FRIDAY, DAY 5
SEXUALITY AND REPRODUCTION
One in 10—that’s the number of people who are homosexual, according to the famed sex researcher Alfred Kinsey (1894–1956). He was referring to the sexual behavior in which someone is primarily attracted to people of the same sex. But according to more-recent studies, Kinsey’s number may be overstated. Three percent of Americans are homosexual, or gay, say scientists.
But whatever the exact number, Kinsey argued that human sexuality is a continuum, with strict heterosexuality at one end and homosexuality at the other. Most people, he said, fall at various points along that line. Published in the 1950s, Kinsey’s research introduced a radical notion into an otherwise conservative society. But homosexuality didn’t always bear a social stigma: In ancient Greece and Rome, it was a typical occurrence. In the most common coupling, pederasty, an older man had a relationship with a younger one. But with the spread of the Judeo-Christian and Muslim religions, the view that homosexuality is sinful behavior also grew. In the United States, there is an active movement for gay rights and acceptance: States such as Iowa and Massachusetts have passed laws that accept same-sex marriages, although these decisions are controversial. In most cases, they are overturned or caught up in legal red tape.
Underlying this debate over whether homosexuality should be accepted, banned, or even punished is a scientific argument: Is the cause of this sexual orientation choice, nurture, or nature? Some psychologists say that being gay is a result of your environment and how your parents raised you. On the other hand, scientific research on twins shows that identical pairs (two siblings with the same genome) are much more likely to both be homosexual than fraternal twins (two siblings with different genomes) are.