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Homosexuality in Today’s World

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Submitted By Joulenow
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Homosexuality, when defined by a dictionary, reads [as a] "sexual desire or behavior directed toward a person or persons of one's own sex." While it’s opposite, heterosexuality is described as: "[a] sexual feeling or behavior directed toward a person or persons of the opposite sex." Homosexuality can be traced back to the earliest pieces of recorded history, although it’s definitive origin is unknown, many scientists believe that homosexuality exists in nature, although this is subject to interpretation ("Homosexuality"). Throughout its existence, this lifestyle, or as some call, "choice" has been subject to overly harsh scrutiny from both the legislature and culture.
Byrne R. S. Fone was quoted saying “Homophobia is the fear of homosexuality and those who practice it”. Since the 1800's, psychiatrists and psychologists have concluded that homosexuality is a mental disorder. They have believed it is brought about by misguided upbringing and their social environments. For instance, it was believed that if the child was lacking a male - figure in the home, he would most likely be gay. Or that child abuse can lead to lesbianism when the special needs of a little girl are denied, ignored, or exploited and the future womanhood of the child is in risk. However, inconsistencies in the research subjects' abuse records ruled these theories out. And if this were the case, then why is homosexuality present in different cultures? Some believed homosexuality was caused by a difference in brain structure.
In 1991, Simon LeVay published research stating that sexual orientation may be the result of differing brain structures. The hypothalamus, a region in the brain that governs sexual behavior, was the structure that LeVay was pointing as the structure at fault. In his studies of the hypothalamus, he found that in homosexual men, the hypothalamus was smaller than that of

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