In the case Obergefell v. Hodges, the United States Supreme Court ruled that marriage is a fundamental right. The decision determined that states must allow same-sex couples to marry and essentially make gay marriage legal in the United States. In the United States, homosexuality and gay marriage remain an extremely polarizing topic. A Gallup poll shortly before the Supreme Court decision found that 51 percent of Americans believed that people were born gay or lesbian, and 30 percent believed that homosexuality could be the result of their upbringing or environment. The case studies of Samoan Fa'afafine and David Reimer offer some insights into the genetic and environmental components of homosexuality. The science on homosexuality isn't entirely clear, but case studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that people are born gay. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Very often, gays and lesbians will tell you that they knew they were homosexual for as long as they can remember. This anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that homosexuality is genetic. In science, it is still a question that has not yet been concretely answered since the genes that code for homosexuality have not yet been identified. Although polls have shown that a majority of Americans now believe that there is a genetic component to homosexuality, I have been unable to find any data on how many gays and lesbians believe they were born gay, but I assume the percentage is very high. Genetic science is still unclear on the subject, but there are a number of case studies that strongly suggest a genetic component to homosexuality. Fa'afafine are males in traditional Samoan societies who exhibit feminine qualities and generally live bisexual lives, although Samoans do not explicitly believe in homosexuality. Fa'afafine are generally considered a third gender in Samoan societies. Because of the openness about gender groupings, researchers have focused on these Samoan societies in studies related to antagonistic sexual selection. If there is a gene related to homosexuality, lower birth rates among homosexuals should eventually lead to the extinction of those gay genes, which instead are present in relatively high numbers that do not match what is predicted in statistical models. One explanation scientists have for this is antagonistic sexual selection, in which heterosexual females compensate for the low birth rates of their homosexual relatives by having more children. The hypothesis is that in families with homosexual men, the gay genes present in that family will cause the females in that family to be more attracted to men and, consequently, produce more children to compensate for the low birth rates among their relatives male homosexuals. In a study published in PLOS ONE, in fa'afafine families meeting these criteria, researchers found evidence supporting antagonistic sexual selection, which may suggest that there is a genetic component to homosexuality that manifests in higher fertility among heterosexual females in those groups. .Another case that tested the environmental and educational link to homosexuality involved David Reimer. Reimer is probably the most important John/Joan case in the United States. After an accident during a circumcision procedure when Reimer was 8 months old, Reimer's penis became non-functional. As a result, his parents were referred to a psychologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital named John Money, who was a.
tags