Open mind (as well as facts) needed in sexuality debate
Susan Leitholf
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: Opinion
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I am writing my column this week as a response to John Ritchie's letter to the editor in last week's Greyhound entitled "Homosexuality is not genetic." Ironically, this article was brought to my attention in a class called "Sociology of Sexuality."
Mr. Ritchie believes that anyone who identifies as homosexual has chosen that identity. According to the social constructionist view of sexuality, of which Sociology of Sexuality professor and highly trained researcher Barbara Vann is a proponent, this is incorrect.
This does not mean that those educated in this field believe that homosexuality is only genetic. Rather, we believe that a variety of factors combine in a person's sexuality.
A root of the term 'social constructionist' is 'society.' This means, in a nutshell, that homosexuality (or heterosexuality - in other words, a person's sexuality) is in fact inborn. However, the societal environment in which a person lives can affect the genuineness with which he or she expresses his or her sexuality.
Put another way, an individual who is born homosexual but is living in an environment that is unfriendly to those who identify as such may (I stress may, because everyone is different) not feel completely confident in expressing his or her homosexuality.
One of the many false claims that Mr. Ritchie made was that there has been no research concluding a genetic component of homosexuality. This is, to put it plainly, false.
Two extremely helpful articles can be found at the following websites: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/health/10gene.html and http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/08/14/what_makes_people_gay/.
To quote Mr. Ritchie, "[N]obody has been able to prove in any conclusive study that homosexuality is genetic." He refers to "shoddy pop science" as the only research in this area. I hope that the experts that I am about to discuss are non-shoddy enough for Mr. Ritchie.
"If you can't make a male attracted to other males by cutting off his penis, how strong could any psychosocial effect be?"
Mr. Ritchie believes that anyone who identifies as homosexual has chosen that identity. According to the social constructionist view of sexuality, of which Sociology of Sexuality professor and highly trained researcher Barbara Vann is a proponent, this is incorrect.
This does not mean that those educated in this field believe that homosexuality is only genetic. Rather, we believe that a variety of factors combine in a person's sexuality.
A root of the term 'social constructionist' is 'society.' This means, in a nutshell, that homosexuality (or heterosexuality - in other words, a person's sexuality) is in fact inborn. However, the societal environment in which a person lives can affect the genuineness with which he or she expresses his or her sexuality.
Put another way, an individual who is born homosexual but is living in an environment that is unfriendly to those who identify as such may (I stress may, because everyone is different) not feel completely confident in expressing his or her homosexuality.
One of the many false claims that Mr. Ritchie made was that there has been no research concluding a genetic component of homosexuality. This is, to put it plainly, false.
Two extremely helpful articles can be found at the following websites: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/health/10gene.html and http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/08/14/what_makes_people_gay/.
To quote Mr. Ritchie, "[N]obody has been able to prove in any conclusive study that homosexuality is genetic." He refers to "shoddy pop science" as the only research in this area. I hope that the experts that I am about to discuss are non-shoddy enough for Mr. Ritchie.
"If you can't make a male attracted to other males by cutting off his penis, how strong could any psychosocial effect be?"
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
Alex
posted 4/20/07 @ 7:48 PM EST
Homosexuality is a behavior. It is not a race of people nor does it belong to any particular ethnic group. Behavior is a choice that is formed through child development. (Continued…)
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