On Sexual Orientation

 

“Who’s to say that your sexuality cannot change and morph over time, and that you can’t grow accustomed to certain things or be nurtured in a certain direction? I feel like that is totally possible to happen… The people who are arguing specifically on the LGBTQ side will want to say that “sexuality never changes” and “I knew I was gay” or “bi” or “trans” or whatever “from the day I was born, I just had to, you know, discover that about myself,” but I always say leave room for the possibility that your world view and your view on sexuality could be completely wrong and that stands for both sides. Yeah, I’m not going to say that sexuality just never changes. I personally couldn’t say that.” 

 

The above statement from the popular conservative YouTuber, Amala Ekpunobi, speaks to the times we are living in. We have regressed to the point that people no longer think that a person is born gay. I do not fault Amala, but this episode speaks to the abject failure of “alphabet soup” activism to address the needs of the homosexual and bisexual population.

This begins by explaining the science of sexual orientation. To this end, I recommend the writings of Paul L. Vasey, who has co-authored a simple, free-to-read primer on this topic, titled “Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science.”

Firstly, we must go over some definitions. Amala’s confusion likely arises from an unclear definition of the word “sexuality”. When discussing sexuality, one must differentiate sexual orientation from sexual behavior and sexual identity:

  • Sexual behavior: “sexual interactions between persons of the same sex (homosexual), the other sex (heterosexual), or both sexes (bisexual).”
  • Sexual identity: “one’s self-conception (sometimes disclosed to others and sometimes not) as a homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual person.”
  • Sexual orientation: “one’s degree of sexual attraction to the same sex, both sexes, or the other sex.”

It is not one’s sexual orientation that is subject to change, but one’s sexual behavior and/or sexual identity.


There is no evidence that any of the “ex-gay” men in this video have successfully altered their sexual orientation. Rather, they have suppressed their sexual attraction to males and altered their sexual behavior and sexual identity.


To those who think it might be possible to “pray the gay away”, look up “How George Alan Rekers and his rent boy got busted by New Times.”


Some question the claim that homosexuality is genetic, noting that monozygotic twins are not always both gay. It is true that environmental factors shape one’s sexual orientation, but “environment” includes the uterine environment. There is evidence that non-genetic, uterine factors influence one’s sexual orientation. In females, this includes prenatal androgen exposure. In males, this includes the “Fraternal Birth Order Effect”. Although the genetic influence on sexual orientation is only “moderate”, there is no evidence that social environment shapes one’s sexual orientation.


If this is true, why has it become increasingly popular to believe that a person’s sexual orientation can change?


There are two factors to consider. The first is sex differences in sexual orientation. (#SexMatters)


 


 

 

A Sex Difference in the Specificity of Sexual Arousal


There is a fourth parameter that I have yet to define, which is “one’s relative physiological sexual arousal to men versus women (or to male vs. female erotic stimuli).”


In studies of physiological sexual arousal (genital arousal), two patterns are typically observed in males: exclusive heterosexuality, and exclusive homosexuality. Bisexuality is more rare. In females, the two patterns are not exclusive heterosexuality and exclusive homosexuality. Instead, they are bisexuality and lesbian-leaning bisexuality. Women whose sexual identity is “straight” display the bisexual pattern, while women whose sexual identity is “lesbian” display the lesbian-leaning bisexual pattern.


The interpretation of this finding is open to debate, as some argue that measurement tools used do not accurately capture sexual attraction in females. Indeed, there are vast, fundamental sex differences in sexuality itself. Outside of the research setting, surveys confirm that bisexuality is more common in the female sex. Sexual fluidity has also been observed in women of all sexual orientations, where women are more likely to change their sexual identity over time, most commonly settling on some variation of “bisexual”.


Before one goes claiming “Milo Yiannopoulos was right!”, consider what Paul L. Vasey and other scientists have written about female sexuality:


“We would be surprised if differences in social environment contributed to differences in male sexual orientation at all. We would be less surprised if the social environment affected the expression of male sexual orientation, including the likelihood that a homosexually oriented male would choose to act on his feelings. Although it would also be less surprising to us (and to others; see Baumeister, 2000) to discover that social environment affects female sexual orientation and related behavior, that possibility must be scientifically supported rather than assumed.”


Although this might seem as though female sexual orientation is subject to change, I contend that it is female sexual identity that changes. There is no evidence that sexual orientation itself changes. This pertains to Amala Ekpunobi’s claim. While her position is unfounded for male sexuality, she might be correct in stating that popular beliefs regarding female sexuality might be “completely wrong”.


This pertains to the discussion of FTM transsexuality, as there is no evidence that FTMs differ from non-transsexual females in terms of sexual orientation.


The second factor that must be accounted for is the colonization of LGBT activism by heterosexuals.

 

The “alphabet soup” “acronym” brigade is flooded with “queer”-identified heterosexuals and their many made-up sexualities, such as "demisexuals" "lithosexuals" "graysexuals" and "aegosexuals". All just fancy words for “heterosexuals”, and a few closeted homosexuals. It is also noteworthy that most of the people adopting these identities are female. Naturally, the sexual behavior and sexual identity of this cohort is subject to change, as their “sexuality” is completely ideologically based, and does not reflect their true sexual orientation. Most of the time, these are young straight women, who are going through a phase.


In conclusion, sexual orientation is innate, but one’s perception of that orientation can change.

 

REFERENCES 

  1. Bailey, J. M., Vasey, P. L., Diamond, L. M., Breedlove, S. M., Vilain, E., & Epprecht, M. (2016). Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(2), 45-101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100616637616 (Original work published 2016)
  2. Chivers, M. L., Rieger, G., Latty, E., & Bailey, J. M. (2004). A Sex Difference in the Specificity of Sexual Arousal. Psychological Science, 15(11), 736-744. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00750.x (Original work published 2004)

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