What factors influence sexual orientation in men and women?
Throughout history there has been speculation about what influences sexuality in men and woman. Is sexual orientation biological or cultural in nature? There is a common misconception that sexual identity operate in parallel with gender roles( Sell, 2005 as cited in Wilkinson & Roys, 2005, p.65). Scholars have not came to an agreement regarding what actually comprise a person’s sexual orientation, however a sexual orientation has been deemed a cumulative experience and interaction of emotional and sexual feelings towards one or both genders (Wilkinson & Roys, 2005, p.65). The paper provides provides some clues as to what factors influence sexual orientation in men and woman.
Biology
A growing body of evidence the sexuality is due to biology, however this is still a controversy. Currently there is little understanding on the time period sexual orientation is programmed. One theory is that homosexual orientation is caused by atypical levels of hormones in utero (Mustanski, Bailey, & Kaspar, 2002 p 114). Research in the past has indicated that handiness is connected to prenatal androgen levels and studies have shown that there is a higher incidence of left handiness when mother were exposed to testosterone increasing agents (Bynny, Orth & Cohan as cited in Mustanski et al., 2002 p.114). One reason this theory has been suggested is that stress when pregnant is directly correlated to increased testosterone and left
One theory that many psychologist and scientist are trying to prove is that homosexuality has a fundamental biological basis. Similar to most mammalian species, humans at conception are females (McKnight 22). Toward the end of the first trimester is when the babies with a “male genetic message” begin to have small doses of two hormones, chorionic gonadotropin and luteinizing hormone, which start the altering process of the gonads into testes (McKnight 22). The hormones two jobs are to control the sexual development and control their function (McKnight 22). When the brain starts to develop masculine characteristics and lose the feminine characteristics, the processes are separate and occur at different
The predictor for sexual orientation has been debated and analyzed for a long time. Two explanations that have established possible predictors are biological factors and envionrmental factors, more commonly known as the "nature vs. nurture" debate. According to various studies, these factors play a unique role in determining ones sexual orientation. For clarification, sexual orientation as illustrated here is defined as "distinct preferences consistently made after adolescence in the presence of clear alternatives" (King, 226).
The research article suggests a structure within the human brain and a genetic link indicate the biological factor for male homosexuality. The journal investigates an experiment about the role of male genetics in sexual orientation by analysing the hypothalamus in autopsy specimens from homosexual and heterosexual men. Increased possibilities of same-sex orientation were discovered in the maternal male cousins and uncles of the participants, instead of their father or parental relatives. Also, the researchers discovered a brain cell group ‘INAH’ had a potentiality of being the sex-orientated DNA, indicating that the reason of homosexuality may be related to genetics.
In general, individuals are interested in people of the countering sex. However, a compelling number of people are particularly interested in someone of the identical gender (Slife, 2013). Sexual assimilation is a physiological attribute that exhibit one of the greatest scopes of sexual distinction, given that 90-97% of human beings of one sex demonstrate an appeal that is dissimilar from that of the alternate gender (Slife, 2013, p. 36). In like manner, the devices that conclude characteristics of people 's sexual assimilation have been the topic of intense debates. In fact these dialogues frequently concentrated on homosexuality proper, because the assimilation is slightly frequent and thus occasionally expressed unjustly as different from standard or norm (Slife, 2013, p. 40). Essentially,
In the United States of America, 1.8 percent of men and 1.5 percent of women identify themselves as homosexuals (Volokh 1). This means that in a group of one hundred men, around two of them are homosexuals, and the same goes for women. The background regarding sexual orientation is vast, and a lot of different definitions of the concept have been introduced throughout time. Nevertheless, although homosexuality is fairly common in the United States, many people still misunderstand it. The different types of sexual orientations and their difference from other sexual-related terms, such as gender role and gender identity, are all confused by the general population. Sadly, even today, there are people that believe in a right or wrong sexual orientation. Moreover, the origins of sexual orientation are highly discussed and debated by the scientific community, with theories including biological and environmental explanations. The importance of such origins resides in the fact that this nature-nurture debate is capable of changing people’s perspectives towards homosexuality, and even though the media has done a great job by transforming any sex-related topic from a taboo to an acceptable conversation point, society still needs to grasp a lot about sexual orientation. Particularly, the fact that sexual orientation is a complex, largely misunderstood human characteristic resulting from a combination of biological and environmental factors that play an essential role in society’s
Science is uncovered origins a lot of things over the centuries and the human created much great inventions and even explored the surface of the moon; however, one question still on everyone’s mind and science may have solved one of greatest mysteries yet which is: how did homosexuality and heterosexuality evolve? Many psychologist, biologist and scientist may agree with sexual orientation is output from a combination of biological, hormonal, environmental and emotional factors and those many factors that influence to a development of human sexual orientation. However, being homosexual or bisexual is not mentally ill or abnormal in certain ways, although sexual minority is part of social problems that makes output from misinformation or prejudicial attitude. Diversity in sexual orientation has been a subject that has been seen in different perspectives by the different people (LeVay, 2010). Today there are the homosexuals, heterosexuals and bisexuals orientated people are forming a part of our society. This paper conduct an overall study of important and strong factors and provides accurate information and explanation for those who want to better understand development of sexual orientation.
Major changes took place in the early 19th century when homosexuality started to be looked at in a different light. Homosexuality started to be looked at and considered as part of nature. Up to this point the idea of homosexuality was considered wrong in many cultures as well as a punishable crime in some cases. Even though in ancient Greece the practice of homosexuality was accepted from a very young age, it was considered out of the norm outside of that culture. Through numerous research articles the question, what factors influence sexual orientation in male and females is studied.
You are to respond honestly and completely to each of the questions in the journal. It is important that I will be able to understand your point of view on each and every question - so short 'Yes' or 'No' responses will not suffice. ( Place your response in the ‘Answer’ section indicated.) Give examples and details to support your responses.
Over the years there has been many debates and experiments to try to come to the conclusion of whether sexual orientaion is biologically based or choice. Sexual orientation is a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to men, women or both sexes. Sexual orientation is defined in terms of relationships with others since their identity is based off of their attractions. Sexual orientation can be noted through behaviors such as holding hands or kissing, sharing goals and values, mutual support, and ongoing commitments. Sexual orientation can be broken down into three categories heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual. While this break down may seem very black and white, there are
Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.
A recent study has found proof that male sexual orientation is connected with genes. “Scientists tested the DNA of 400 gay men and found that genes on at least two chromosomes affected whether a man was gay or straight” (Sample 1). A specific part of the X chromosome called Xq28 had some influence on men’s sexual behavior. However scientists have not found concrete fundaments as to which of these number of genes in the region are involved in the determination of men sexual preference, or the number that lie in other sites within the genome.
Is a person’s sexuality biologically or socially determined? This exact question has created controversy for years upon years for researchers and society as a whole. Especially recently, concepts on sexuality have been a hot topic due to the introduction of gay marriage laws. Now, there is a social urgency to get answers about the causes of sexual orientation. Because of this, scientists are working harder than ever in their studies. Despite many myths and misconceptions, there currently are no clear-cut answers to this debatable question, although there is a theory. Current theories suggest sexuality is influenced by a variety of both biological and social factors. Therefore, rather than focusing on one factor or the other being the exact cause of a person’s sexuality, both factors need to be taken into consideration.
Hines goes further in studying ways stress alters production of adrenal hormones (testosterone, and androgens), and prenatal stress could influence sexual orientation in humans. Experimenting on rats, results on ways stress an on pregnant animals increases female-typical sexual behavior in male offsprings. “These effects resemble those seen following reduction of androgen in developing male animals, for example by castration, and the effect of stress on development of male rats has been suggested to occur because it disrupts a prenatal surge of testosterone that occurs in typically-developing males.” When it comes to men prenatal stress also has similar results on influencing sexual orientation. In the study 200 men were interviewed about
Throughout history it is evident that human sexuality changes do to religious, governmental and societal influences. The perception of human sexuality has gone through many changes such as being very open and unlabeled activity; to being very “conservative” and a topic that shouldn’t be talked about in public or at all. In any case, human sexuality has always been a topic of interest because humans are sexual beings who want to understand the consciousness of themselves as male or female and see their personal response when encountered in erotic experiences with other individuals. Unlike many other species whose sexual force is strictly for reproduction, human’s sexual drive seems to be driven by many factors that intertwine with each other which leads to very different outcomes. Do to these obscure human emotions and personal gratification, sex is always shown every culture’s art, literature, social norms, and laws.
Socio-cultural influence plays a major role in sexual behaviors. It gives a better comprehension on why men are men and women are women. These socio-cultural are influenced by physical, emotional, cultural and economic aspects. Time and time again research has proven that socio-cultural influences have a significant role in human sexuality. Culture is the manner of life of the people. Thus, culture shapes the ideas of what behaviors are acceptable for men and women (King & Regan, 2014). Sexuality is a big part of one’s life because it produces us human. It is how an individual sees himself or herself through sexual attitudes. According to (Krantz & Tolan, 2016) sexuality means a collection of