Why am I the way I am ? Homosexual identity – biology, psychology, politics


The article provides a very comprehensive background on the research available in the natural and social sciences on the nature and character of sexual orientation, and analyzes various positions that exist.

The article goes beyond the realm of purely scientific research because the LGBT issue provokes social debates and disagreements. Often during this discourse, there is a mix of different fields and statements that stem from a lack of awareness of the facts. Among the common statements on the subject: "Homosexuality is a new phenomenon"; "No genes have been found that cause homosexuality"; "Science has proven to us that we are all actually bisexual"; "It is possible to change a homosexual sexual orientation"; "It is possible to change the sexual orientation of some/most homosexuals"; "Every homosexual is a repressed straight"; "Homosexual orientation stems from childhood trauma or rape"; "Homosexual orientation stems from an alienated/too close father or a dominant/too distant mother."
According to the author, our level of scientific understanding of sexual orientation today is such that it allows us to understand both it and the full range of phenomena related to it better than ever before in history.

The article was written by Zeev Shebidel in 2008 and published in the journal Bemagelei Nefesh – an Israeli journal for psychotherapy, education and art, published by Emek Jezreel College. Published here with the author's consent.