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Ethical, Legal, Social, and Political Implications of Scientific Research on Sexual Orientation

  • Chapter
The Health of Sexual Minorities

Abstract

Scientific research on the causes of sexual orientation has captured the attention of many Americans. Some researchers, citing evidence from neuroscience, genetics, and psychology, claim that sexual orientation is either inborn or fixed at an early age. Many lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and their allies have welcomed this claim, finding in it confirmation of their sense that they did not choose to be attracted to people of the same sex. Some parents of lesbians and gay men have also found solace in such research, finding in it assurance that nothing they did made their children homosexual. Furthermore, some lawyers, activists, politicians, religious leaders, scientists, and psychologists have tried to parlay this research into good news for lesbian and gay rights. Their main argument, which I call the “born that way” argument, goes as follows: If sexual orientations are innate, genetic, firmly rooted in biology, and/or not chosen, it is wrong to criminalize the sexual behavior of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals, to discriminate against them, and to withhold from them benefits that heterosexuals take for granted. This argument has intuitive appeal and is deployed with increasing frequency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York, New York, USA

    Edward Stein

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  1. Edward Stein
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  1. Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Ilan H. Meyer PhD  & Mary E. Northridge PhD, MPH  & 

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Stein, E. (2007). Ethical, Legal, Social, and Political Implications of Scientific Research on Sexual Orientation. In: Meyer, I.H., Northridge, M.E. (eds) The Health of Sexual Minorities. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31334-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31334-4_6

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