What are the Causes of Homosexuality?

There are a lot of ideas of where homosexuality comes from, though I think it is most commonly thought that homosexuality is completely biological and unchangeable. For the most part, I think I agreed with this idea. It made sense to me because I know of several people that have same-sex attraction, many of which do not want these feelings and would not have chosen to have these feelings if they could help it. However, I watched a video in my Family Relations class that addressed the causes of same-sex attraction, and it has really made me think. For starters, one of the first things mentioned in the video is that there is no proof that homosexuality comes from genetics or biology. A study in Australia compared 33,000 pairs of identical twins. Because identical twins have exactly the same DNA, then they would both have to be homosexual if it was based on their genes. However, the study showed that only 11% of the twins were both homosexual. This completely disproves the idea that one is homosexual from birth, so what causes same-sex attraction? Floyd Godfrey, a professional counselor, discovered that homosexuality usually occurs based on what happened in an individual's childhood. 

When first explaining the definition of homosexuality, Godfrey explained that same-sex feelings usually stem from "the sexualization of emotional needs and wounds." This links to the first factors that may lead to homosexuality, which are bullying and a wounded sense of gender identity. An example of a this is when a boy has some interests that are viewed as more feminine, and then he is ridiculed by his other boys for his interests. In the video, several homosexual men were interviewed, and they all talked about feeling excluded from all of the other boys when they were younger. They all felt very rejected and isolated and craved connection and acceptance from other boys, which eventually led to same-sex attraction and homosexual feelings. It is really saddening to me how many people have to go through things like this and how they are treated at a young age can impact them for the rest of their lives. The next factor in the video was related to family relationships.

Most of the men in the video expressed that they did not connect well with some or any of their family members. Some of the them had distant or abusive fathers. Others had cruel older brothers or controlling mothers. However, sometimes an individual my perceive the situation with their family as different than it really is, so a family may be completely stable, but there may just be some communication errors or misunderstandings that may cause one of the family members to feel estranged from other family members. This does not necessarily mean that the family is responsible if one family member has same-sex attraction. I know some people raised in good families that experience same-sex attraction, and though I do not know their whole stories, it seems to me that their families were not the cause of them becoming homosexual. However, it does sometimes may play a role in them developing these feelings. Another factor that leads to same-sex attraction is sexual abuse.

Sexual abuse can have a huge impact on someone, even if they do not remember the event. Many of the men interviewed said that they had been sexually abused when they were younger, and it played a major role in them becoming homosexual. However, on the flip side, a lack of healthy physical connections with anyone can also be important. If someone never experiences physical affection, such as something as simple as a hug, they begin to crave and need that. Being deprived of this need is sometimes what leads to same-sex attraction. There are also a couple more factors in the video, but I am going to wrap up by talking about how the video explains that sexual orientation can change.

After discussing the causes of homosexuality, the researchers in the video also talked about how sexuality can change. When some of the men started understanding the source of their feelings, they started beginning to heal. A lot of them only needed to connect emotionally with other men. As they made these connections, some of them noticed their same-sex attraction beginning to diminish as they formed friendships that they had not been able to experience before. This does not necessarily guarantee any changes in sexual orientation, and some people are only able to notice small differences while taking therapy for reorientation; however, some are able to mostly or completely remove of unwanted same-sex attraction. I think it is really cool that this is possible and wonder why I have never heard very much about reorientation therapy, as it has been successful for many people.

Overall, I just found this topic very interesting and educational. My intention was not to offend, but rather to inform about some research I have learned from. The factors I talked about may or may not apply to every situation, so I hope not to cause offense to anyone that identifies as homosexual and may have not experienced any of these things. I am not an expert on this topic and am only using information from my class and the video I talked about. I hope this was interesting for you as well and that I have not seemed insensitive or hurtful in any way. Thank you so much for reading! :)

Here is the link to the video if you would like to learn more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJhyzqdzpnM