|
A central feature of sexual development in adolescence is the emergence of sexual orientation, referring to a preference for sexual partners of one's own sex (homosexuality) or the opposite sex (heterosexuality) or both (bisexuality).
A large majority of adolescents eventually identify themselves as heterosexual. In a recent national survey of 18- to 59 year-olds who were assured of anonymity, only about 3% of males and 1112% of females identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual (Dunlap, 1994), although some studies have found the rates to be somewhat higher (A. Bell, et aI., 1981; see LeVay, 1996).
According to Freud, this identification process explains why most children eventually adopt a heterosexual orientation. It is just one more way in which the child becomes like the same-sexed parent. Homosexuality or bisexuality results when something goes wrong with the identification process: the Oedipal or Electra complex cannot unfold in the usual way because there is only one parent in the home or the same-sexed parent is too weak or shows no interest in the child or the opposite-sexed parent is not nurturing enough to be attractive or is too dominant.
Even modeling by adults does not seem to affect children's sexual preference. Studies of children raised by homosexual partners indicate that they are no more likely to become homosexual than children raised by heterosexuals. It is also interesting to note that children raised by homosexual parents are no more likely to be sexually abused than other children and that they too have good relations with peers during childhood.
There is better evidence for biological influences on sexual orientation. First, prenatal hormones seem to play a role. Exposure to masculine hormones can affect the sexual orientation of human females. Girls who are exposed to high levels of prenatal androgens (congenital adrenal hyperplasia are often found to have a greater frequency of homosexual experiences and fantasies than their non-CAH female relatives.
For males, delayed exposure to masculinizing hormones during prenatal development has been found to affect sexual behavior in several nonhuman mammalian species. For example, when a male rat fetus is prenatally stressed, effectively delaying its exposure to androgens, the rat in adulthood will show higher frequencies of female sexual posturing and lower frequencies of male sexual behaviors such as mounting, than non prenatally stressed males.
Heredity seems to have an influence on the development of sexual orientation. When one identical twin is homosexual, the other twin has about a 50% chance of also being homosexual, a much higher concordance rate than we find between less closely related family members, but clearly, sexual orientation cannot be just a function of heredity other wise the concordance rates between identical twins would be much higher.
As with most other behavioral phenomena, it seems likely that environmental and hereditary factors interact in complex ways to produce sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is strongly affected by peer interactions.
In Bem's view, the role of biology is to predispose children to prefer sex-typical activities (and same-sex playmates) or sex-atypical activities (and opposite-sex playmates). These preferences lead children to feel different from opposite-or same sex-peers, to perceive them as dissimilar, unfamiliar and exotic.
Children with gender identity disorder (GID), who have early preferences for the toys, clothing and activities of the opposite sex and who show some identity problems (such as wishing to be the other sex), also prefer to spend their time with opposite-sexed peers in middle childhood. According to Bem's theory, their preference for opposite-sexed playmates should eventually result in a homosexual orientation, a preference for same-sexed partners who are less familiar. Thus young GlD boys often do grow up to be gay Spending their time with opposite-sexed peers in childhood could be a causal step in the process. There are certainly other ways to explain the sexual orientation of GlD boys, but these findings are at least compatible with Bem's theory, which provides another outlook on a possible role for the environment in the development of sexual orientation.
Regardless of how biology and environment transact in the determination of sexual preference, it should be noted that most homosexuals, like most heterosexuals, feel that their sexual orientation is not something they have chosen but that it is a part of what they are "naturally" (eg. Money, 1988). Even so, there are some people who change sexual preference in the course of their adult lives and for these people personal choice often seems to play a greater role than others.
|
Participants