During the Middle Ages mental illnesses were thought to be punishments by god
for some grave sin or the work of the devil and could be cured by attending mass or an
exorcism. Individuals with mental illness were punished severely despite not having any
choice in their illness. Now it is known that mental illness is no punishment by some
higher power but usually a birth defect such as Down syndrome which is cause by extra
genetic material from chromosome 21(2009, Birth defects, March of dimes).
In the past it was large accepted that being gay was a choice or a temptation from
Satan. Others theorize that it has to do with the upbringing of the child by introducing
the child homosexual relationships early in life. Sigmund Freud basic theory on sexuality
that all human beings were innately bisexual, and that they become heterosexual or
homosexual as a result of their experiences with parents and others (Facts About
Homosexuality and Mental Health, 2006). There's the classical relationship with a gay
man with a smothering mother and distant father. Gay and straight men don't differ in
their relationships with their parents. "Where they do it might be put down to the fact that
if you're a biologically gay boy, you are more likely to be feminine. You might well
expect that fathers are not too happy, and mothers seek to protect." There is no real
evidence that people could learn to be gay, for example children of gay parents are no
more likely to be gay than their peers (Being gay is in the genes, 2005).
Although there is no set fact that homosexuals are born that way there is a large
amount of evidence in support of the theory. There are too many variables and
coincidences to make any psychological studies accurate on why people are homosexual.
One failed experiment was the John-Joan-John case by John Money (2010, Who was
David Reimer). Identical twins, Bruce and Brian Reimer, were born with urinary
difficulties so doctors suggested circumcision in order to solve the problem. The medical
team had used an unconventional technique of cauterization with an electric burning
device that accidentally destroyed Bruce's penis with no possibility that it could be
surgically reconstructed. The Reimers learned of a psychologist John Money of Johns
Hopkins University in Baltimore, who was convinced that children could be educated to
become girls, this psychologist defended the idea that it was education and the
surrounding environment which determines the gender identity of children, rather than
default prenatal biological factors. Money claimed that everyone is born gender-neutral
and it take’s direction and shape as we grow towards the identity of woman or man.
Money believed that gender roles are social configurations (2010, Who was David
Reimer?). The parents agreed to have sex reassignment surgery at the age of 21 months.
Bruce, who was renamed Brenda, was raised like any female child, learning about how
to apply make and women should behave. Growing up Brenda never liked playing with
dolls or other activities girls her age did, and found himself attracted to women.
In the words of his own twin brother, Brian: "the only difference between my
brother Bruce and me is that he had long hair while mine was short. In everything
else we were equal."
Brenda's mother, Janet said: "I tried to do everything I could with all my efforts to
convince Brenda he was female but that did not happen, it was impossible, he
always felt a boy."(2010, Who was David Reimer?)
The experiment a huge failure despite John Moneys attempts to influence Bruce into
believe he was a female and caused the later suicide of Bruce at the age of 38 . Providing
evidence that social aspects do not decide someone's sexual orientation, and in attempting
to change it results in failure and causes psychological issues.
One of the most accurate theories is the Fraternal birth order effect which states
that the more older brother a man has, the greater probability is he will have homosexual
orientation (Fraternal birth order and male sexual orientation, 2012).
The number of biological older brothers, including those not reared with the
participant (but not the number of nonbiological older brothers), increases the
probability of homosexuality in men. These results provide evidence that a
prenatal mechanism(s), and not social and/or rearing factors, affects men's sexual
orientation development. (2006, Anthony Bogaert, The Proceedings of the
Nations Academy of Sciences)
This is not due to being raise with older brothers, but is hypothesized that the mother's
immune system recognizes these male-specific molecules as foreign and starts producing
antibodies to them. The more boys the woman produces increases the effect of estrogen
on the fetus making it 33% chance of being homosexual after the first boy (Fraternal birth
order and male sexual orientation, 2012). This is believed to be the cause of about 15%
of homosexuals. These results support a prenatal origin to sexual orientation development
in men and indicate that the fraternal birth-order effect is probably the result of a
maternal memory for male births (2006, Anthony Bogaert, The Proceedings of the
Nations Academy of Sciences).
In 1991, Dr. Simon LeVay reported his findings from studying the brain
structures of forty-one cadavers containing 6 women, 19 homosexual men, and 16
heterosexual men. (1991, Simon LeVay, page. 1034–37) He concluded that an area of the
hypothalamus (INAH3) was smaller in homosexual men than in heterosexual men and
was about the same size as heterosexual woman. The hypothalamus is a region of the
brain that contains several types of neurons responsible for secreting different hormones
(2011, Hormones of the Hypothalamus). Gonadotropin-releasing hormones secretion at
the beginning of puberty triggers sexual development, and from then on it is essential for
normal sexual physiology in both males and females. The size difference in the INAH3
could cause the amount and type of hormone released into the body effecting sexual
development and attractions.
Swedish researchers have shown that homosexual and heterosexual men respond
differently to two odors that may be involved in sexual arousal, and that the gay men
respond in the same way as women (2005, Gay men are found to have different scent of
attraction). The two chemicals in the study were a testosterone derivative produced in
men's sweat and an estrogen-like compound in women's urine, both of which have been
suspected of being pheromones. Pheromones, chemicals emitted by one individual to
evoke some behavior in another of the same species. The pheromones trigger the
hypothalamus releasing hormones into the body creating the sexual attraction.
"The big question is not where homosexuality comes from, but where does
sexuality come from," said Dr. Dean Hamer, a geneticist at the National Institutes
of Health(2005, Gay men are found to have different scent of attraction).
The different pattern of activity that brains of gay men could be either a cause of their
sexual orientation or an effect of it. If sexual orientation has a genetic cause, or is
influenced by hormones in the womb or at puberty, then the neurons in the hypothalamus
could wire themselves up in a way that permanently shapes which sex a person is
attracted to.