The debate on human sexuality, especially one that revolves around the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender, continues to elicit mixed reactions among Americans. Despite it gaining substantial advancements into the American mainstream, most members of LGBTQ continue to face discrimination in all areas of life. Similarly, the recent debate on whether humans are born gay or socialized into one has further widened the gap of discrimination. However, this discussion emphasizes that people learn how to express their sexuality from society and that there is no single gene associated with being gay. Therefore, sexual expressions, such as being gay, are part of socialization, a life-long process of acquiring and disseminating norms and customs through media, the internet and religion, thus allowing individuals to fit within a particular group.
In the U.S. and Western countries, there are two forms of unions: heterosexual and homosexual. While the majority of the people adhere to heteronormativity, there is another group of people who subscribe to homosexual unions. These two groups, which appear to oppose each other, act as a means of socialization. As explicated in Lippa’s (2020) study, heterosexual unions find homosexual unions as socially abnormal and deviant. The author further noted that there are extreme variations in sexual orientation and expression across cultures (Lippa, 2020). This is a clear indication that there are no universal sexual norms – an individual is taught the norms of a specific culture through socialization. As a matter of fact, sexuality in most Western societies is viewed through the lenses of heterosexuality and homosexuality. From a historical point of view, the Ancient Greeks viewed sexuality in terms of active and passive objects. As explained by Kotrosits (2018), what remained salient was whether one chooses to be active (the penetrator) or passive (the penetrated). This ideally shows that although biological differences played an important role, they could not be used to define homo or heterosexual expression.
Religion also plays an important role in determining how an individual is sexually socialized. Religious leaders devote most of their time and resources in teaching and instructing their followers on the proper ways of living their lives. This applies extensively to those who identify as straight or subscribe to heterosexuality unions. These religions’ main aim is to provide guidance on proper ways of expressing their sexual desires. For instance, evangelical Christians emphasize the importance of abstinence and that a man and women should engage in sexual activity after marriage. The Catholic Church, in an effort to prevent and discourage its members against gayness, asserts that homosexuality is unholy (Huffman et al., 2020). Jewish faith also holds that sexual activities should only be undertaken between married couples as a way of reinforcing the marital bond. As for Islamic religion, Huffman et al. (2020) argues that “it is not Islam per se that prohibits same-sex sexuality and gender diversity but rather cultural interpretations of religious aspects” (p. 356). However, the overriding point here is that individuals growing up in a particular religion are instructed on how to behave sexually.
Beside religion, the media and the internet also play a critical role in how individuals are sexually socialized. People often encounter normative discussions about sexual identity and conformity through the media. According to Miao and Chan (2020), people get socialized to replicate the sexual behaviors they observe on television, movies and in books. However, Miao and Chan (2020) emphasized that most of these representations are purely heteronormative. Similarly, pornography is yet another way that people get socialized into adopting particular sexual practices through media. Carrotte et al. (2020) further noted that approximately 70 percent of men aged 18 to 34 who visit the internet view at least one pornographic website a month. A follow up study shows that majority of the including the female pornographic views try to emulate the actions witnessed into their sex lives. Furthermore, the internet is increasingly Becoming an important platform for the exploration of adolescents’ sexual orientation. The internet is regarded as the best platform for youth to explore and accept their sexual orientation identity. This is because it increases their self-awareness of self-orientation, allows them to learn about the gay community, and facilitates their coming out process.
While it is often cited that genes play an important role in determining sexual orientation, there is no single gene associated with being gay. Vázquez (2022) carried out research in which they analyzed the genomes of over 470000 people in the United States and United Kingdom. The author’s aim was to find out “how genetic variants at millions of different places in the genome correlate with whether participants had ever had sex with someone of the same sex” (Vázquez, 2022, p. 15). This is regarded as one of the most extensive undertaken to determine an individual’s sexual orientation. The author utilized a large sample size – a larger percentage of the data analyzed was sourced from UK’s BioBank. Additional samples of about 700,000 participants were sourced from 23andMe, a biotech company that offers a compressive and accurate DNA testing. As explained by Vázquez (2022), the “participants consented to having their data utilized in the study. The research identified five specific variances that were believed to contribute towards determining how individuals express their sexuality.
However, the effect of the identified variant was found to be small and inconsistent. For instance, Vázquez (2022) stated that “in one of the male specific variants with thymine molecules, the chances of having had sex with a male partner are 3.6 percent” (p. 27). A similar pattern was replicated with guanine molecule, which shows a probability of only 4 percent. The other variants on chromosomes 4, 7, 12, and 15 had much smaller effects as far as same sex is concerned. Therefore, it is right to argue that compared to nature, nurture through socialization is highly linked to being gay or lesbian.
In conclusion, people learn from society how to express their sexuality. This means sexual expression, such as being gay, is part of socialization – a life-long process of acquiring and disseminating norms and customs that allow an individual to fit in within a particular group. As evidenced above, there are two forms unions, heterosexual and homosexual which act as a means of socialization. While the majority of the people adhere to heteronormativity, there is another group of people who subscribe to homosexual unions. Similarly, the media and the internet also play a critical role in how individuals are sexually socialized. Individuals often encounter normative discussions about sexual identity and conformity through the media. For instance, the majority of those who visit pornographic websites try to emulate the actions witnessed in their sex lives. Lastly, the fact that there is no gene that is directly associated with gayness shows clearly that it is acquired through socialization.
References
Carrotte, E. R., Davis, A. C., & Lim, M. S. (2020). Sexual behaviors and violence in pornography: Systematic review and narrative synthesis of video content analyses. Journal of medical internet research, 22(5), e16702. Web.
Huffman, J. M., Warlick, C., Frey, B., & Kerr, B. (2020). Religiosity, spirituality, gender identity, and sexual orientation of sexual minorities. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 6(4), 356. Web.
Kotrosits, M. (2018). Penetration and its discontents: Greco-Roman sexuality, the acts of Paul and Thecla, and theorizing Eros without the wound. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 27(3), 343-366. Web.
Lippa, R. A. (2020). Interest, personality, and sexual traits that distinguish heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual individuals: Are there two dimensions that underlie variations in sexual orientation?Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(2), 607-622. Web.
Miao, W., & Chan, L. S. (2020). Social constructivist account of the world’s largest gay social app: Case study of Blued in China. The Information Society, 36(4), 214-225. Web.
Vázquez, I. G. (2022). The gay gene (s)? Rethinking the concept of sexual orientation in the context of science. Biology & Philosophy, 37(5), 1-22. Web.