With the news filled with stories of gay rights lawsuits filed for unfair treatment towards homosexuals, it is tempting to think there is a good sized percentage of homosexuals in America. This is not entirely true. The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community is actually really small. A 2013 survey in the UK shows 16% of heterosexual women have had a homosexual experience, 8% included genital contact. Heterosexual men have a lower rate, being 7% with a homosexual experience, and only 5% with genital contact (figure 1). This seems very low, especially when a similar survey in the 40s claimed 37% of white men had a homosexual experience (Kremer). Even though the 2013 numbers are low, the actual LGBT community is even smaller.
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Some researchers believe homosexuality to be a conscious choice. Others find proof that homosexuality is caused by genetics. Most scientists believe homosexuality to be a combination of genetics and environmental factors. However one needs to be sure to not confuse “environmental” with “socially acquired” (Hamilton), one has to do with hormones and the other with how someone is raised. This debate has been at the center of the equal rights movements for homosexuals. The pro-choice advocates claim homosexuality is a choice, usually accompanied by some moral or biblical verse, so those who practice it should not have the same rights, such as marriage or adoption, as those who practice heterosexuality. The pro-birth advocates claim homosexuality cannot be helped. It is biologically part of a person and cannot be severed. As such, those who identify as homosexual should be allowed the same rights as those who identify as heterosexual. Both sides have trotted out scientific or psychiatric proof to support their claims. So what makes a person homosexual? Homosexuality is caused by differences in the brain structure developed by mostly prenatal hormones, the number of older male siblings, genetics, and
Some researchers believe homosexuality to be a conscious choice. Others find proof that homosexuality is caused by genetics. Most scientists believe homosexuality to be a combination of genetics and environmental factors. However one needs to be sure to not confuse “environmental” with “socially acquired” (Hamilton), one has to do with hormones and the other with how someone is raised. This debate has been at the center of the equal rights movements for homosexuals. The pro-choice advocates claim homosexuality is a choice, usually accompanied by some moral or biblical verse, so those who practice it should not have the same rights, such as marriage or adoption, as those who practice heterosexuality. The pro-birth advocates claim homosexuality cannot be helped. It is biologically part of a person and cannot be severed. As such, those who identify as homosexual should be allowed the same rights as those who identify as heterosexual. Both sides have trotted out scientific or psychiatric proof to support their claims. So what makes a person homosexual? Homosexuality is caused by differences in the brain structure developed by mostly prenatal hormones, the number of older male siblings, genetics, and