The cause of gays and lesbians: is it true that the genes are inherited from the parents?

Sexual orientation is sexual attachment between one human being to another human being of the same sex (homosexual) or of the opposite sex (heterosexual). Usually, children do not realize that they are gay fans at the age of 20 or 30 years (Garnets & Kimmel, 1990; Hammack, 2005).

Interestingly, sexual attraction to the same species is no longer a new phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Grizzly bears, gorillas, monkeys, flamingos, owls, penguins, and many other types of animals have a tendency to like the same sex. About 6-10% of male sheep species show sexual attraction to other rams (Perkins & Filtzgerald, 1997).

The origin of the causes of gays and lesbians (and other sexual orientations in between), both in humans and in animals is still a hot debate in the world of modern science. Is homosexuality really influenced by association, or is it inherited from birth?

What are the factors that cause gays in humans?

Many studies have reported that sexual orientation (including homosexuality) has been more or less determined during the womb, thanks to a special genetic code that distinguishes homosexuals from heterosexuals, namely Xq28.

Then the question arises, can other biological factors - ranging from brain structure to trauma to hormones - can also influence a person's homosexuality?

Childhood trauma

There is one study conducted at the Kinsey Institute on a thousand people who are gay people and 500 people who like the opposite sex. This study looked at psychological conditions that might influence whether a person is gay (homosexual) or a person of the opposite sex (homosexual), such as parent-child relationships, sexual experiences in childhood, relationships with peers, and dating experiences.

The results indicated that same-sex people experienced one or more of the following three traumatic situations: Those who identified themselves as gay / lesbiannot more loved by his mother, left out by his father, and / or having experienced at least one sexual assault when compared to a person of the opposite sex (Bell et al., 1981; Hammersmith, 1982).

Siblings

Ray Blanchard in 1997 and 2008 and Anthony Bogaert in 2003 produced studies which stated that men who have older brothers tend to be same-sex lovers. The reason for the gay cause of this study has not been found, but Blanchard stated that this is related to the mother's immunity when carrying a child. The maternal antibodies that are stronger than the fetus "prohibit" the development of male behavior patterns in general. For this reason, it is only compatible with brothers born in the womb of the same mother.

Brain shape

There is similarity in the shape of the brain men who like men (gay) with women who like men, and this similarity is also found in the brain structure of women who like women (lesbian) with men who like women. This similarity is one size of the cells in the hypothalamus in the brain (LeVay, 1991). This research was conducted by Simon LeVay (1991), a same-sex scientist, who wanted to find answers about his sexual orientation.

However, LeVay still hesitated; does the brain determine sexual orientation or vice versa? Another study conducted by Larkin et al (2002) and Roselli (2002, 2004) on sheep, stated that there are differences in the size of the hypothalamus in homosexual sheep and those that are not.

Genetic

One of the suspicions of scientists about the causes of gay in humans arises from unique genetic code Xq28. However, scientists have not been able to confirm that these genes are the main factor behind the origins of gay causes.

Interestingly, identical twins are more likely to be same-sex lovers than fraternal twins (Langstrom et al., 2008). This is the reason that the gay gene may be true. But how come? Because in fact, people with homosexual orientation are unlikely to have direct offspring with same-sex partners. This was answered by a study conducted by Boclandt et al. In 2006.The study stated that the maternal lineage that makes the gay gene last.

Maternal pregnancy hormones

Research on pregnant sheep who were injected with the hormone testosterone during a critical period of fetal development resulted in female offspring showing homosexual behavior (Money, 1987). In humans, being exposed to hormones present in female fetuses, whether they are female or male, will cause these babies to be attracted to boys in the future.

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