The Hypothalamus, Hormones and Homosexuality Essay

Throughout history, there have been accounts of people being persecuted for many reasons; race, religion, political affiliations, and sexual orientation. In the United States, and many other nations across the globe, there have been hundreds of thousands of people victimized for being homosexual. Due to differing standpoints, homosexuality is seen as “immoral” or “sinful” or even “disgusting”. Up until 1973, homosexuality was also referred to as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. People could be openly criticized, mocked, and often killed for simply being gay. Because of these social and religious criticisms, many people have been forced to partake in “conversion” or “reparative” therapies in order to become

The topic of sexual orientation is both sensitive and controversial. This is evident in events, such as the Pride Parade, and also in media, where authoritative figures preach against it and speak of its “sinful nature” (Emmanuele, Blanchard, Camperio-Ciani, & Bancroft, 2010). Sexual orientation exists in various forms, it differs in the way it is viewed by different cultures, and researchers propose different perspectives to explain the emergence of an individual 's sexual orientation. In the discourse of sexual orientation,

Human sexuality is a common phrase for all, and anything, pertaining to the feelings and behaviors of sex for the human race. Sexuality has been a topic that has been discussed and studied for as far back as 1000 years B.C. and is still being studied today. As the discussion of sexuality has progressed through history, theories have been created based on research and experiments that scholars have implemented, based on their own perceptions of human behavior. Out of the many theories that pose to explain sexual behavior, Sexuality Now explained ten that are seemed to be the most overlapped, and built off of theories. Of these theories, two that were discussed in the text were the behavioral and sociological theory. These two theories cover some of the basic ideas of what could possibly influence a person’s sexuality.

LeVay, S. and Hamer, D., 1994. Evidence for a Biological Influence in Male Homosexuality. Scientific American, [e-journal] Available through: Research Gate website [Accessed 17 March 2016].

The hypothalamus controls several main bodily functions including: “hunger, thirst, sexual motivation, body temperature and a variety of other emotions” (pg. 100). A prime example of how the hypothalamus would be active during my night with my friends would be eating pizza. The hypothalamus would trigger me to know I was hungry and tell me that I was enjoying the pizza. It would also play a major role in any emotions my friends or I experience throughout the night, like if I had a friend experiencing a break up, making her feel distraught or sad.

Just as LeVay found evidence of variation between the heterosexual and homosexual brains so did Swedish scientists Ivanka Savic and Per Lindström. They have produced three incredibly interesting and compelling studies. In the first two studies they documented how males and females of both sexual orientations responded to human pheromones. The researchers had the test subjects smell four ordinary aromas and male and female hormones while their brains were being scanned with positron emission tomography (PET). Fascinatingly, the normal scents activated the part of the brain which processes smells, but the hormones were processed by the hypothalamus in most. Heterosexual men’s hypothalamus processed the female hormones, but scent area processed the male hormones. The opposite was found for heterosexual females (Schmid, 2006). On the other hand, homosexual males’ hypothalamus responded to males hormones while the scent area processed the female hormones (USATODAY, 2005). However, the homosexual females processed both hormones in the scent area. Straight men and lesbians

Have you ever thought about whether homosexuality is a choice or if it is biologically based? To most people, homosexuality is a choice that the person themselves chooses to like the same sex instead of being born that way. However, some people also like to bring religion into the topic saying it is wrong and what not, but I believe it should be the person’s choice to like and date whichever sex they want to. I mean as long as it is not being forced on them they should not really care what that person does with their life. Also, another question to think about as you read this paper is, do you think people are born this way or they choose to like the same sex? I mean look at it this way, do you think someone would choose to like the same sex

Homosexuality Annotated Bibliography Adriaens, Pieter R., and Andreas De Block. “The Evolution of a Social Construction: the Case of Male Homosexuality.” Scholarly Journals, vol. 49, ser. 4, University Press, 2006, pp. 570–585.

The Hypothalamus receives input form the body and the brain and then sends its influence to the out to the entire body, affecting and regulating things such as body functions, body rhythms, and behavior motivations.

The hypothalamus is a small, vital section of the brain located just below the thalamus; it is in charge of numerous important bodily functions. The hypothalamus is shaped like a cone and ends in the pituitary stalk, a part of the pituitary gland. It forms the major portion of the ventral region of diencephalons, and oversees autonomic and metabolic processes. The hypothalamus is the connection between the nervous system and the endocrine system, creating this link by producing and secreting neurohormones that in turn stimulate the anterior pituitary gland to secrete hormones. The hypothalamus is central in the regulation of body temperature, hunger, thirst, and in the management of emotions and sexual activity.

>From this previous work on the anterior hypothalamus, LeVay hypothesized that the INAH 2 or 3 would be larger in men who sexually prefer women than

Biological factors expressed in this paper are the gay gene, studies about twins and adoption, chromosomal aberration, enzyme deficiencies and such. These factors, although deterministic in nature, did not necessarily determine homosexuality, but rather, influence it greatly. In addition to which, other factors such as psychological and sociological, parental and family dynamics are also influenced homosexuality in individuals. In the series of discussing, explaining the factors that causes homosexuality in individuals, there has been no definite answer to which to attribute the trait, or to even conclude which influence affects it most greatly. In conclusion, it is only applicable to recommend the scientists to garner and evaluate more studies,

A psychological disorder is a disorder that involves your mind, thoughts, emotions, and even your behavior that could cause some type of stress. When you have a psychological disorder psychologist say that the abnormal behavior that comes from it must be bad for the individual, cause a high level of distress, or hinder the individual from performing everyday tasks normally. Not just any abnormal behavior makes it qualify as a disorder though, the abnormal behavior has to meet the standards set in order to be qualified as a disorder. Psychological disorders are listed under the DSM, also known as the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders". This list can have things added to them and can have things removed. I chose to cover homosexuality because of the conflict it has behind it and how much it has changed through the years.

The brain also contains deep structures within the brain one of these structures is called the pituitary gland, its function is to release hormones which control sexual development, respond to stress, fight disease, stimulate bone and muscle growth. It is attached to the hypothalamus of the brain near the pituitary stalk. Hypothalamus main function is to control different behaviors for example, thirst, sleep, hunger, as well as sexual response. Not only does it control behavior it also regulates blood pressure, secretion of hormones, body temperature, and emotions. Its specific location is in the third ventricle right next to the thalamus. The thalamus transmit most of the information that leaves and comes into the cortex. Which is why we can

Other studies conducted suggest that homosexuality might be base on difference in the brain structure of homosexual and heterosexual males. In 1991, Simon LeVay, a researcher at salks institute for biological studies in San Diego, found that an area of the brain called INAH-3 was larger in heterosexual men as in homosexual men [6]. INAH-3 is a small cell cluster in the hypothalamus that is involve regulating male sex behavior. LeVay’s finding provided clues that prove that sexual attraction to some extent might be biological. Other studies following levay’s study suggest that homosexuality might be base on genetic. It is believe that “gay gene” is passed from mother tho son.