My Journey Through Mental Health Education

OH BOY!! Touchy subject ALERT!! Research on and about sexual orientation? I'm game! I have no fears of discussing this topic at all. And it was brought to my attention that I have an "overly" healthy outlook. How is that even possible? LOL, I just look at people differently than (let's say) most do.

Research and Sexual Orientation

Let’s talk about Simon LeVay (1991) and his findings based on research for himself, about himself. He wanted to know if there was any difference in the structure of the brain when you have a same-sex preference. In his case blind case study he examined the brains of heterosexual and homosexual individuals. He found differences in the sizes of cell clusters in the hypothalamus. This still does not determine that there is a difference in the brain composition of homosexuals because just as LeVay stated, we build larger cell structures in areas we work the most. So what he found could very well be what that individual built based on preference. However, it has been found that 7 out of 10 sheep preferred same-sex experiences.

So far there are three different studies that have hypotheses of what drives our sexual orientation. In one study they believe it is passed from the mother to the male. That with each male born there is a higher probability that they will prefer men over women. They did not mention anything about how it may affect women during the prenatal stage but I would assume it must be the same. What makes sense is the idea of identical twins standing a higher chance of one of them preferring a same-sex relationship. Everything must be split between the two so if one gets more than the other, it just makes sense. And the third study is what I consider obvious, Fruit Fly Studies, where they altered a gene that causes them to prefer same-sex interaction. I supposed that’s one way to do it but I think it’s sort of cheating. At least with Family Studies, they can track it from one generation to the next.

There is a big connection between sexual orientation and the prenatal environment. Is the mother producing a sufficient amount of hormones needed? The Fraternal Birth Order Effect claims that with each male born they will have an increased chance of being oriented to the same sex. This happens because the mother builds antibodies during the first 10-month gestation of the first male she carries. Once those antibodies are there and she is impregnated again with an additional male, she builds more from this one as well. Weakening what is provided to each male after the first. Interesting but I am curious as to why the same study isn’t applied to females.

What they have also discovered is that homosexual orientation is 39% more likely NOT to be right-handed. I’m not quite sure the significance of it but it is an interesting fact. There is also a difference in spatial abilities between homo and heterosexual males and females. Seems that gay men and straight women remember more objects than that of a straight male. That when subjected to the pheromones of men, gay men reacted as straight women do and the same for lesbians and straight men to the scent of a woman. They also discovered that much doesn’t change when it comes to sex. Gay and straight men prefer more sex than women and also have less of an issue with non-attachment sex. In fact, gay men are more likely to simply remain committed to one another than to legalize the marriage. I find these studies to be a bit one-sided. I think they need to do better at digging deeper into women. I think they may find that we are very much the same in many ways.

LeVay said that we go through the same biological processes in our biological development as we do for our sexual development. What I gather from that is that many factors play into the development of your brain and sex life. From your time invitro, floating around gathering data from mom and the outside to every moment you exist here. We are capable of orchestrating ANY life that brings us our truest happiness and that doesn’t come in a one-size-fits-all. Not in my opinion anyway but I am not ordinary, by no means.