BOYS WILL BE BOYS, BUT NOT ALWAYS

What makes a woman a woman and a man a man? Is being gay really a choice? Why does a lesbian prefer women? How did transsexuals manage to get a foot on both sides of the fence? Are you who you are because you had an aggressive mother, or your father was emotionally cold or detached, or was it that you had a crush on your Third Year teacher? Are you who you are because you're a second-born child, raised in poverty, orphaned, from a broken family, a Leo on the cusp of  Scorpio or perhaps re-incarnated from a cat?  In this chapter we will look at what happens when a human foetus receives too much or too little  male hormone.

GAYS, LESBIANS AND TRANSSEXUALS

Research shows that the basic template for the body and brain of a human foetus is female in its structure.  As a result men have some redundant female features such as nipples. Men also have mammary glands which do not function but retain the potential to produce milk. There are thousands of recorded cases of lactation  in male prisoners of war where starvation led to a diseased liver failing to break down the hormones  essential for breast-feeding.  As we now know, six to eight weeks after conception, a male foetus (XY) receives a massive dose of male  hormones called androgens which first forms the testes, and then a second dose to alter the brain from a female format to a male configuration. If the male foetus does not receive enough male hormone at the appropriate time, one of two things may happen. Firstly, a baby boy may be born with a brain structure that is more feminine than masculine, in other words, a boy who will most likely be gay by puberty. Secondly, a genetic boy may be born with a fully functioning female brain and a set of male genitals. This person will be transgender.

This is a person who is biologically male but feeling as if he is a female. Sometimes a genetic male is  born with a set of both male and female genitals. Geneticist Anne Moir in her ground-breaking book Brainsex documents the many cases of genetic boys being born looking like girls and being raised as girls, only suddenly to find that they have penis and testicles that 'appear' at puberty.

This genetic oddity was discovered in the Dominican Republic and a study with the parents of these 'girls' shows that their parents typically raised them as girls and encouraged stereotypical behaviours such as feminine dress and playing with dolls. Many of these parents were then shocked to discover that they'd  ended up with a fully fledged son at puberty when male hormones took over and their 'daughters' suddenly had

a penis and reverted to male appearance and typical male behaviour patterns. This change occurred despite all the social conditioning and social pressures for female behaviour.

The fact that most of these 'girls' successfully lived the rest of their lives as males highlights the point that their social environment and upbringing had a limited impact on their adult lives. Clearly, their biology was the key factor in creating their behavioural patterns.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS PART OF HISTORY

Among the ancient Greeks, homosexuality was not only permitted, it was highly respected. The slim, boyish, youthful figure was their ideal of beauty, and paintings and statues were erected in its honour. Poems were written about the love that prominent older men had for young men. The Greeks believed that male homosexuality served a noble, higher purpose and it inspired youths to become worthy members of the community. They also found that young gay men proved to be some of their most courageous, successful warriors as they would fight 'side-by-side in love with each other'.

In Roman times, Julius Caesar was described as 'every woman's man and every man's woman.'

When Christianity frowned on same-sex relationships and God reportedly brought his vengeance down on the City of Sodom, homosexuality was banned, disappeared into the closet and wasn't seen in public again until recently. The Victorian era refused to acknowledge that homosexuality existed and, even if it did, it must be the Devil's work and would be severely punished. As we enter the 21st Century, most older generations still believe that homosexuality is a recent phenomenon and an 'unnatural' act. The reality is that it has been around for as long as male foetuses missed out on their sufficient share of male hormones. Amongst primates, homosexual behaviour is used as a way of bonding

members of a group or as a form of showing submis-sion to a superior, as is also the case with cattle, cocks and dogs. Lesbianism gained its name from the Greek island of Lesbos. It has never been looked upon with the same contempt as male homosexuality, probably

because it is associated more with intimacy, and not labelled so much a 'perversion'.

IS IT GENETIC OR A CHOICE?

When Body Language author Allan Pease and geneticist Anne Moir appeared together on British television in 1991 for the launch of their books Brainsex (Mandarin Books) and Talk Language (HarperCollins), Moir revealed the results of her research which highlighted what scientists have known for years- homo-sexuality is inborn, not a choice.

Not only is homosexuality mostly inborn, but the environment in which we are raised plays a lesser role in our behaviour than was previously thought. Scientists have found that as an adolescent or adult, parents' efforts to suppress homosexual tenden-cies in their off-spring has practically no effect.

And because the impact of male hormone (or lack of it)  on the brain is the main culprit, most homosexuals are males.

There is no solid evidence that upbringing affects the likelihood of a child  becoming homosexual.

For every lesbian (female body with a masculinised brain) there are about eight to ten gay men. If the gay  and lesbian movement was to embrace this research and, if the education system taught these findings, homosexual and transsexual people would not encounter as much prejudice. Most people are more tolerant and accepting of a person who has inborn differences than they are of a person who, in their opinion, makes an unacceptable choice. Take, for example, Thalidomide babies, Parkinson's sufferers, autism or people who have cerebral palsy. The public is more accepting of these people because they are usually born with these conditions, as opposed to homosexuals who supposedly choose their lifestyle.

Can we be critical of a person who is born lefthanded or dyslexic? Or with blue eyes and red hair? Or with a female brain in a male body? Most homosexual people believe that their homosexuality is a choice and, like many minority groups, often use public forums to display their 'choice', which generates negative attitudes from many members of the public.

He was a dyslexic, agnostic insomniac. He'd lie awake all night wondering  if there really was a dog.

Sadly, statistics show that over 30% of teenage suicides are committed by gays and lesbians, and that one out of every three transgenders commits suicide. It seems that  the realisation of being stuck in the 'wrong body' for the rest of their lives is too much for them. A study into the upbringing of these homosexual teenagers has shown that most were raised in families or communities that taught hatred and rejection towards homosexuals, or in religions that had tried to save some of the 'victims' with prayer or therapy.

WHY PEOPLE LOOK TO THE FATHER

When a boy turns out to be gay, the father may often be blamed. Family members claim that he criticised the son for not being involved with, or competent at, male pursuits as he grew up. This theory holds that the boy rebelled against the father and became gay to spite him, but there is no scientific evidence to support this view. The likely explanation is that the boy was more interested in female pursuits rather than football, motorcycle racing, cars or boxing matches.

This would have been a constant source of annoyance for a father with high expectations of his son's male development. In other words, the son's effeminate tendencies are more likely to have contributed to the father's critical or aggressive attitude than vice versa.

Red hair and freckles has the same occurrence as homosexuality.

If the public understood that scientific evidence shows that most, if not all homosexuality is inborn, there would be as much interest in a gay rally as there would be in a rally for people with red hair and freckles, a genetic combination that occurs at the same rate as homosexuality. The public would be more accepting of homosexuality and gays and lesbians would not have as many problems with self-esteem, and would be treated with more dignity, and far less rejection and ridicule. Ignorance on both sides keeps both apart.

CAN THE 'CHOICE' BE CHANGED?

Gays and lesbians do not choose their sexual orientation any more than heterosexuals do. Scientists and most human sexuality experts agree that homosexuality is an orientation that is unchangeable. Researchers believe  that most homosexual orientation develops in the womb, that homosexual patterns are firmly fixed by around age five and that it is outside the control of the person. For centuries, techniques have been used to suppress homosexual feelings in 'sufferers' which have included breast amputation, castration, drug therapy, uterus removal, frontal lobotomy, psychotherapy, electric shock therapy, prayer meetings, spiritual counseling and exorcism. No therapies have ever succeeded.

The best they have been able to achieve is to make some bisexuals confine their sexual activities to members of the opposite sex or force some homosexuals to become celibate

through guilt or fear, and to push many others to suicide.

Scientists have shown that homosexuality is an orientation that is unalterable. It's not a choice.

There is a greater than 90% chance that you, the reader, are heterosexual. Think about how difficult it would be  to feel sexually attracted to someone of your own sex and you will begin to understand how it is virtually impossible to create feelings that do not already exist. If it was a choice, as many proclaim, why would any intel-ligent person choose a way of life that exposes them to so much hostility, prejudice and discrimination? Hormones are responsible, not human choices.