Born this way?

[DungeonDragon]

Are we born gay or does it develop while we grow? what do you think?

[Bravo]

When I think about my past, I think it's safe to say (at least for me) that it was developed. I never really thought I would feel attracted to a guy until I hit puberty.

[Jovial]

For me I would have to say born... I can remember a time when I was preteen and the neighbour took his shirt off to work, those manly chest hairs and firm muscles on display… my female friend said it was gross yet I was mesmerized…

[Edward]

We are born gay. Just like the color of our eyes or size of our feet, our orientation forms while we're still in the wombs of our mothers.

[Eth21]

Hmmm a tough one.. As nether has been scientific proven I personally think we were born that way since surveys done in the 50s and done now show a very similar percentage of gay ppl which would be consistent with the theory of being born like that.

[Woollyhats]

Personal opinion with no scientific evidence at all: I know I was born this was, or something in my brain developed this way outside of significant environmental stimuli.
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On a more scientific level (which tends to support with what I know about myself, as would only make sense)...

Most developmental theorists and related professionals believe that it is a combination of nurture and nature; as shown in twin studies where identical twins are not always both straight or gay; though a higher correlation for the same sexuality exists -- showing that there is a genetic correlation. Most psychologists also now view attempts at changing a person's sexuality as dangerous, as it can be psychologically harmful, and cannot be done. Physically speaking, there are qualitative differences... for example, gay men seem to have less muscle mass, larger genetilia, and have slightly different brains, specifically in the INAH3 of the hypothalamus (gay men). The brain differences are believed to occur during the fetal period, which point towards fetal development. Other studies would seem to support this, as it's believed one of the factors in promoting homosexuality are hormones involved during natal development. Studies in the brains of rams also supports that brain developmental was different in the 8% of rams that were attracted to the same sex, and again, hormonal levels when they were pregnant influenced this.

Obviously the research involved in incomplete; but what is known is that the evidence points towards natal development, hormone levels, and a genetic disposition in regards to homosexuality. Another reality that is often neglected is that even if something is genetic in a human, some genes possess that ability to turn off and on given environmental stimuli, so if homosexuality is genetic, this would be an explanation in regards to that. One study in regards to genetics had a 99% confidence in regards to genetics influencing homosexuality.

Knowing this differences in homosexuals may also help you answer the question as to whether homosexuality is something we're born with or group up with, as it becomes apparent that homosexuals are in fact vastly different to heterosexuals, and something like playing with female toys is an insignificant contributor to homosexual development. Copying a list from wikipedia (with reference numbers included), some of the differences were:

• Gay men and straight women have, on average, equally proportioned brain hemispheres. Lesbian women and straight men have, on average, slightly larger right brain hemispheres.[53]
  
• The VIP SCN nucleus of the hypothalamus is larger in men than in women, and larger in gay men than in heterosexual men.[54]
  
• Gay men report, on an average, slightly longer and thicker penises than non-gay men.[55]
  
• - The average size of the INAH-3 in the brains of gay men is approximately the same size as INAH 3 in women, which is significantly smaller, and the cells more densely packed, than in heterosexual men's brains.[32]
  
• The anterior commissure is larger in women than men and was reported to be larger in gay men than in non-gay men,[31] but a subsequent study found no such difference.[56]
  
• - Gay men's brains respond differently to fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.[57]
  
• - The functioning of the inner ear and the central auditory system in lesbians and bisexual women are more like the functional properties found in men than in non-gay women (the researchers argued this finding was consistent with the prenatal hormonal theory of sexual orientation).[58]
  
• - The suprachiasmatic nucleus was found by Swaab and Hopffman to be larger in gay men than in non-gay men,[59] the suprachiasmatic nucleus is also known to be larger in men than in women.[60]
  
• - The startle response (eyeblink following a loud sound) is similarly masculinized in lesbians and bisexual women.[61]
  
• - Gay and non-gay people's brains respond differently to two putative sex pheromones (AND, found in male armpit secretions, and EST, found in female urine).[28][62][63]
  
• - The amygdala, a region of the brain, is more active in gay men than non-gay men when exposed to sexually arousing material.[64]
  
• - Finger length ratios between the index and ring fingers may be different between non-gay and lesbian women.[58][65][66][67][68][69] THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING YOU CAN LOOK AT IF YOU SUSPECT SOMEONE OF HOMOSEXUALITY ---- THIS IS VERY COMMON!!
  
• - Gay men and lesbians are significantly more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous than non-gay men and women;[70][71][72] Simon LeVay argues that because "[h]and preference is observable before birth...[73] [t]he observation of increased non-right-handness in gay people is therefore consistent with the idea that sexual orientation is influenced by prenatal processes," perhaps heredity.[32]
  
• - A study of over 50 gay men found that about around 23% had counterclockwise hair whorl, as opposed to 8% in the general population. This may correlate with left-handedness.[74]
  
• - Gay men have increased ridge density in the fingerprints on their left thumbs and pinkies.[74]
  ]*] Length of limbs and hands of gay men is smaller compared to height than the general population, but only among white men.[74]
  
  

Obviously, these differences aren't something that would easily be created by environment factors. For example, asbetos might give you lung cancer, but it's not also going to influence brain development, finger length, muscle mass, etc. (at least, not with any kind of correlation). Because of this, I am inclined to suggest the answer to your question is that the evidence suggests that we are probably 'born this way'.[

Of course, scientific topics are never 'proven', hypothesis, theories, and laws are not 'proven', but evidence s useful in showing what is likely proportionality speaking --- and in this I do think that the most likely answer is that we're born this way.

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Most everything in this post was taken from external sources, with the mention of genes that can be turned on and off being an exception (which is common knowledge anyway). The Wikipedia article in my opinion is very well done on this subject, though a little difficult to understand at parts.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and...te_note-13

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/261/5119/321.long

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1845227

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/253/5023/1034

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2668810/

http://uber-facts.com/2013/02/07/studies...al-brains/

[CellarDweller]

I would say born gay.

[Sylph]

I came out on a rainbow covered in glitters my mama said, so yeah.

But I have developed and grown into the person I am as a gay person, so essentially both.

Who cares what science says, people know and like who they are, so

[Pix]

A great many people had crushes (sometimes even outright lust) from when they were like 5 years old...and it was the same gender they would be into as they got older. So I'm gonna go with we're born that way, at least with strong tendencies anyway.

[EMH]

I would have to say born gay. And to anyone who thinks that for them it was developed over time, maybe it is… for them. However, most (not all) people who haven't reached puberty don't find strong sexual feelings towards others at that age. This makes me wonder if people assume they are attracted to the opposite sex at this time because we live in a society where we idealize the norm as being heterosexual. For someone at an age who doesn't feel much sexual attraction towards anyone, it would seem reasonable to assume that they do believe they are straight, and may not come to terms with their sexuality until well after puberty. I may be wrong about this, but maybe there's some truth behind it.

I hate to bring this up, but I might as well. On a more scientific level, in some instances, there seems to be a correlation in sexuality among siblings and cousins. Certainly this isn't the case all the time, but there definitely are tendencies.

Also, Homosexuality has been documented in over 1,500 species, so that has something to say as reason to believe we are born this way.

But all in all, I really don't think it matters. All I know is that it (obviously) certainly isn't a choice, and that we all deserve to be accepted for who we are.