Sexual Orientation

Sexual Orientation

Introduction

The topic of sexual orientation is not an easy one seeing that there are no definite causes or indications for ones sexual preferences, only theories that we can put together and find out which one makes sense to us personally. The different theories do have certain implications in choosing a specific one that would best address the origin of sexual orientation. This paper discusses literary criticism of sexual orientation, gender & ethnic background.

Discussion

This being the set path for our sexual preferences and discrediting the other theories, which I would not like to do. The best theory I would have to say would be the one most homosexual people feel the most comfortable and happy with in describing how they came to choose their preferred orientation. In beginning my theoretical overviews, I would like to define exactly what homosexuality actually is thus helping our understanding of the sexual orientation. To be homosexual means to have a sexual orientation that is marked by a preference for sexual relations with members of ones own sex. The first theory I would like to discuss is the biological theory. This theory implicates the relation between homosexuality, hormones and hereditary factors. The evidence found for this is in the correlation between male homosexuals and males on the mother's side of the family are also found to be homosexual. Other evidence toward this theory is seen in identical twins that have been separately adopted. If one of the twins is gay, there is a high probability of the other also being gay(Blanchard, 2000). This is also true for dizygotic twins. Concordance for homosexuality was 52% for monozygotic twins, 22% for dizygotic twins, and 11% for adoptive brothers. In another biological research, Simon LeVay discovered that in the anterior hypothalamus there are a tiny cluster of neurons that are associated with sexual behaviour.

In this cluster he found that it was larger in heterosexual men than in women and homosexual men. The problem with this research is that the tests done on the homosexual hypothalamus were from AIDS victims, which could have been affected by the virus. The problems with this theory is that the evidence found is not substantial enough to say it is definitely the right one. Although I think many of the discoveries made in the biological research is viable and can account for some of the reasons to being gay or ...