The 6 Theories About The Causes Of Homosexuality (according To Science)
The question about the causes of homosexuality It has been present in different discourses and scientific and philosophical investigations throughout the modern era. Heirs of the more traditional and conservative conceptions of the Middle Ages that marked the beginnings of modern science, questions about sexual “minorities” have been addressed and reformulated in an important way from different perspectives.
In this article we will briefly review some of the main scientific theories that have been asked about the causes of homosexuality. Likewise, we reflect on the implications of constantly asking ourselves about the causes of what is represented as “what is different.”
In 1973, the American Psychological Association published the second version of the diagnostic and statistical manuals of mental illnesses, with the intention of unifying clinical views on what is considered a disorder. This version includes an important change compared to the previous one: homosexuality was removed from the compendium of disorders with which it was no longer considered a mental pathology.
This was only a first step, partly as a consequence of the social mobilizations of homosexual people themselves. For its part, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases until the 1990s. And it was not until the first decade of the year 2000 when the APA issued an official statement stating that There was no scientific validity in “corrective therapies” of homosexuality that continued to be implemented in different places.
None of these measures seems to have resolved the doubt of many scientists and non-scientists about why there are non-heterosexual people (and for the same reason, they have not completely ended the social need to “correct” or expel them).
The question about “the different”
As is the case with other “minority groups” (in which the difference compared to hegemonic groups is highlighted in an important way), the question about what causes this difference does not stop being raised from different investigations; which, paradoxically, are constructed and present themselves as neutral.
The above is partly a consequence of the fact that minority groups are often stereotyped from the prejudice of danger, the malicious, the less human or even the inferior. Therefore, it is also common that, when they are not made invisible, they are represented from the place of antagonism.
The above means that, a priori, many of the research questions have taken the heterosexual (man) subject as a starting point and reference point and, from your body, experiences, desires, etc.; Questions about everything else have been asked and answered.
This being the case, it is not surprising that even in professional training in psychology and related areas, the question about the causes of homosexuality continues to be asked. To put it in other words, at the base of many research questions is a frequently invisible homophobic ideology. To exemplify this, we could do the brief exercise of asking ourselves why no one, or almost no one, asks questions (neither in research nor on a daily basis) about the causes of heterosexuality.
Theories about the causes of homosexuality
Thus, a series of investigations, with different scientific perspectives, have been developed to explain homosexuality. Next we will a brief review of the main proposals that have taken place, from psychoanalysis to genetic and psychosocial theories.
1. Psychodynamic theories
For Freudian psychoanalysis, the psychic structuring It is strongly linked to psychosexual development. Sexual definition is a process that is not determined by anatomical characteristics, but by predominant sexual identification and the psychic choice of an object of desire. Homosexuality in this case is representative of a structuring in which an instinctual fixation towards the mother figure as opposed to the father figure has taken place.
This leads to the structuring of an object of desire that in this case corresponds to the same sex. This process does not necessarily occur in the same way in men and women. In this context, Freud used the term “inverted” to refer to homosexuality, in an attempt to establish a difference with the term that was commonly used: “perverted.”
2. Biological determinism and genetic theories
Perhaps the theories that have generated the greatest impact in studies on homosexuality have been those that are part of biological paradigms. These range from Darwinian evolutionary theories to those that suggest that homosexuality is a consequence of certain genetic factors.
Based on the above, it is usually thought that homosexuality is counterproductive for the reproduction of the species, so some research suggests that it is necessary to review this interpretation, since the principle of natural selection does not necessarily apply in the case of heterosexuality-homosexuality.
According to some of these theories, there is the possibility of a significant increase in fertility in women with a homosexual maternal family. They have also suggested that genetic factors that are related to the X chromosome influence the homosexual orientation of men.
3. Endocrinological theories
Among the explanations above and those that follow are research and theories on endocrine activity. These suggest that homosexuality is consequence of peri- or postnatal hormonal development ; which in turn can be caused by different elements, for example the mother’s hormonal treatments during pregnancy.
Likewise these theories They often emphasize the role of testosterone in the development of the brain and nervous system. This hormone could cause animals to masculinize, especially during the gestation period. Perinatal developmental testosterone deficiencies in men could lead to male homosexuality, and high levels of the same hormone would lead to female homosexuality. There are even theories that suggest that the latter is visible in the size of the fingers on the right hand; That is to say, depending on which finger is larger than the other, the hand could be an indicator of homosexuality.
Finally, and regarding gestational development, it has been proposed that sexual orientation is related to the immune response of the mother’s body, which in turn relates to the development and activity of the Y chromosome (these theories apply when it comes to men). Recent research has suggested that a certain reaction of the maternal body to proteins associated with said chromosome would increase the probability of the male being homosexual, as well as different medical complications.
4. Neurobiological theories
In the 1990s, the American neurobiologist Simon Levay carried out various investigations in which compared the brain structures of homosexual men and heterosexual men.
In an attempt to stop discrimination against gay men (he was gay); The neurobiologist offered a series of answers that remain valid and debated to this day.
According to their studies, there is a difference in the hypothalamus between heterosexual and homosexual men. It is a node that is responsible for regulating the endocrine system, which in the case of homosexual men has similarities with the brain of heterosexual women. Different theories have been added to these investigations that suggest, for example, neurobiological differences in the development of men and women.
5. Biological diversity and sexual dissidence
In the context of the opening of different scientific and philosophical currents, and consequently of different social movements that advocate for the recognition of sexual diversity, queer theory has emerged. The latter assumes that both gender and sex are social constructions (consequently, sexual orientation in broad terms is as well). As such, these constructions generate a series of norms, desires and possibilities of action; as well as exclusion, segregation and pathologization practices.
In this same context, the biologist Joan Roughgarden has taken up Darwinian theories on sexuality, but to turn them around. Her research suggests the existence of different sexual genders, and questions the existence of a binary sex-gender (that is, the one that is reduced to the possibility of being a man or a woman, giving primacy to heterosexuality). The latter is visible not only in human beings but in many intersex animal species and species that have the possibility of changing their biological sex throughout their lives.
6. Homosexuality in other species
At the end of the 90s, Bruce Bagemihl theorized about sexual behavior in animals and proposed that, contrary to what was believed, said behavior takes different forms, even between animals that belong to the same species. From his research he reports that Homosexual behavior in animals is visible in more than 500 species ; ranging from primates to worms, including birds and mammals from different ecosystems.
This behavior includes copulation, genital stimulation and, in general, sexual exhibition behaviors between animals of the same sex. The same author discusses the evolutionary functions of homosexuality and proposes that they cannot be the same for all species. The criticisms made towards this research go in the same direction, that of finding reproductive and evolutionary benefits of sexual diversity from biological paradigms; which may also lead to its disqualification.
