Is Homosexuality Biological?

INTRODUCTION: As a young gay man in Africa, one of the arguments I have had to put up with on so many occasions is the notion that homosexuality is an acquired trait that has no biological factors attached to it. In fact, I have been told that it is such a filthy practice that not even an animal in the jungle would engage in. In this post, I not only establish the biological strings influencing homosexuality, but I also give you fascinating facts about homosexuality in the animal kingdom. I don’t know about you, but these are statistics I would not try refuting.

If you an African gay man, probably the most cliche statement you have heard is that being gay is unafrican, an influence of the Western world. That’s a whole new topic of discussion saved for later. For now here is what you should know, being gay is normal. In fact, according to research, between 2 and 11% of male adults experience some homosexual feelings. By the way, did you know that homosexuality not only exists across cultures, but also in the animal kingdom? Here is a fun fact; Between 6 and 10% of rams prefer to mount other rams, while female Japanese macaques even compete intersexually with males to have other females as sexual partners.

While the specific causes of homosexuality are yet to be established with certainty (genetics is still a controversial factor, considering that most identical twins of homosexuals are straight), I dare say that to a great extent, homosexuality is biological. It is important to establish these factors because there is a very strong correlation between beliefs about the genesis of sexual orientation and the tolerance of non-heterosexuality.  Specifically, individuals who believe that sexual orientations are biological are more likely to support sexual rights and equality than those people who believe sexuality is a choice, or an influence.

Is it just a coincidence that many gay men, myself included, are last borns? I have always wondered, and I know you have too. Some of the research conducted on birth order and sexual orientation would argue that this phenomenon has everything to do with gender roles. After all, various studies have indicated that a larger percentage of men with same-sex attraction were born later in their respective homes. Most men with opposite-sex attraction in these studies were reported to have been born the first, and therefore tasked with more responsibilities, hence the gender roles influencing their sexual orientations. However, this research focuses more on environmental factors, rather than biological.

One of the most consistent bio-environmental explanations for homosexuality, and one which I happily discuss today is the Fraternal Birth Order Effect. Fundamentally, the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he is to be gay. According to Ray Blanchard, a professor and a psychiatrist, the fraternal birth order effect is caused by a mother’s body mounting an immune attack on the fetus of an unborn male child.  He goes ahead to give too much details about the chromosome chemistry that i am too lazy to discuss right now. Simply put, the more male children a woman has, the more she produces antibodies which suppress antigens in the male fetus responsible for the development of heterosexual orientation.

Let’s just say that with 2 or more sons, a woman’s male fetus does not get the signal “to be straight”, with the phenomenon growing stronger with each son she has. This again would explain something most of us have always wondered about. Have you ever noticed that gay men who are first borns, or somewhere in between are more “manly” than gay men who are last borns (these ones are more effeminate)? Apparently, we last borns just do not get the flicker on. Now this one specifically made me feel good because growing up I always wondered why I was so girly. I can’t say it’s because I had a lot of sisters (I mean, I rarely saw them, same to my brothers). Turns out my mother just gave birth to 3 too may boys before me.

As I conclude, I hope I have made two points clear for all of us; homosexuality to some extent is biological, and therefore “African”, and it is natural and OK for a man to be effeminate. Si makosa yao, big bros ndo wengi.