Same-sex attraction The Genetics of Sex Differences in Brain and Behavior occurs in 1–3% of women and 2–6% of men. Women are also often bisexual (attracted to both genders). Among men, this is rare. Sexual arousal patterns of bisexual men - as a rule, they are attracted to either one or the other sex.
It is unfair to criticize people for their innate characteristics, but sexual orientation seems to be a personal choice of a person, and therefore is condemned with particular force. Below we will try to figure out whether a person chooses his orientation and what factors can influence it.
What determines sexual orientation
It is not known exactly. However, among the possible causes of homosexuality, scientists distinguish psychological and biological. Let's look at them one by one.
Psychological reasons
For many years, psychologists have tried to find the cause of homosexuality. Freud thought Leonardo da Vince and a memory of his childhood, that it was all about a weak father or his absence. Other psychoanalysts blamed childhood erotic experiences and psychological trauma after incest. Does incest cause homosexuality? or fear of people of the opposite sex.
There were many theories, but no evidence.
Orientation is sometimes linked to upbringing, but this theory does not stand up to scrutiny. Children growing up in same-sex families become homosexual Sexual differentiation of the human brain: relevance for gender identity, transsexualism and sexual orientation, no more often than those raised in traditional ones. Moreover, orientation often differs between brothers or sisters growing up in the same family.
Another fact that supports biological causes is homosexuality in animals. For example, 8–10% of domestic rams did not care about sheep. They only mount other males to mate. Perhaps these rams experienced problems with their father in childhood, but this is unlikely.
In the book “We are our brain. From the Uterus to Alzheimer's" Dick Swaab says that homosexual behavior is observed in 1,500 species of animals - from insects to mammals. There are known cases of same-sex relationships in penguins, elephants, rats, and albatrosses. Bonobo monkeys are generally completely bisexual - they use sexual intercourse to make peace or to unite for protection from enemies.
We can conclude that psychology has little to do with a person’s sexual orientation and the real reason must be sought elsewhere.
Biological reasons
By comparing people with different orientations, scientists have discovered some differences in the structure of their brains.
In gay men, one of the hypothalamic nuclei is smaller A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men than in men with a straight orientation. Moreover, in women and men this nucleus differs in both the number of cells and their volume. In gay men, the number of cells is the same as in all men, but the volume is less, approximately the same as in women. They also have different Sexual orientation and the size of the anterior commissure in the human brain brain structures responsible for smell and circadian rhythms The Biology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
The brain of homosexual women in some aspects is more similar to the male Why sex hormones matter for neuroscience: A very short review on sex, sex hormones, and functional brain asymmetries: they are stronger A comparative analysis of functional cerebral asymmetry in lesbian women, heterosexual women, and heterosexual men connection between the cerebral hemispheres (lateralization) and less Homosexual Women Have Less Gray Matter in Perirhinal Cortex than Heterosexual Women gray matter in some areas of the cortex and cerebellum.
Also, people with different orientations have different Brain response to putative pheromones in lesbian women processing of odors. In heterosexual men and women, information about pheromones of the opposite sex is processed in the hypothalamus, and all other odors are processed in the olfactory networks. In homosexual people, the reaction is similar, only the hypothalamus is activated Brain response to putative pheromones in homosexual men in response to pheromones of the same sex.
Differences in brain structures prove that sexual orientation has biological reasons.
It could be argued that the brain is plastic and changes in response to experience, especially in early childhood. And psychological trauma, for example, can change brain structures and sexual orientation.
However, as we mentioned above, no psychological cause of homosexuality has been proven by research, and two centuries of attempts to “cure” homosexuality have come to nothing. Scientists are inclined to believe that the features are innate and not acquired. And science has several theories about what may cause such changes.
PART III – Gender Identity
The concept of biological sex is well defined based on the binary roles of men and women in the process of reproduction. In contrast, the concept of gender is not clearly defined. It is primarily used to describe behavior and psychological characteristics typically associated with a particular gender. Some individuals identify with a gender that does not match their biological sex. The reasons for such identification are currently little understood. Work examining whether transgender individuals have certain physical traits or experiences similar to the opposite sex, such as brain structure or atypical prenatal hormonal exposures, is inconclusive to date. Gender dysphoria—a feeling of mismatch between one's biological sex and one's gender, accompanied by severe clinical distress or impairment—is sometimes treated in adults with hormones or surgery, but there is little scientific evidence that these therapeutic interventions have beneficial psychological effects. Science shows that gender identity issues in children do not typically continue into adolescence and adulthood, and little scientific evidence supports the medical benefit of delaying puberty. We are concerned about the growing trend of children with gender identity issues being encouraged to transition to their chosen gender through medical and then surgical procedures. There is a clear need for additional research in this area.
read PART III (PDF, 29 pages)
Why are people born with certain orientations?
Scientists suggest Extreme skewing of X chromosome inactivation in mothers of homosexual men that in both sexes sexual attraction is determined by the same neural pathway. But in which direction it will turn and who will attract a person - a man or a woman - depends on many biological reasons related to hormones and genetics.
Hormone levels during pregnancy
Scientists have noticed Sexual orientation in women with classical or non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia as a function of degree of prenatal androgen excess that women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) are more likely to become lesbians. CAH leads to increased sensitivity of the female fetus to testosterone, the male sex hormone.
The influence of androgens on the embryo can affect the girl's sexual orientation.
They also discovered Sexual differentiation of the human brain: relevance for gender identity, transsexualism and sexual orientation, that if during pregnancy the mother took the hormonal drug diethylstilbestrol, the chance of having homosexual girls greatly increased.
Maternal immune response
There is an interesting pattern: Proportion of homosexual men who owe their sexual orientation to fraternal birth order: An estimate based on two national probability samples: each older brother increases the chances of the next one being homosexual. Moreover, the number of older sisters does not matter.
It is believed that this is due to the mother's immune response. Each subsequent pregnancy increases maternal immunity to male-specific fetal antigens. At the same time, the influence of maternal antibodies on the next male fetus increases.
Genetic changes
The X chromosome produces Extreme skewing of X chromosome inactivation in mothers of homosexual men genes that influence sex, reproduction, and cognition. Therefore, they looked for genes responsible for sexual orientation in her. And for good reason.
In one experiment, a connection was found between male sexuality and the genetic marker of the X chromosome Xq28. It coincides with A linkage between DNA markers on the X chromosome and male sexual orientation in 64% of homosexual brothers.
Another reason was found for Extreme skewing of X chromosome inactivation in mothers of homosexual men in the characteristics of the mother’s X chromosomes. Because women have two of these chromosomes, one of them is randomly inactivated, and genes are expressed from the second. But in some women, one X chromosome predominates in 90% of cells.
For mothers with heterosexual sons, this happens in 4% of cases, for women with one gay son - in 13%, and with two - in 23% of cases. This proves that sexual orientation is transmitted through the maternal line.
What is aversive treatment
Aversive treatment is a group of therapeutic methods based on the model of conditioned reflex formation, discovered by I. P. Pavlov - classical conditioning, as well as on Skinner's model - operant conditioning. In this case, a negative reflex is formed due to negative, unpleasant reinforcement - aversive conditioning, from the Latin aversatio - “disgust”. For this purpose, extremely uncomfortable, but not dangerous to health, stimuli are used, such as electric shock, unpleasant taste or smell. The aversive method has been widely criticized due to ethical violations, so it is used in psychiatry only in extreme cases: treatment of alcoholism, aggression, food addiction, smoking, enuresis, sexual behavior disorders, and tendency to self-harm. It is aimed at inhibiting unwanted behavior that harms the patient himself or other people around him.
Aversive treatment is applied compulsorily by court decision to persons with paraphilic behavior who violate public order or have committed crimes. For example, an experience was described when men suffering from exhibitionism were given smelling salts with an unpleasant odor so that they would inhale it every time they wanted to show their genitals to strangers. Sometimes men sought treatment under family pressure or because they themselves felt the negative impact of sexual behavior disorder on their lives.
Currently, symbolic aversive conditioning is more often used, when unacceptable behavior is associated with possible ideas about its negative consequences (illness, maladjustment, etc.). The method is widely used in so-called coding.
Is it possible to change sexual orientation?
Since doctors previously thought that homosexuality was a consequence of childhood experiences, they tried to treat him. Can we change sexual orientation? . They tried to kill attraction with electric shock, drugs that cause nausea, blows and shame. Milder methods included hypnosis, thought redirection and other forms of psychotherapy. Treatments of homosexuality in Britain since the 1950s—an oral history: the experience of patients were of little use.
Of the 75 studies published from 1960 to 1985, only six could actually show whether the therapy worked or not. And it didn't work. The participants did not change their behavior outside the laboratory, and they were not attracted to people of the opposite sex. Some lost attraction to either sex altogether.
An analysis of eight more modern scientific papers (from 1986 to 2009) did not reveal a single high-quality study that could prove the effectiveness and safety of the technique.
The treatment doesn't work. Moreover, suppression of desire and fear of punishment, on the contrary, can lead to inappropriate sexual behavior and cause health problems.
There is currently no evidence that sexual orientation can be changed in any way.
Scientific evidence confirms that people do not choose their sexual orientation. The only thing they can choose is to accept it or deny it, risking developing mental problems.
PART II – Sexuality, mental health and social stress
Compared with the general population, non-heterosexual and transgender groups have increased rates of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and suicide, as well as behavioral and social problems, including substance abuse and intimate partner violence. The most common explanation for this phenomenon in the scientific literature is the social stress model, which holds that social stressors experienced by members of these subpopulations—stigma and discrimination—are responsible for disproportionate mental health outcomes. Research suggests that while social stressors clearly influence the risk of developing mental illness in these populations, they are likely not fully responsible for these disparities.
read PART II (PDF, 32 pages)
Data Disclosure and Consequences
After the regime change in South Africa, Aubrey Levin, fleeing arrest, went to Canada, where he took up the post of professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Calgary Medical School. He also ran a private practice.
The Aversion project, printed on 132 sheets, was found and published in the Daily Mail and Guardian along with an interview with Levin, where he denied most of his guilt. For example, he argued that the electric shock was minor and was carried out using an electronic device that caused only slight discomfort in the hand. He also completely denied any ethical violations. According to Levin, only volunteers who themselves wanted to “cure” from homosexuality participated in the project.
In 1995, the South African Medical Association publicly apologized for the cruel experiment. However, a full investigation was never carried out.
Meanwhile, punishment eventually caught up with the unkind doctor: in 2010, he stood trial on charges of sexual harassment during therapy sessions by 20 male patients. In 2012, one of the patients managed to film a doctor performing sexual acts during a session using a hidden camera. In April 2014, Levin was sentenced to 5 years for sexual assault. However, charges were never brought against his past crimes.
In light of recent events in Dr. Levine's biography, the question arises: was he trying to find the key to getting rid of his own homosexuality, which he could not accept? Or did he simply enjoy torturing people and thus satisfy his sadistic tendencies? The question remains open.
Progress of the experiment: leader and methods
The head of the Aversia project was a military doctor in the apartheid army, Aubrey Levin. He was also the chief psychiatrist at the hospital in Foottrekkenoot and the ideologist of the project. Levin believed that homosexuality among military personnel could contribute to the collapse of the South African army and the deprivation of the country's military power.
The treatment, which was called “aversion”, included several groups of methods:
- Exposure to electric current in order to develop a conditioned reflex in experimental subjects - aversion to their own sex. Soldiers were shown intimate photos of attractive people of the same sex, then received a strong electric shock. This was called “shock therapy,” which earned Levine the nickname “Dr. Shock.”
- Medicinal influence. If electric shock did not help, patients were injected with drugs that were supposed to break the protective barriers of the psyche for a more effective effect. In addition, they were injected intramuscularly with substances (apomorphine and others) to induce chemical vomiting. Such “treatment” was supposed to develop physical disgust for one’s own sex.
- Hormonal “treatment” and surgical operations. With those patients who were not affected by either electric shock or drugs, doctors acted more radically. They were exposed to shock doses of hormones and operations to change their physical sex. In some cases, chemical castration was performed. There were also recorded cases of violence against Angolan women who were forced to have sex with experimental subjects.
In fact, the entire Aversion project was an attempt to force people to change their sexual preferences using available medical means. This failed, but after forced gender reassignment operations, many of the soldiers committed suicide.
In addition to flagrant violations of medical ethics, this project was also distinguished by a complete lack of scientific justification, because in the 70s, in all the works of American and European psychiatrists, homosexuality was no longer considered a mental illness.
