Historical and Scientific Perspectives on Homosexuality Essay

According to Rathus, Nevid, and Fichner-Rathus, (2005) the term homosexuality denotes sexual interest in members of one’s own anatomic sex and applies to both_ _men and women. Homosexual males are often referred to as gay males and homosexual females or referred to as lesbians. Gay males and lesbians have existed throughout history. The historical and scientific perspectives on homosexuality have shaped the way gay individuals perceive themselves in various ways. These perspectives may also be beneficial to heterosexuals understanding of others in our world of sexual diversity. When looking at historical perspectives, religion and past societies sexual behavior is addressed. Although past Greek and Roman cultures were frequently†¦show more content†¦The scientific perspective of homosexuality is whether homosexuality is caused by environmental influences or whether gay individuals are born that way. This question has been pondered byscientists for decades, but there i s strong evidence to support the idea that homosexuality is an inborn characteristic. Research done on both identical and fraternal twins, show that there are higher concordance rates of gay monozygotic twins. Rathus, Nevid, and Fichner-Rathus, (2005) report that about â€Å"52% of identical (MZ) twin pairs were found to be â€Å"concordant† (in agreement) for a gay male sexual orientation, compared with 22% of fraternal (DZ) twins and only 11% of adoptive brothers† (p. 312). Also, evidence has suggested that hormonal influences could be responsible for differences in sexual orientation. Rathus, Nevid, and Fichner-Rathus (2005) explain that prenatal sex hormones be responsible for tissues in the brain to think sexually one way, but for genital development to be the other way. Also, structural examinations on the brains of heterosexual and homosexual males have provided speculative evidence that a part of the hypothalamus in gay males is smaller than that region of the hypothalamus in heterosexual males. The scientific perspectives have helped many gay people come to terms with themselves, which has made coming out easier. Before scientific evidence provided clues that homosexuality could be inborn, manyShow MoreRelatedHistorical and Scientific Perspectives on Homosexuality907 Words   |  4 PagesHistorical and scientific perspectives on homosexuality In contemporary Western culture, choices about romantic love and sexuality are a critical aspect of individual self-definition. Whether someone is homosexual or heterosexual is thus also considered to be a crucial aspect of who he or she is as a human being. In previous eras, where individuals were married young, and entered into arranged marriages, this was not the case. 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