Theoretical Models

Research has found that homosexuals are, in fact, more likely to feel an inability
to relate to their same-sex parent than are heterosexuals and to report
that the same-sex parent was “cold” or “distant” during their childhood.
Some studies have suggested, however, that this psychological distance between
parent and offspring is found mostly in families with children who
show cross-gender behaviors when very young and that the distancing is
more likely to be a result of preexisting differences in the child than a cause
of later differences.

Biological theories have suggested that homosexuality is genetic, a result
of hormone levels different from those found in heterosexuals, or is a result
of prenatal maternal effects on the developing fetus. Although there may be
genes that predispose a person to become homosexual under certain circumstances,
no specific genes for homosexuality have been identified. Similarly,
there are no consistent differences between levels of hormones in
homosexual and heterosexual adults. The possibility remains that subtle
fluctuations of hormones during critical periods of fetal development may
influence brain structures which regulate sexual arousal and attraction.
Social-learning models suggest that homosexual orientation develops as
a response to pleasurable homosexual experiences during childhood and
adolescence, perhaps coupled with unpleasant heterosexual experiences.
Many boys have homosexual experiences as part of their normal sexual experimentation
while growing up. According to the model, some boys will
find these experiences more pleasurable or successful than their experiments
with heterosexuality and will continue to seek homosexual interactions.
Why only certain boys find their homosexual experiences more pleasurable
than their heterosexual experiences could be related to a variety of
factors, including the child’s age, family dynamics, social skills, and personality.
Young girls are less likely to have early homosexual experiences but
may be “turned off” from heterosexuality by experiences such as rape,
abuse, or assault.

Sociobiological models are all based on the assumption that common behaviors
must have evolved because they were somehow beneficial, or related
to something beneficial, which helped the individuals who performed them
to pass their genes to the next generation. From this perspective, homosexuality
seems incongruous, but because it is so common, researchers have
tried to find out how homosexual behavior might, in fact, increase a person’s
ability to pass on genes to subsequent generations. Theorists have
come up with three possible explanations—the parental manipulation
model, the kin selection model, and the by-product model.
The parental manipulation model suggests that homosexuals do not directly
pass on more of their genes than heterosexuals but that their parents
do. According to this model, parents subconsciously manipulate their
child’s development to make him or her less likely to start a family; in this
way, the adult child is able to contribute time, energy, and income to brothers,
sisters, nieces, and nephews. In the end, the parents have “sacrificed”
one child’s reproduction in exchange for more grandchildren—or, at least,
for more indulged, more evolutionarily competitive grandchildren.
The kin selection model is similar, but in it, the homosexual individual is
not manipulated but sacrifices his or her own reproduction willingly (although
subconsciously) in exchange for more nieces and nephews (that is,
more relatives’ genes in subsequent generations). According to this model,
individuals who are willing to make this sacrifice (no matter how subconscious)
are either those who are not likely to be very successful in heterosexual interactions (and are thus not actually making much of a sacrifice) or
those who have a particular attribute that makes them especially good at
helping their families. As an analogy, theorists point out how, through much
of human history, reproductive sacrifice in the formof joining a religious order
often provided income, protection, or status for other family members.
The by-product model suggests that homosexuality is an inevitable outcome
of evolved sex differences. According to this model, the facts that,
overall, men have a higher sex drive than women and that, historically, many
societies have allowed polygyny (where one man has more than one wife)
will result in many unmated males who still have an urge to satisfy their high
sex drive. Thus, men will become (or will at least act) homosexual when
male partners are easier to find than female partners. This model is the one
most likely to explain “facultative homosexuality,” that is, homosexual behavior
by people who consider themselves basically heterosexual. 388