Is It Known Whether Homosexual Urge Is An Instinct Or Is It An Acquired Behavioral Pattern? What Scientific Research Findings Suggest Or Indicate This?
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No, it's not really "known". Because human behaviour is never going to be 100% understood.
But what if I told you "yes", it is known.. and then cited lots and lots of studies and made a cogent and lengthy argument... would you believe me? Would you still have doubts or questions?
The bottom line is that plenty of people will want to argue with any amount of evidence (either way) on this one. They are too attached to their personal circumstances (as gays themselves) or to other reasons (culture, religion, habit) to be willing to change their minds.
In the middle are behavioural theorists and other scientists who try to study the subject objectively, but struggle in a world where people want to attach a moral value to every aspect of human sexual behaviour.
What we do know is...
Plenty of animals exhibit a preference for sexual interaction with the same gender.
A medium-size minority of people have chosen to try same-sex interactions at least once.
Gay people frequently exhibit a consistent set of physical and cognitive differences (at the level of fundamental brain function) from "straights" and the dabblers.
It's theorised that these differences may be genetic or may occur as a result of the womb environment.
Being gay confers big social disadvantages in nearly all societies. Only an idiot would therefore "choose" to be, and yet the preclivity persists, suggesting something innate, not learnt.
Many fears about homosexuality and its possible "threat" to society are not verified by independent research.
Gay men are more likely than straight men to report having been sexually molested as children; this suggests that childhood experiences influence sexual preference. But the counter argument is that gay men may be more forth-coming than straight men about this kind of experience. Anecdotal evidence suggests that boys molested by women are also more likely to be gay, which would refute the "early wrong programming" hypothesis.
Probably, different people are gay for a combination of different reasons (possibly mostly beyond their personal control).
answered 2 years ago
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