Family Life and Sex Education (Essay Sample)

Sexual orientation
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Sexual Orientation
Introduction
Sexual orientation refers to the attraction of a person towards another through erotic, romantic and affectionate feelings. There have been great changes in the sexual orientation for different groups of people over the years. Since time immemorial, the sexual orientation has been directed towards persons of different gender, hence the term was conventionally used to refer to attraction of men to ladies or vice versa. However, this perception has changed and nowadays would apply to attraction to persons of the opposite gender, same gender, or even both. Consequently, there have been conflicts worldwide as some communities propose the sexual orientation towards persons of the same gender (homosexuality) while others are against it. This has sparked hot debates and practices as some governments are drafting laws to recognizing homosexuality while others prohibit such practices. Amid these controversies, this paper will respond to the contemporary sexual orientation by discussing the theories of homosexual orientation and issues of homosexual life.
Theories of Sexual Orientation
The increasing cases of homosexuality have created interest among scholars to carry out studies on the issue to provide understanding that could eliminate the exiting controversies. There are several theories that have been put forward to explain the development of homosexual behaviors among people that could have played part in the increasing practice and acceptance among many societies. This includes biological theories such as genetic and hormonal imbalances (Jones & Bartlett, 2014). The genetic theory indicates that homosexual behavior could develop from genes implying that it could be inherited. According to Carroll (2012), this theory indicates that the homosexual genes are inherited from the mother while others show strong link to the father. Nevertheless, there are low chances of giving birth to a homosexual child than to heterosexual child. This implies that there could be reducing number of genetic homosexuals born over the years that is inconsistent with reality. The theory of hormonal imbalances suggests that homosexuality could result when there is balance of hormones before birth or in an individual (Carroll, 2012). However, this has been shown as weak relationship. Moreover, consideration of hormonal imbalances would also require considerations of environmental factors and hence the theory is deficient to explain homosexuality.
Psychological theories have also been developed to explain homosexuality, including psychoanalytic and learned behavior theories (Jones & Bartlett, 2014). The former attributes development of homosexual behaviors to characteristics of parents or family structures. For instance, infant children could be sexually oriented to both genders hence may become homosexual (Carroll, 2012). This theory is limited because there are many children who are infant, but do not end up being homosexuals. In addition, the theory lacked real life evidence. The learned behavior theory explains that people may become homosexual due to certain experiences during childhood and supported throughout a person’s life. For instance, a child that experiences pleasurable same sex encounter compared to one with heterosexual person could opt for homosexual life especially if the environment if supportive Carroll (2012). This theory is limited by fact that majority people are heterosexuals and hence homosexual behavior may not be supported.
Another explanation is provided by integrated theories that indicate homosexuality is a result of combined factors of physical, psychological and learned behavior theories (Jones & Bartlett, 2014). These theories provide a better explanation to the development of homosexual behavior compared to factors of single theory that do not fit in all homosexual incidences. The theory also covers most of the factors that apply to many incidences of homosexuality and could be consistent with the situation of increased homosexuality in the modern society (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). Therefore, homosexuality would be said to be caused by wide factors working together to create an environment where this sexual orientation could thrive.
Homosexual life
The homosexuals in the modern society are facing difficulties in practicing the behaviors especially due to the majority heterosexuals who are against it. Following this, there are limited social areas that support and hence enable homosexuals to freely practice their behaviors. For instance, in America homosexuality is mostly practiced in private clubs or homosexual bars as well as homophile organizations (Jones & Bartlett, 2014). In other social places, homosexuals would be discriminated and portrayed as immoral. Interactions between homosexuals are done widely done through internet and social networks and other virtual communication networks that provide an enabling platform for homosexuals to plan and seek for sexual activities. This would be explained by the difficulty of identifying potential homosexual persons in the masses through physical interactions (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). Lesbians are also observed to be more interested in long-lasting relationships compared to gay men. This shows that lesbianism supports companionship of partners while gay men are mainly for sexual intercourse. Social issues
The homosexuals face social issues such as opposition in being parents, military, or discrimination in patient care as well as in tourism (Jones & Bartlett, 2014). Moreover, the mainstream religions are against homosexuality that is not supported in sacred literature and hence against the God’s teachings (Dallas & Heche, 2010). Since religious groups follow teaching of sacred literatures, they are unable to recognize the practice of homosexuality and want it criminalized since does not support the moral values and common good of ...