SXS400
Dec 7th, 2009

SXS 400 Essay

If sexual orientation is something that we can’t change or choose, then how are these specific preferences such as heterosexuality and homosexuality created? How does one person progress to either heterosexuality or homosexuality? Studies showed that there were genetic factors linked to influencing sexual orientation in males before they were born by increasing the female reproductive capacity in mothers during multiple births. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) Though that doesn’t mean that there technically is a “gay gene” that has been discovered, just that several human genome studies has suggested promising areas of research that are pointing to that direction. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) With more
(Roughgarden, 2009, 248) Contradicting this statement, a scientist named Dean Hamer went on an interview on television saying that, “there is new evidence that homosexuality may be inherited in some cases and not a matter of choice.” (Roughgarden, 2009, 255) Ted Koppel who was interviewing him repeatedly asked him to confirm his new found evidence, but Hamer continued to dodge the question and later in some off-air comments said that, “a particular area of the X chromosome and some other genes were involved in causing homosexuality.” He also said that “most researchers and scientists agree that there’s a very slight choice in choosing to be homosexual.” (Roughgarden, 2009, 255)
Another independent research suggested that while a mother is pregnant with the fetus, her immune system activates and causes a reaction when the fetus is a male. Basically the reaction in the mother’s immune system causes a change in the antigens produced by the male fetus, and supposedly “acts against the way a male brain thinks.” (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 394) The study then also further states that this conflict increases in later born males thus increasing the chances of homosexuality. This statement then later coincided with the fact that homosexual families tended to be much bigger than heterosexual families. Meaning the multiple births increased the chances of the children to have a homosexual