Sexual orientation, is the "born this way" argument valid?

[AgnosticBoy]

For years, I kept hearing the argument that sexual orientation was genetic. This was an effort to show that people are born with their sexual orientation. I've always been skeptical of that, and it has nothing to do with religion or morals since I'm a non-believer. The data seems to show that sexual orientation is not entirely genetic nor entirely environmental.


What does the "born this way" argument mean given that sexual orientation (unfortunately the recent study of it seems limited to homosexuality) is not entirely genetic?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

What does the "born this way" argument mean given that sexual orientation is not entirely genetic?

I'll start by stating some facts:

From PBS

There is no single gene responsible for a person being gay or a lesbian.

That’s the first thing you need to know about the largest genetic investigation of sexuality ever, which was published Thursday in Science. The study of nearly a half million people closes the door on the debate around the existence of a so-called “gay gene.”

In its stead, the report finds that human DNA cannot predict who is gay or heterosexual. Sexuality cannot be pinned down by biology, psychology or life experiences, this study and others show, because human sexual attraction is decided by all these factors.

So the "born this way" view is wrong BUT here's one very reasonable perspective we should keep in mind:

From The Guardian

That doesn’t mean that gays and lesbians are less deserving of political rights. Queer relationships should be embraced, not because homosexuality is genetic, but simply because there is nothing wrong with them. While gay gene arguments may seem like a way to push the rights agenda forward it can actually have the opposite effect — limiting the debate solely to those traits and behaviours seen as genetic. There is no genetic evidence for much of our behaviour. Does that mean, even when we are not creating harm, we have less of a right to engage in those acts than others?

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Another reason why I don't accept the "born this way" argument is because sexual orientation is fluid, and the most evidence from that comes from studying women sexuality. If women's sexuality can transition throughout their lifetime, then it doesn't make since to say "born this way" since they may not end up with the same sexual orientation that they started with. If anything, studies are pointing humans having the potential for an open sexuality (where we can be attracted to anything or anyone, pansexual??) since studies show that we can be stimulated from watching sex between non-human animals. And please don't get me started on the whole monogamy vs non-monogamy issue because I believe we're also open when it comes to that.

Anyways, here's a study on woman sexuality...

Discordant sexual identity and behavior occurs when a person reports one sexual identity (e.g., heterosexual) but different sexual behaviors (e.g., same sex or bisexual behaviors). People may have discordant identity and behavior for many reasons, including internalized heterosexism (Szymanski, Kashubeck-West, & Meyer, 2008), homophobia (Frost & Meyer, 2009), or simply not perceiving themselves as homosexual. Societal pressures such as heteronormativity may increase discordant sexual identity and behavior. Heteronormativity is a construct that endorses heterosexual partnering as the norm for society (Rich, 2004; Warner, 1991). Sexual minorities may feel discrimination, stigmatization, and intense pressure to present an outwardly heterosexual orientation (Sandfort & Dodge, 2008; Siegel & Schrimshaw, 2000) while still engaging with same sex partners. Among women, little research has been done to describe this phenomenon although some qualitative studies have examined concepts like “heteroflexibility” (Marrazzo, Coffey, & Bingham, 2005) and the theoretical exploration of a supposed “plasticity” of female sexual attraction and behavior (Baumeister, 2000; Diamond, 2007).

More men than women self-identify as homosexual or bisexual yet more women report same sex activity. Previous studies in the U.S. estimate that 2–4% of men and 1–2% of women self-identify as homosexual (Gates, 2010; Xu, Sternberg, & Markowitz, 2010a, 2010b). Estimates of lifetime same-sex behavior among women range from 8–20% in the United States. In the most recent round of the U.S. National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG 2006–2010), some form of same-sex sexual behavior was reported by 12.0% of women aged 25–44 over their lifetime, twice the proportion reported among men in this age group (Chandra, Mosher, Copen, & Sionean, 2011). The trend existed among younger women too, with nearly 2.0% of boys and 10.0% of girls aged 15–17 years reporting any lifetime same-sex sexual behavior.

The number of women reporting either sexual minority identities or discordant sex behavior has increased. In the 2002 NSFG, 4.4% of American women 15–44 years of age reported having a female sex partner in the previous 12 months (Chandra, Martinez, Mosher, Abma, & Jones, 2005); by the current round, 12.0% of women 15–44 years of age reported having had a female sexual partner in the past year (Chandra et al., 2011).
...
The estimates of prevalence of both discordant sexual identity and behavior among American women were in line with previous studies (Chandra et al., 2011; Marrazzo, 2000; Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005; Schmidt, 2010). Our findings were consistent with the notion that while some women may exclusively self-report a heterosexual identity, it is possible for them to have non-concordant partners at the same time, as well as to move from sexual orientation identity categories over time (Baumeister, 2000; Diamond, 2003, 2007; Thompson & Morgan, 2008; Vrangalova & Savin-Williams, 2012). There is a growing acceptance of female same-sex sexuality, couched in the theory that female sexuality is malleable (Baumeister, 2000; Diamond, 2007). This fluidity may have far reaching implications for women’s sexual health.

Source: Nield, J., Magnusson, B., Brooks, C., Chapman, D., & Lapane, K. L. (2015). Sexual discordance and sexual partnering among heterosexual women. Archives of sexual behavior, 44(4), 885–894. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0287-1

 

[AgnosticBoy]

When someone comes out of the closet and claim to have found their true identity, I have to question what is a true identity and if that exists for a person. We tend to only hear stories that involve enduring and linear development of sexual orientation and other identity aspects, instead of ones that start out one way but go through multiple (or non-linear) changes throughout a person's lifetime. I won't go as far as saying that identity issues, such as sexual orientation and gender identity, are as simple as choices, but I do think we underestimate how identity can change or how malleable it is. We do this because of political, personal, and religious reasons.

A person's "true" identity should not simply be seen as their current identity since identity can change. I also don't think having add a moral dimension (barring cases where it might harm yourself or others) is helpful either, or at least not when it comes to heterosexuality and homosexuality since both of those cause no harm. The only thing I think we can do with our identity is just be content with it.