offspring together.
Even with all the scientific evidence backing the idea that sexuality is biological, I can tell you as a gay man myself that it’s not a choice. It’s not like I’m ashamed of being gay or that I’m unhappy with who I am, but if I was given a choice at any point in my life, I wouldn’t have chosen to be gay. I mean who would? First the years of confusion about your feelings and all the use of words like fag and gay as negative words. And now suddenly you’re one of those people you’ve been taught to hate. Then you’re discriminated against, made fun of, and often shunned throughout your teenage years. It makes you fear being open about who you are. In 2011, the FBI reports that 20.4% of hate crimes were against homosexuals of all genders [3].
Not to mention that homosexuality isn’t a new phenomenon. There have been records of homosexual
relationships, mainly between men, dating back to the ancient greeks and
romans. In fact, there was a troop of
soldiers called The Sacred Band of Thebes [4] which consisted of 150 pairs of
male lovers.
They were considered to be the strongest force in the Thebian military in the 4th century BC.
So as a gay guy I’m going to say that homosexuality has been around for so long, and exists in so many different species of animals, that there’s no way it is a choice.
References:
1. Frankowski BL; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence (June 2004). "Sexual orientation and adolescents". Pediatrics 113 (6): 1827–32. doi:10.1542/peds.113.6.1827. PMID 15173519.
2. University of California - Riverside. "Same-sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122106.htm (accessed January 31, 2014).
3. "Victims", FBI, retrieved 26 July 2013
4. Paul Walter Ludwig (2002). Eros and Polis: Desire and Community in Greek Political Theory. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521810654.
There is also evidence of homosexual behavior in nearly all species of animals in the wild [2]. For example, we know that male bottlenose dolphins engage in same sex relationships to facilitate group bonding. And that some female Layson Albatross will pair up for life in and raise their offspring together.
Even with all the scientific evidence backing the idea that sexuality is biological, I can tell you as a gay man myself that it’s not a choice. It’s not like I’m ashamed of being gay or that I’m unhappy with who I am, but if I was given a choice at any point in my life, I wouldn’t have chosen to be gay. I mean who would? First the years of confusion about your feelings and all the use of words like fag and gay as negative words. And now suddenly you’re one of those people you’ve been taught to hate. Then you’re discriminated against, made fun of, and often shunned throughout your teenage years. It makes you fear being open about who you are. In 2011, the FBI reports that 20.4% of hate crimes were against homosexuals of all genders [3].
They were considered to be the strongest force in the Thebian military in the 4th century BC.
So as a gay guy I’m going to say that homosexuality has been around for so long, and exists in so many different species of animals, that there’s no way it is a choice.
References:
1. Frankowski BL; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence (June 2004). "Sexual orientation and adolescents". Pediatrics 113 (6): 1827–32. doi:10.1542/peds.113.6.1827. PMID 15173519.
2. University of California - Riverside. "Same-sex Behavior Seen In Nearly All Animals, Review Finds." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090616122106.htm (accessed January 31, 2014).
3. "Victims", FBI, retrieved 26 July 2013
4. Paul Walter Ludwig (2002). Eros and Polis: Desire and Community in Greek Political Theory. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521810654.
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