Understanding Sexual Orientation: Factors Influencing Homosexuality and Bisexuality - Prof, Study notes of Psychology

Download Understanding Sexual Orientation: Factors Influencing Homosexuality and Bisexuality - Prof and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 11: Sexual Orientation Chapter 11 Sexual Orientation • Sexual orientation refers to the gender or genders that a person is attracted to emotionally, physically, sexually, and romantically. • Heterosexual are predominantly sexually attracted to members of the other sex (straight). • Homosexuals are predominantly sexually attracted to members of the same sex. • Bisexuals are sexually attracted to members of either sex. • GLBTQ refers to people whose identity is gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (or queer). I. WHAT DETERMINES SEXUAL ORIENTATION? • Behavior, romantic love, and self-identification are different ways to classify sexual orientation, and they don’t always correspond with each other. A. Models of Sexual Orientation: Who Is Homosexual? 1. Alfred Kinsey and his colleagues studied sexual orientation. a. Kinsey developed a 7-point scale, The Kinsey Continuum, ranging from exclusively heterosexual behavior (0) to exclusively homosexual behavior (6). b. This scale was the first to suggest that people engaged in complex sexual behaviors were not reducible simply to “homosexual” and “heterosexual.” 2. Klein Sexual Orientation Grid (KSOG) a. This model took the Kinsey Continuum further by including seven dimensions: attraction, behavior, fantasy, emotional preference, social preference, self- identification, and lifestyle. b. Each dimension is measured for the past, present, and the ideal. B. Measuring Sexual Orientation: How Prevalent? 1. There continues to be controversy about how many gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals there are today. 2. General agreement among scholars is that 3-4% of males are predominantly gay, 1.5-2% of women are predominantly lesbian and 2-5% of people are bisexual. 3. Surveys indicate that the frequency of homosexual behavior in the United States has remained constant over the years in spite of the changes in the social status of homosexuality. 4. The challenge with measuring these groups is that researchers are measuring different things such as behavior, self-identification, etc. II. WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENT SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS? A. Biological Theories: Differences are Innate 1. Genetics a. Despite some research findings that homosexuality in men may be more common in identical twins, cautions exist due to the problems with separating out environmental factors and genetics. 2. Hormones a. Prenatal Factors • Early hormone levels were found to influence sexual orientation. • Other researchers have concluded that the evidence for the effect of prenatal Chapter 11: Sexual Orientation hormones on both male and female homosexuality is weak. b. Adult Hormone Levels - Overall studies so far do not support the idea of adult hormone involvement in sexual orientation. 3. Birth Order a. Birth order research attempts to examine the effects of sibling placement. b. Fraternal birth order could contribute to a homosexual orientation due to placental cells in the uterine endometrium influencing later gestations, and children born later could develop an immune response that influences the expression of key genes during brain development. 4. Physiology a. Research in the 1990s suggested differences in the hypothalamus between gay men and heterosexual men. B. Developmental Theories: Differences Are Due to Upbringing 1. Freud and the Psychoanalytic School a. Freud thought everyone is inherently bisexual, yet he also viewed male heterosexuality as the result of normal maturation. b. Later psychoanalytic theorists, Irving Bieber in particular, refuted some of Freud’s views and emphasized that male homosexuality was the result of overly possessive mothers and absent fathers and this triangulation drove the boy to the arms of his mother, which inhibited his normal masculine development. c. Reparative therapy, or conversion therapy, has included techniques such as aversive conditioning, drug treatment, electroconvulsive shock, brain surgery and hysterectomies. There is no reliable research to support reparative therapy and the majority of professional organizations oppose its use. 2. Gender-Role Nonconformity a. Gender-role nonconformity studies are based on the observation that boys who exhibit cross-gender traits, that is, who behave in ways more characteristic of girls of that age, are more likely to grow up to be gay, while girls who behave in typical male behaviors are more likely to grow up to be lesbians. b. As children, gay men on average have been found to be more feminine than straight men, while lesbians have been found to be more masculine. Remember though that these findings are correlational, meaning there is no cause-and-effect relationship. c. These gender-role nonconformity studies do not tell whether these boys are physiologically or developmentally different or whether society’s reaction to their unconventional play encouraged them to develop a particular sexual orientation. d. Many, if not most, gay men were not effeminate as children, and not all effeminate boys grow up to be gay. C. Sociological Theories: Social Forces at Work 1. Sociological theories are constructionist and try to explain how social forces produce homosexuality in a society. 2. The idea of “homosexuality” is a product of a particular culture at a particular historical moment. 3. The idea that people are either “heterosexual” or “homosexual” is not a biological fact but simply a way of thinking that evolves as social conditions change. D. Interactional Theory: Biology and Sociology 1. Social psychologist Daryl Bem has proposed that biological variables, such as genetics, hormones, and brain neuroanatomy, do not cause certain sexual orientations, but rather they contribute to childhood temperaments that influence a child’s preferences for sex- Chapter 11: Sexual Orientation 7. The Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) helps parents accept a child’s sexual orientation along with engaging in advocacy and support for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. 8. Between 14% and 25% of gay men and about 33% of lesbians marry the other sex at some point, either before they recognize that they are gay or lesbian or because they want to fit into heterosexual society. C. Life Issues: Partnering, Sexuality, Parenthood, and Aging 1. Same-Sex Couples a. Contrary to the image of gay and lesbian couples having a dominant and submissive partner, such relationships are actually characterized by greater role flexibility and partner equality and lower levels of jealousy than are heterosexual relationships. b. Research suggests that gay and lesbian couples may work harder at keeping their relationships together. Because they have fewer partners to choose from, they may work harder at their relationships. 2. Gay and Lesbian Sexuality a. Gay men and lesbians tend to see their community as broad, with sexuality as only one component. b. Masters and Johnson found in 1979 that arousal and orgasm in homosexuals was physiologically no different than in heterosexuals. c. Masters and Johnson found that gay and lesbian couples were less goal oriented than heterosexual couples. 3. Gay and Lesbian Parents a. No significant differences have been found between the offspring of lesbian and straight mothers, including the sexual orientation of their children. b. All the scientific evidence suggests that children who grow up with one or two gay and/or lesbian parents do as well emotionally, cognitively, socially, and sexually as do children from heterosexual parents. c. Three states (Florida, Mississippi and Utah) specifically bar homosexuals from adopting children, and several states making it very difficult for homosexuals to adopt children. d. 57% of Americans believe that same-sex couples should have the legal right to adopt. e. Since same-sex marriages are not yet legally recognized in the United States, gay couples may have trouble gaining joint custody of children, and the non-biological parent may not be granted parental leave and may not be able to get benefits for the child through their workplace. D. The Effects of Stigma 1. GLB youth are more likely than heterosexual youth to think about and to commit suicide 2. Pressure living in a society that discriminates against them may result in higher rates of drug/alcohol use. 3. Workplace discrimination may affect wage earnings 4. As of 2007, 19 states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. 5. Employment Nondiscrimination Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in late 2007. V. HOMOPHOBIA AND HETEROSEXISM A. What is Homophobia? 1. Homophobia is used to refer to strongly negative attitudes toward homosexuals and Chapter 11: Sexual Orientation homosexuality. 2. People who hold negative views are less likely to have had contact with homosexuals and bisexuals, are likely to be older and less well educated, are more likely to be religious and to subscribe to a conservative religious ideology, have more traditional attitudes toward sex roles and less support for equality of the sexes, are less permissive sexually, and are more likely to be authoritarian. 3. Homosexuals may also experience internalized homophobia when they harbor negative feelings about homosexuality, leading to decreased levels of self-esteem and increased levels of shame and psychological distress. 4. Heterosexism refers to the presumption of heterosexuality. a. Even those with no negative feelings towards homosexuality are often unaware that businesses will not provide health care and other benefits to the partners of homosexuals. b. Heterosexism can be a passive lack of awareness rather than active discrimination. B. Hate Crimes Against Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People 1. Homophobia creates an atmosphere where it is seen as permissible to harass, assault, and even kill homosexuals. 2. Hate crimes are those motivated by hatred of someone’s religion, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, or ethnic group. 3. Homosexuals are victimized four times more often than the average American, with estimates that 80% of GLB youth being verbally abused. 4. A large number of hate crimes go unreported. C. Why Are People Homophobic? 1. One theory as to why people are homophobic is that it may be a function of personality type since rigid, authoritarian personalities are more likely to be homophobic. 2. Another common suggestion is that straight people fear their own suppressed homosexual desires or are insecure in their own masculinity and femininity. 3. Perhaps people are simply ignorant about homosexuality and would change their attitudes with education. 4. People also tend to confuse sexual orientation with gender identity and may react negatively when they see males violating gender roles. VII. HOMOSEXUALITY IN RELIGION A. Homosexuality and Religion 1. Religion has generally been considered a bastion of anti-homosexual teachings and beliefs, while only traditional Judaism and Christianity have strongly opposed homosexual behavior. 2. Christian religions that are more on the liberal side include the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association. 3. Mainline Christian religions, such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, and Episcopalians, have more conflict over the issue of sexual orientation, resulting in both liberal and conservative views. 4. While Orthodox Jews believe that homosexuality is an abomination forbidden by the Torah, conservative Jews are more likely to welcome all sexual orientations, and reform Jews tend to be the most accepting towards gays, lesbians, and bisexual members. 5. Recently religious scholars have begun to promote arguments based on religious law and even scripture that argue for a more liberal attitude toward homosexuality. 6. Buddhism encourages relationships that are mutually loving and supportive. Chapter 11: Sexual Orientation