Is Sexual Orientation Determined At Birth?

Most people usually would say yes to my question. Why is that? Why do individuals that are more for versed in LGBTQ(+) rights community or equality would usually agree to with this type of question. The Equality Act 2010 states,” You mustn't be discriminated against because you're gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual. This is called discrimination because of sexual orientation. Discrimination which is against the Equality Act is unlawful.” This law depicts that sexual orientation is somehow linked with equality, right? “Born this way” has also been a stature for LGBT rights for many years now. The term sexual orientation is advancing in today’s society. However, this judgement is false. It is evident to state that sexual orientation being determined at birth is not only not probable because of scientific evidence, but the attributes of definition of sex orientation itself and the drive of social utility that comes from the phrase “I was just born this way”.

First, let’s talk about the most controversial evidence that I will be acquiring today. SCIENCE! So, in 1993 Dean Hamer, whom was famous on his work in genetics involving sexual orientation and human behavior, was thought to have found a huge scientific discovery on the genetic link to male homosexuality and a yet unidentified gene on the X chromosome. This discovery was thought to rewrite science and give evidence to the theory “I’m born this way!” However, “the results of this original study were never replicated, and the biological reality of such an entity remains hypothetical from the lack of evidence” which was stated, by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Also, the study couldn’t be repeated making it not even valid enough to even be a theory by DEFINITION. These findings show hat there are not one but many characteristics that contribute to sexual orientation.

Now, Sexual orientation has often been mistaken to be equal with race. Like the term “gay is the new black” as much as I like Orange is the new black…it would only be right if race and sexuality were considered equal but sadly, they’re not. The True-Life states, “Race is a non-moral issue and sexuality is a moral issue which is determined by behavior not birth.” Let’s use their example of two babies,

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“Baby boys in the nursery at a hospital. One baby is Caucasian and the other is African-American. One is resting in a white crib and the other in a black crib. Which crib is morally better? It is a nonsensical question. It would be equally nonsensical to ask which baby boy is morally better based on their skin color. (now that... racists anyway…) Now let's say each boy grows up with equally promiscuous sexual desires. The Caucasian male is sexually promiscuous with every girl he can be (even to the point of date rape) but the African-American male abstains from sex, believing it should be reserved for marriage. Which is morally better? Now this is a valid question because sexuality is a moral issue and moral issues are determined by behavior, not birth.”

Not saying that sexual orientation isn’t often very expressive early and consistently in some cases however sometimes there not. “The patterns of sexual attraction, identity and behavior change profoundly over a young person’s lifetime, with most of the openness to “movement” toward heterosexuality occurring in the late teens and again in the late twenties.” So, lets really dive into the definition of sexual orientation. The Webster dictionary states, “Sexual orientation is a person's sexual preference or identity as bisexual, heterosexual, or homosexual=” Your sexual orientation can change over your lifetime. Example of this would be finding out my sexual preference later in life after going through couple...OK multiple false attractions. Variability being a key factor in this. Sexual fluidity is a big reason for that. The University of Stanford defines sexual fluidity as just one of the many unique ways in which people experience their sexuality over a lifetime. Lisa M. diamond, a known American psychologist and feminist, known for her work in sexual orientation and fluidity conducted an experiment to test this theory. Her experiment was a decade long and tracked relationships of nearly 100 women who at one point or another had experienced ‘same-sex attraction. Desires where tested in her research many women moved from same sex relationships to hetero relationships. Now what does this tells us about the innateness of sexual orientation? Dr. Diamond responded with one single word,” NOTHING, because there completely unrelated.” She goes further to even state, “even though their genetic contribution to sexual orientation. those contributions do not cement your entire sexual lifespan from birth, but they do push its development in a certain direction. YOUR GENES DO NOT HVE THE LAST WORD”. Which is understandable right? Take a set of twins for example. Dr. Keith Roach asses the studies of twin and states, “Studies have shown that in identical twins, if one twin is gay, then 30 per cent to 66 per cent of the identical twins also will be gay. As this is much higher than the overall rate in the population, this suggests some, but not absolute, genetic influence.”

Continuing, The drive of social utility that come from the term “I was born this way” was the sense for acceptance. The years have not been as nice to the LGBT(+) community that I would have like them too. There has been a time where individuals have been too afraid to come out and openly express them self without feeling the judgement of the church, society not excluding family. “I born this way” has been a seen as a way to gain compassion from society that turn their backs. Their logic was “how could you punish us for something that wasn’t to fault nor choice”. Which depicts being in the LGBT(+) community as a disease or virus you can catch instead owning who they are and what they identify as. The LGBT(+) community is no way or shape or form weak or in need of any pity. The LGBT(+) community is stronger than it has ever been in history before. The Gallup elaborates by stating, “The percentage of American adults identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT(+)) increased to 4.5% in 2017, up from 4.1% in 2016 and 3.5% in 2012.” “I born this way” implicates more means of equality by suggesting individuals who been gay and never switched “since birth” are more deserving of equality or acceptance than some who came out later in life or bisexual or more sexually fluid. “Even within the gay community, I can’t tell you how many people have told me, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t date a bisexual.’ Or ‘Bisexuals aren’t real.’ There’s this idea, especially among gay men, that guys who say they’re bisexual are lying, on their way to being gay, or just kind of unserious and unfocused,” Ian Lawrence, an American Institute of Bisexuality board member, told The New York Times. Which is surprising, considering “Bisexuals comprise a slight majority (1.8% compared to 1.7% who identify as lesbian or gay)” states the UCLA school of law. Sounds like a contradiction to me. Shunning an experience or difference in the way an individual defines their sexuality contradict the whole movement and fight of the LGBT(+) community as a whole. That’s not Acceptance nor equality to me? Do you wanted to be accepted just because they think you were “born that way” or accept that you can make your own decisions, love who you want to love and follow your own path will take you in endless directions in this thing we call life.