Perspectives on Homosexuality

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Question: (a) How do you think historical and scientific perspectives on homosexuality may have shaped the way gay individuals perceive themselves? Address at least three perspectives discussed in the text, (b) Include in your analysis the experiences of coming out and adjusting as a gay individual., (c) How have historical and scientific perspectives reflected on your sexual orientation?"

1. A topic on "Human Sexuality" would suggest three perspectives that are used to discuss perceptions regarding homosexuality. Outlined in this response are three perspectives: psychoanalytic, evolutionary and biological. From a psychoanalytic perspective, there are numerous literary accounts available on Freudian views on homosexuality that historically helped to shape the way gays perceived themselves, and the way they were perceived by others. Freud's theories on sexuality had an enormous impact on society, and attitudes toward homosexuality as abnormal (good resources to explore here would be Feminist theories).

2. Another perspective is the evolutionary perspective. From this perspective it is argued that homosexuality is the result of social learning factors that cause individuals to develop sexual preferences. Examples include a child being seduced by another homosexual, a child engaged in cross-gender behaviors (behaviors that are typical of the opposite sex), etc.

3. The last perspective focuses on the biological perspective. This perspective suggests that biological factors influence sexual preference. Some studies are focused on hormones that regulate sexual behavior suggesting that there is a correlation between a particular ...