Gender issues are increasingly less hidden than in the past, but it is a difficult area with no hard and fast boundaries. NB: These notes were taken from a book published in 1989 and there may be new theories.
Many
more men (around 4% but some sources say nearer 10%) than women (around 1%) are
homosexual. Sexual deviancy (transvestism, voyeurism, exhibitionism,
sado-masochism) almost entirely male. Currently the scientific view is that the majority of cases are due to hormonal influence in the womb or genetic causes.
Hormones: By 1989 it was suggested that sexual identity patterning is partly down to the levels of hormones experienced by the foetus in the womb at different stages of development. The
hormonal theory would explain the higher sexual deviancy in men, as they have to be
changed by hormones from the natural female pattern present in all of us, so
there is a greater chance of mistakes. Abnormal levels of hormones can be due to the foetus not producing a high enough level at a specific stage in development, or occasionally by a pregnant woman suffering specific medical conditions. Stress
can also alter hormone levels in the womb. Out of 800 German homosexual males,
significantly more were born during the stressful war (WW2) and early postwar
period, the highest number corresponding with the last months of the conflict.
Theory A (Dr.
Milton Diamond): 4 stages in sexual patterning. (1) Basic
sexual patterning, aggressive/passive. (2) Sexual identity, sex people ascribe
to themselves. (3) Sexual object choice. (4) Control centres for sexual
equipment, including mechanisms of orgasm.
Theory B (Dr. Gunter Dorner): 3 stages in sexual identity patterning. (1) Sex centre typical
male/female physical characteristics. (2) Mating centre (hypothalamus) controls
adult sexual behaviour. (3) Gender role centre general behaviour, aggression,
sociability, individualism. Upset at stage 1 can alter physical
characteristics, at stage 2 low androgen levels in males increase chances of
homosexual tendencies, at stage 3 dependent on abnormal presence of male of
female hormones give ‘male’ brain in female and vice versa.
With both theories, the final results
depends on which stage(s) were upset. The critical amounts of testosterone are
measured in thousand-millionth parts of a gram, which may explain how it can
happen that only one of a pair of identical twins becomes homosexual.
Genetics. Specific chromosomal variants affect gender. XXY males look male, are raised as males but suffer
lack of libido and loss of potency. In adult life they have low testosterone levels,
feel confusion about what sex they are and how they ought to behave; often
expressed as transvestism, trans-sexualism, homosexuality, bisexuality,
non-sexuality.
Medication. Barbiturates are known to affect the developing central nervous system and behaviour of animals, and it is assumed that this also happens in humans, though the extent and specific changes are not identified. Drug related damage must, in any case, be weighed against therapeutic
benefits of drug administration and the results of failure to treat.
Male homosexual behaviour. Testosterone levels in homosexual men are high enough to make most of them
think and behave in a male manner. They have the same unromantic and
promiscuous view of sex as most heterosexual men but their specific mating
centres are female; this may explain why homosexual men generally have many
partners.
Other factors. Socio-environmental factors may be a factor. A ‘hostile’ father may not cause homosexuality, but an ‘unmasculine’
male child may cause hostility in the father.
Various sources including:
Brainsex: the real difference between men and women by Anne Moir & David Jessell. (Joseph,1989)
