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.
