Beginning in the early 19th century, and continuing into the modern era, there have been ongoing political, religious, and cultural debates in regards to whether same-sex attraction is a normal variant of human sexuality or a controllable, aberrant behavior. Despite being removed from the APA Diagnostic Manual in 1973, homosexuality continued to be denounced on the grounds that it is merely a lifestyle choice (Wake 2019).
However, scientific inquiry in the past few decades has gone very far to demonstrate a biological basis for alternative sexual orientations, and dozens of hormonal, neurological, and genetic mechanisms have been proposed to explain this phenomena (Bogaert 2020) Nevertheless, despite scientific consensus, some dissenting voices remain and may even misconstrue scientific findings in order to illegitamize same-sex relationships.
This website takes a critical look at one such dissenting voice, and evaluates its claims using the most current, legitimate scientific publications. The organization in question, godandscience.org (link below), recently published an article, "Genetics and Homosexuality: Are People Born Gay?" that, while seemingly comprehensive and scientific, actually misrepresents experimental data and presents a biased, inaccurate sample of scientific publications.
Through discussion on Neurobiology, Endocrinology, Genetics, and Non-Biological Factors, godandscience.org posits that sexual orientation is a voluntary, personal choice that can be reversed. The current project addresses these claims with comprehensive coverage and fair consideration of the arguments made by this organization.
1Wake, Naoko. "Homosexuality and Psychoanalysis Meet at a Mental Hospital: An Early Institutional History." Journal of the history of medicine and allied sciences 74.1 (2019): 34-56.
Bogaert, Anthony F., and Malvina N. Skorska. "A short review of biological research on the development of sexual orientation." Hormones and Behavior 119 (2020): 104659
