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from What do clinical studies say?
Does "Born That Way" Mean
"Designed That Way"?
When a person says that only heterosexuality is
normal--and that all other forms of sexuality are
abnormal variants--he is often dismissed with the
statement, "Wrong--gays are born that way."
The "born that way" argument has now been widely
refuted as false, and the current scientific
consensus is that biological, family and social
factors work together to set the stage for
homosexuality.
Still, to understand the ultimate significance of
what biological evidence there is, an important
distinction should be remembered: that between the
concepts of "born that way" and "designed that
way."
Temperament and Prenatal Influences
We continue to see a small but steady stream of
research studies linking homosexuality with
various biological factors. Even though
researchers do not claim these factors
predetermine homosexuality, such factors cannot
simply be dismissed as utterly irrelevant to
causation. (For a comprehensive review, see "What
Causes Homosexuality? Biological Theories," in
Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in
the Church's Moral Debate, by Stanton Jones and
Mark Yarhouse.)
Reports in the clinical literature continue to
link male homosexuality to a sensitive
temperament. Those writers theorize that a
sensitive, passive and sometimes aethetically
oriented nature, along with lack of athletic
ability, will set a boy apart from his peers. If
there is also a poor relationship with father, the
boy is likely to suffer a gender-identity injury.
When combined with the classic dynamic of an
over-involved mother, the stage is set for the boy
to eroticize (rather than internalize) his natural
longing for masculinity.
And research also suggests another scenario: in
some individuals, prenatal hormones may abnormally
masculinize or feminize the developing fetus.
Similarly, when a pregnant woman is exposed to
certain environmental pollutants which are known
to have a hormone-like effect on the body, some
writers theorize that sex differences are blurred
in her developing fetus. The resulting gender
distortions could affect the child's sense of
himself or herself as male or female, and could
thus account for the biological "push" in the
direction of adult homosexuality.
Yet although we recognize that such individuals
were "born with that way" (in the sense of being
biologically influenced toward a certain identity
and behavior), it would not follow that they were
in fact designed that way. Such a condition would
represent a biological error.
For example, an article in the prominent journal
Psychological Bulletin recently linked both male
and female homosexuality to a higher-than-normal
incidence of left-handedness (1). The authors
noted that both left-handedness and some forms of
homosexuality may originate from prenatal
"biological developmental errors."
In theorizing that homosexuality would, in such
cases, also be an "error," the authors explain
that left-handedness has also been linked with a
higher number of spontaneous abortions, lower
birth weight, higher rate of serious accident and
serious disorders, and a shorter life span.
Left-handedness has similarly been linked to
neural tube defects, autism, stuttering, and
schizophrenia.
A second study--this one in Archives of General
Psychiatry--found significantly higher levels of
pathology in the gay population than among
heterosexuals (2). One hypothesis for the finding
of higher levels of emotional disturbance--offered
by prominent gay twin-study researcher J.M.
Bailey--was that homosexuality may represent a
developmental error.
Developmental Errors and Genetic Misfortunes Are
Common
Many people are born with genetic predispositions
that we clearly recognize as problems. An
alcoholism gene--an obesity gene--and a gene for
shyness, violence, hyperactivity, or short temper
are recognized as setting the stage for a lifetime
of challenges. The same would be true of a gene
for near-sightedness, mental retardation, or
attention-deficit disorder. And there are also
prenatally induced, non-genetic conditions that we
recognize as problems, such as fetal alcohol
syndrome and fetal cocaine addiction. All of the
affected persons must struggle to adjust in life.
But we do not respond to such conditions by
assuring the person, "You were born that way, so
this is who you are."
The crux of the issue is as much philosophical as
scientific: "What is human design and purpose?"
The answer to the question will tell us whether we
were merely "born that way," or in fact "designed
that way."
We would not conclude that homosexuality is a
normal variant if we held to this simple
definition, offered by a clinician more than fifty
years ago: Normality is "that which functions in
accordance with its design."
--Linda A. Nicolosi
References
1. Lalumiere, M.L.; Blanchard, R.; Zucker, K.L.
(2000): "Sexual orientation and handedness in Men
and Women: A meta-analysis." Psychological
Bulletin vol. 126, no. 4, 575-592.
2. Bailey, J.M., "Commentary: Homosexuality and
Mental Illness," Archives of General Psychiatry,
October 1999, vol. 56, no. 10, 876-880.
Updated: 13 March 2008
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