There are many scientific studies that suggest that a person’s sexual preferences have a biological origin and not so much a psychological one, as argued by psychoanalysts. These conclusions call into question the influence of childhood experiences before the possible existence of a genetic component , while silencing the voices most detracting from sexual freedom.
To this day, there is not full evidence of the factors that define a person’s sexual orientation, although it is true that the scientific community leans towards a biological explanation as opposed to a purely psychic one. Some hypotheses hold that homosexuality is gestated during the intrauterine stage , that is, before the baby is born, and that it is linked to hormonal changes in the mother’s body, since testosterone levels influence the development of certain areas brain partially involved in sexual attraction.
Others point to an immune response from the mother’s body towards a male fetus, which, when repeatedly experienced after several male pregnancies, increases the chances of having a homosexual baby. The vast majority seem to agree on the prenatal conditioning factors of sexual identity.
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In this sense, the existence of a specific gene associated with homosexuality seemed ruled out, although it seems that epigenetic regulations do play an important role. Epigenetics is, let’s say, a ‘superficial’ part of genetics that is affected by environmental conditions, and that can eventually modify DNA.
For example, in a study published in 2014 by the University of Chicago, he analyzed the DNA of more than 400 pairs of siblings, both homosexual, and found two sequences of it linked to homosexuality, in which, possibly, a multitude of couples of genes . However, the authors of the work speak of “genetic predisposition” and not of “determinism”, since the expression of genotypes is subject to environmental factors, with which personal experiences would also shape the sexual inclinations of the individual to a certain extent. .
Although it is not possible for the moment to affirm exhaustively the genetic origin of homosexuality, scientists will continue to speculate on the biological root line, rejecting completely that it is a mere unconscious choice and therefore, that it can be reversed.
Although this conclusion is controversial, it would not mean more that sexual orientation is something as natural as being dark, tall or red-haired: a mere characteristic that is not chosen.
Another branch, for its part, maintains that sexual orientation is a wide range, and that it does not have to be defined by classical or ‘binary’ orientations, but rather moves within a varied spectrum.
Regardless of where your origin resides, there are many types of sexual orientation with which people can identify, and the same is true of gender identity, terms that are often confused, and that are not synonymous.
