The debate about whether homosexuality is an inherent or social parameter can be deemed as one of the most thoroughly discussed issues in contemporary society. Although the movement against oppression has been started, a range of statements concerning homosexuality being a social and, therefore, changeable construct have affected the lives of numerous people negatively. Nevertheless, it seems that homosexuality is predetermined by biological factors rather than societal. Seeing that homosexuality is typically defined as the attraction toward the same gender rather than a series of behaviors by which specific demographics can be characterized, it will be legitimate to assume that biological factors are the primary contributors to defining one’s sexuality and, therefore, determining whether one is homo- or heterosexual (Palmer, 2014).
One might argue that homosexuality may also be viewed as a set of behaviors that can be observed among target populations when interacting with the object of their sexual attraction. When viewing the phenomenon under analysis from the specified perspective, one might assume that social factors lead to shaping one’s sexual preferences and, therefore, defining one’s sexual orientation significantly. However, the exposure to the environment in which one may allegedly develop a propensity toward homosexual behaviors is very unlikely, according to recent research (Byrd, 2015).
Therefore, it will be reasonable to assume that homosexuality as the phenomenon of being sexually attracted to people of the same gender is primarily caused by one’s genetic makeup. By arguing that homosexuality is defined by the environment in which one develops, one implies that the subject matter is acquired and, therefore, can be altered toward heterosexuality. The assumption mentioned above, in turn, has a drastically negative effect on homosexual people since it allows viewing homosexuality as a deviation from the norm that can and should be changed. In other words, viewing homosexuality as a biologically defined phenomenon that is not a deviation but, instead, a variation of the norm can be considered an appropriate statement (Ciani, Battaglia, & Zanzotto, 2015).
References
Byrd, A. D. (2015). Homosexuality: Innate and immutable: What science can and cannot say. Liberty University Law Review, 4(3), pp. 479-501.
Ciani, A. C., Battaglia, U., & Zanzotto, G. (2015). Human homosexuality: A paradigmatic arena for sexually antagonistic selection? Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology, 7(4), a017657.
Palmer, B. (2014). What causes sexual orientation? Genetics, biology, psychology. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.