term paper

Rogelio Gonzalez

#910399222

Review Essay

Humans, the most powerful dominate beings on earth, without a doubt we have evolved into one of the most if not the most intelligent species on earth. Even though evolution has not stopped we as humans already have the capacity to think, understand, create, and act. The most intelligent species on earth that is capable of so many things but still yet to grasp and understand completely our sexuality. For centuries humans have not been able to explain fully how our sexual orientation is chosen for us or why it works against us. However within our time we have been able to learn more about ourselves with the help of evolutionary biologist and their observations in the field. Darwin, one of the most influential persons in the study of evolution, said that homosexuality was not possible because the purpose of mating was for the purpose of producing offspring (Roughgarden 2004: 127). The important question is why haven’t we evolved out of homosexuality, if homosexual couples cannot procreate then what purpose do they serve? With the help of experts we have been able to explain with more detail what is actually going on, biologist have observed animals with homosexual tendencies and even more important, changes in genetics. Looking down at the basic building blocks of human beings, DNA, as well as being able to study family lines such as maternal or paternal genetic patterns. The creation of the Kinsey Scale also helped us discover our sexual behaviors and what attracts us to one another (Diamond 2008: 25). Little by little all of these steps will eventually lead us to a conclusion of why we are who we are either heterosexual or homosexual.

Being able to understand ourselves is important but it is also important to know the state of our peers and why they are the way they are. Evolutionary biologist Dr. Roughgarden is a perfect example of an expert on research, her book Evolution’s Rainbow, tells us how animals interact and from an evolutionary stand point might explain how we might of evolved into the way we are. Roughgarden’s research explains that multiple species of creatures will participate in same-sex activities (Roughgarden 2004: 140), from birds to zebras and kangaroos to dolphins. Another puzzling example of homosexuality in the wild is with a very popular kind of species, sheep, surprisingly male sheep (rams) are known to be very homosexual (Roughgarden 2004: 138). The rams only get three days of heterosexual activity with the female sheep and for the rest of the time the males participate in homosexual activities including anal sex, but it’s normal behavior according to biologist, if the ram do not participate in this then there is something wrong with them and usually are the ones who do not dominate females and are less aggressive (Roughgarden 2004: 138). Our closest relatives, the primates, Roughgarden tells us that within the social structure of certain monkey groups that participate in same-sex relationships are between distant relatives. The purpose of these same-sex relationships is to create bonds between themselves and create structure and hierarchy within their society (Roughgarden 2004: 143). For example in her book Roughgarden tells us that she herself has never witnessed the act of same-sex mating between lizards even after thirty years of experience because she would always assume that the one on top was male and the bottom was female, she felt that to know the truth she would have to disrupt their process which she disagrees with (Roughgarden 2004: 154). We can appreciate that she also respects that side of scientist who are skeptical with the idea of homosexuality is common in nature.

It might not be a common sight to catch animals in nature committing same-sex acts but it is quite prevalent in our society. In a later chapter of Evolution’s Rainbow she discusses research done about the “gay gene” and the influence of gay families on offspring and siblings. It is interesting to know that even though it isn’t completely certain but there are some clues and statistics to show for when we have gay fathers, mothers, brothers, and sister, for example we know that if a brother is gay it has no actual statistical effect on the his sister and vice versa if she is a lesbian (Roughgarden 2004: 247). A study in twins showed a difference between that there is more of a chance of homosexuality with identical twins than if they were born fraternal twins, and same goes with female twins with a few changes in percentages (Roughgarden 2004:247). The HP study was created and tested by two gay genetic scientists, Hamer and Pattatucci; they also analyzed homosexuality in different cultures and also linked DNA with homosexuality (Roughgarden 2004: 251). In a different article by the authors Andrea Camperio-Ciani, Francesca Corna, and Claudio Capiluppi, called Evidence for maternally inherited factors favouring male homosexuality and promoting female fecundity, they also explain and linked homosexuality down the family line (Camperio-Ciani 2004: 1). They conducted a study in Italy where they tested male relatives for their the results concluded that homosexuals had more homosexual relatives on the maternal line and linked the X-chromosome as having significant value of influence on the individuals blood line (Camperio-Ciani 2004: 2). Roughgarden was also able to acknowledge the idea of the X-chromosome on her research of HP but she believed there was more going on with genes than just the X in particular (Roughgarden 2004: 255). Similar findings in a article by Lisa Diamond called Sexual Fluidity also confirms Hamer’s study and acknowledges that there is a tie between the X-chromosome and men but there was no tie or evidence per say for lesbian sharing this pattern (Diamond 2008: 29). Even if there is no such thing as a “gay gene” scientist and researchers have been to show relationships and statistics to show that genetics do play a role in homosexuality.

Many times we forget that as human beings we are constantly observing and it just becomes passive, but for the sake of science many of these observations maybe important in proving who we are sexually. American biologist Alfred Charles Kinsey created a system and scale, a very important tool in which we can determine ones sexuality (Diamond 2008: 25). The Kinsey scale has proven useful when determining sexual preferences, a zero on the scale means completely heterosexual and six means completely homosexual the numbers in between show a variety definitions for example a 3 would say that you are interested in both men and women (Diamond 2008: 25). In the article New Evidence of Genetic Factors Influencing Sexual Orientation again by Camperio-Ciani, they used the Kinsey scale in a study where they studied a population of men some heterosexual and some homosexual from a variety of social gatherings as well as a varied background, age, jobs, origin, and education (Camperio-Ciani 2008: 2). All of these men were given a test where they had to answer 3 sections: biography, Kinsey scale questions, and fecundity/lineage (Camperio-Ciani 2008: 3). Judging by what they scored they were able to determine percentages of homosexuals and given by the fecundity information they were able to reestablish the X-chromosome theory that Camperio Ciani had come up with four years earlier (Camperio-Ciani 2008: 4). Kinsey’s scale is a great tool for the people who are easy to classify as the full heterosexual or the full homosexual.