What makes you homosexual
by Fred Penzel, PhD
This article was initially published in the Winter edition of the OCD Newsletter.
OCD, as we know, is largely about experiencing severe and unrelenting doubt. It can cause you to hesitation even the most basic things about yourself – even your sexual orientation. A study published in the Journal of Sex Research found that among a group of college students, 84% reported the occurrence of sexual intrusive thoughts (Byers, et al. ). In order to have doubts about one’s sexual identity, a sufferer need not ever own had a homo- or heterosexual experience, or any type of sexual exposure at all. I acquire observed this symptom in young children, adolescents, and adults as well. Interestingly Swedo, et al., , establish that approximately 4% of children with OCD trial obsessions concerned with forbidden aggressive or perverse sexual thoughts.
Although doubts about one’s own sexual identity might seem pretty straightforward as a symptom, there are actually a number of variations. The most apparent form is where a sufferer experiences the consideration that they mig
Massive Study Finds No Single Genetic Produce of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior
Few aspects of human biology are as complex—or politically fraught—as sexual orientation. A clear genetic link would hint that gay people are “born this way,” as opposed to having made a lifestyle preference. Yet some anxiety that such a finding could be misused to “cure” homosexuality, and most research teams contain shied away from tackling the topic.
Now a new analyze claims to dispel the notion that a single gene or handful of genes make a person prone to same-sex behavior. The analysis, which examined the genomes of nearly half a million men and women, found that although genetics are certainly involved in who people pick to have sex with, there are no specific genetic predictors. Yet some researchers question whether the analysis, which looked at genes associated with sexual activity rather than attraction, can trace any real conclusions about sexual orientation.
“The message should continue the same that this is a complex behavior that genetics definitely plays a par
Across cultures, 2% to 10% of people report having same-sex relations. In the U.S., 1% to % of women and men, respectively, identify as gay. Despite these numbers, many people still consider homosexual behavior to be an anomalous choice. However, biologists have documented homosexual behavior in more than species, arguing that same-sex behavior is not an unnatural choice, and may in fact play a vital role within populations.
In a issue of Science magazine, geneticist Andrea Ganna at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and colleagues, described the largest survey to date for genes associated with same-sex behavior. By analyzing the DNA of nearly half a million people from the U.S. and the U.K., they concluded that genes account for between 8% and 25% of queer behavior.
Numerous studies have established that sex is not just male or female. Rather, it is a continuum that emerges from a person’s genetic makeup. Nonetheless, misconceptions persist that queer attraction is a choice that warrants condemnation or conversion, and leads to discrimination and persecution.
I am
Why Are People Gay? Same-sex attracted By Choice or Is Being Gay Genetic?
Estimates as to the number of gay people in the population range from 1-in to 1-in, so why are some people gay? Are they gay by choice or is existence gay genetic?
The simplest reply is to look at the definition of the word "gay." The phrase gay is a synonym for homosexual, which is defined as,1,2
"Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting sexual want or behavior directed toward a person or persons of one's own sex."
In other words, % of people experience same-sex sexual attraction or behavior; of course, this doesn't address to what makes people gay. No one knows for certain why any individual is gay, but the current thought is that being gay is not a choice. (read: Cure the Gay: Same-sex attracted Conversion Therapy – Concrete or Hoax?) The reasons people are gay are both physiological and psychological.
Why Are People Gay? – Physiology
Modern science is functional to show that genetics is one of the causes of being homosexual, although some science conflicts in this area. According to Psychology Today,3
"In recent years, evidence has accumulated