The document discusses whether being gay is something someone is born with or a behavior acquired through environmental influences. It reviews perspectives from both sides of the debate, citing scientific studies that have attempted to study biological factors like genetics, brain structures, and hormone levels, as well as psychosocial factors like childhood experiences and relationships. However, the document concludes that there is no clear evidence that definitively proves either the innate or learned nature of sexual orientation, as different studies have limitations and conflicting results. The issue remains controversial with arguments on both sides.

1. Running head: IS A PERSON BORN GAY ?
1
Is A Person Born Gay?
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Is A Person Born Gay?
Leticia M Taylor
Columbia Southern University
Introduction
Being gay means one is sexually attracted to members of own
sex. Such a person identifies with another individual of the
same character or the larger community of gay. Sexuality
defines a whole range of desires, feelings and other actions
relating to sex. The reason behind being gay is an issue that has
generated heated debate whether it is biological or acquired.
The question behind the debate is whether homosexuality is

2. learned or a genetic trait. Apparently the issue has created
controversy in our culture. Much of the media sources assume
the controversy has been solved with all the evidence
concentering on the biological basis. Contrary to the perception,
the controversy has been poorly studied and researched although
there lies credible evidence on both sides of the controversy.
The liberals have argued that being gay is inborn and cannot
change thus they should be accepted in the society (Grossman,
D'augelli & O'connell, 2002). The activist claims that the
different scientific research has proven the issue of being gay
has a genetic and hormonal connection. The pro-gay activist
says that it is an unchangeable characteristic just like eye color
or race. A closer scientific evidence shows both nature and
nurture contributes to homosexuality.
The conservatives, on the other hand, tend to believe that that
sexual orientation is personal preference chosen by an
individual. They think that it is highly influenced by the post-
natal influence and events (Miller & Waigandt, 2000). They
claim that if the behavior is genetically determined, then it
would likely to appear at the same rate in every culture, but
clearly the case is different. The debate whether being gay is
inborn or not has been widely studied, and it is likely to attract
more interest. The gays have advocated for their rights to be
observed and enforced thus there is the need to extensively
research on which side holds more weight and supported by
credible evidence.
Different scientific experiments have supported the pro side of
the argument. One of them was carried out by Simon leVay on
the brain part called hypothalamus of nineteen cadavers. His
results showed that hypothalamus in heterosexual men was
larger than that of the homosexuals. Another experiment
supporting the argument was on twins by Michael Bailey and
Richard Pillard. They compared sets of male twins who were
identical to the fraternal twin. In each of set of the twins
studied, at least one was homosexual.
The con side of the argument claims that the scientific research

3. lacks enough supporting evidence. The sexual emotions arise
due to lack affirmation and closeness in the relationship of the
father and other male peers. It thus leads to emotional conflicts
that lead to sadness, anger and loneliness. Also, scientists
haven’t yet been able to differentiate between the male and
female microstructure of brains let alone the homosexual brains
of male and female.
The argument between the pro and the con side of whether
being gay is inborn or not has been supported by varied
opinions and arguments. None has proven to give enough proof
of the basis of the arguments. A controversy over the issue has
attracted advanced and diverse research. The paper seeks to
discuss whether being gay is inborn or acquired.
Literature Review
The chapter discusses the issues relating to whether one is born
gay or it is a behavior that is learned. The first part will discuss
the history of homosexuality and definition of primary terms of
both the con and pro side. The second part will explain the
reason behind being gay and various arguments that have been
presented by different people on both sides of the controversy.
The last part is the conclusion of the literature review.
History
The behavior of the same sex sexual attraction has always been
in existence. It was accepted in the ancient world. The Roman
and Greek emperors engaged in it. The men were also involved
with women. Sapon-Shevin, (2004) stated that decision of
sexual partners was entirely an individual responsibility and
choice. Historically the behavior has been viewed as sinful or a
form of criminality. In the recent decade, the perception of
being gay has significantly changed as a result of questionable
sexual orientation; biological or genetic rather than etiology.
Definition of Major Terms

4. Gay-It is a person who is attracted to a person of similar sex.
Although the word can refer to any sex, “lesbian” is at times
used to refer to women who are attracted to other women.
Homosexual- It is a clinical term for persons who are attracted
to members of similar sex.
Gender identity- It is the sense of being female, male, a gender,
genderqueer and others.
Inborn behavior-It is a behavior that exists from the time when
a person is born and can also be inherited from the parents.
Genetics- It is the science of heredity that deal with differences
and resemblance of related organisms that result from the
interaction of the environment and genes.
Acquired behaviour-It is the behavior of human beings that
results from the effects of the environment. For instance
behavior as a result of peer or parental influence.
Sexual orientation-It is an enduring sexual or romantic
attraction to a person of opposite sex or even gender. The
attractions are subsumed under homosexuality, heterosexuality,
and bisexuality.
The Cause And Research On Homosexuality
Many factors contribute for one to become gay. The orientation
may not be necessary a personal choice. One of the cause is the
deficiency of the love of the same sex. A person who is gay may
have felt different from a young age. When the person
experiences the attraction later, they are likely to naturally re-
interpret their past that they have always been gay.
Homosexuality is as the result of unmet need for one to bond
with same-sex peers and hence continues to adulthood (Joanis,
2000). Another cause may be an unhealthy relationship with the
members of the opposite sex. For example, females can hurt a
young man by criticizing, smothering, controlling, criticizing
and ignoring proper boundaries. Males who have gone through
such wounding develop a relationship that is unhealthy in
adulthood. They therefore either cling too closely or push them
too far away thus disrupting the opposite sex attraction
capacity. The relationship between opposite and similar sex

5. have both contributed to homosexuality though they are not the
only cause of issues. There are others that have been researched
on and represent both debatable and undisputed arguments.
Apart from the personal relationship with members of the same
and similar sex, genetics have been said to contribute to one
becoming gay. The current thinking in the scientific fraternity is
that being gay is caused by the complex interaction of
environmental, psychological and possibly biological factors.
There exist a handful of scientific research for genetic and
biological causes. They include the study of the brain, the twins
study and the study on gene linkage. Diverse research has been
carried out by different psychologists based gene contribution
to one sexual behavior. For example, Dean Hamer, a
homosexual researcher, linked homosexuality to DNA that is
located at the X chromosome tip. He said that being gay is not
purely genetic as the environmental factors also play a
significant role. Those against homosexuality argues that there
exist no particular master gene that determines whether one is
gay or not. Another example is a research carried out by Simon
Le Vay, who studied the difference in the brain hypothalamus of
heterosexual and homosexual men. Though his research
contained an argument that could be scientifically proven, it is
said that it lacked enough proof that being gay is inborn. The
twin study by Bailey and Pillard promote that being gay is
genetic. Among the twins studied the rate of homosexuality was
above fifty percent. All of these arguments have been discussed
from different perceptive though those who are against
homosexuality term these arguments as baseless and
insufficient. The argument whether being gay is inborn or not
has therefore generated a controversy between psychologists
and religion
As discussed in the previous paragraphs there lies a controversy
on the cause of homosexuality. In all the argument there exist a
counter argument that contains factual information. One can
easily tell that it may be due to a combination of factors that
include cultural, psychological, social and biological. Even

6. though scientists unequivocally demonstrated brain, bodily or
the difference in genetic between those who are gay and the rest
of humanity, there still no proves that being gay is inborn
(Haggerty, 2013). Even if the public associated or caused by as
correlation, synonymous fails to prove causation. The issue has
created a battlefield between psychologist and religion where
one tries to outdo the other’s argument. Christians, on the other
hand, argue that God had a reason when he created male and
female differently. Human beings have to change the purpose by
acquiring the behavior of homosexuality. Other religions have
also risen against the advocates of homosexuality despite the
different campaigns to embrace the behavior.
Conclusion
The question of the origin of homosexuality has been a subject
in much press, with the general impression based on that genes
widely promote it rather than the environmental factors. When
one examines the scientific literature, it is not as clear as the
news would suggest. Numerous studies that measured hormonal
levels but only used proxies for the influence of hormones
without having direct proxies indicated an actual hormonal
imbalance or hormonal levels. Early childhood abuse is
associated with gays but only express ten percent of those who
are gay (Horn, 2012). The fact that different sexual orientations
are never constant for many people, it's changing over time. It
suggests at least some of the sexual orientation is a personal
preference. The question on gene influence has been recently
studied by use of DNA microarray technology and the results at
large extent have failed to pinpoint particular genes as a major
factor in sexual orientation.
References

7. Grossman, A. H., D'augelli, A. R., & O'connell, T. S. (2002).
Being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 60 or Older in North
America. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services,13(4),
23-40.
Haggerty, G. E. (2013). Being Gay. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian
and Gay Studies,19(4), 584-586.
Horn, S. S. (2012). Attitudes about Sexual Orientation.
Handbook of Psychology and Sexual Orientation, 239-251.
Joanis, S. T. (2000). Human rights law in B.C.: Sexual
orientation. Victoria, B.C.: British Columbia Human Rights
Commission.
Miller, D. A., & Waigandt, A. (2000). Coping with your sexual
orientation. New York: Rosen Pub. Group.
Ross, J. M. (2002). Introduction to “Being Gay and Becoming a
Psychoanalyst: Across Three Generations”. WGLM Journal of
Gay & Lesbian Mental Health J. of Gay & Lesbian
Mental Hlth.,6(1), 29-30.
Sapon-Shevin, M. (2004). Being Out, Being Silent, Being
Strategic: Troubling the Difference. Journal of Gay &
Lesbian Issues in Education,2(2), 73-77.
Sheet2SUMMARY OUTPUTRegression StatisticsMultiple
R0.8947244911R Square0.8005319149Adjusted R
Square0.6509308511Standard
Error4.3301270189Observations8ANOVAdfSSMSFSignificance
FRegression3301100.33333333335.35111111110.0694393173Re
sidual47518.75Total7376CoefficientsStandard Errort StatP-
valueLower 95%Upper 95%Lower 95.0%Upper
95.0%Intercept133.06186217854.24578222080.01320243774.49
8907741821.50109225824.498907741821.5010922582size23.06
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16.00109225821.0010922582type9.53.06186217853.102687007
50.03612688510.998907741818.00109225820.998907741818.00
10922582PROBABILITY
OUTPUTPercentileerrors6.25218.75631.251543.751656.251868.
751981.252193.7523
Normal Probability Plot
6.25 18.75 31.25 43.75 56.25 68.75 81.25
93.75 2 6 15 16 18 19 21 23
Sample Percentile
errors
Sheet1sizelocationtypeerrors00015100180106110200119101230
111611121