Homosexuality and Genetics Research
The question of whether someone is born as a homosexual or that if it is a lifestyle choice is asked by many. The answers about the origins of homosexuality frequently divide people into opposing sides. Some people attribute homosexuality into lifestyle choices while others believe it is innate and genetic in origin. Homosexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior among members of the same sex/gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectionate, or romantic attractions primarily to" people of the same sex; "it also refers to an individual’s sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviors expressing them, and membership in a community of others who share them. The research studies I have come across have been mostly inconclusive with further testing needed, but have favored the genetic links to homosexuality. Twin studies have become a highly debated area of experimentation but one of the most common studies conducted. J. Michael Bailey has been a leader in the pack of scientists trying to ascertain if there is in fact a genetic link to homosexuality. J. Michael Bailey and Richard Pillard (2003) studied the gayness between MZ (monozygotic, colloquially "identical") twins, DZ (dizygotic, colloquially "fraternal") twins, and non-related adopted brothers. They observed how many of the sample population examined were gay and how many were straight. A sample population refers to a set of potential measurements or values, including not only cases actually observed but those that are potentially observable, They found that 52% of MZ twins were both self-identified homosexuals, 22% of DZ twins were so, and only 5% of non-related adopted brothers were so. This evidence, repeated and found to be true a second time, reinforced the biological perspective by showing the more closely genetically linked a pair is, the...