FREE ESSAY ON IS SEXUALITY BIOLOGICAL OR CULTURAL PROCESS

IS SEXUALITY BIOLOGICAL OR CULTURAL PROCESS

Is Sexuality a Biological or Cultural Process
The aim of this essay, is to try and establish if sexuality, is an innate biological
process that takes place as a result of our genetic make-up or wether sexuality is a
result of our cultural back ground and the environment in which we are raised. These two
differing theories are known as the nature/nurture debate, nature representing the
biological theory for our sexuality and nurture representing environmental influences for
our behaviour. The first part of the essay, will focus on the biological side of our
sexuality and will put forward theories by Barnard, Hamer and Young, who will argue the
point, that our sexuality is established at the foetal stage of our development. It is at
this early stage of life, that genes carry specific information about who we are. A gene
is a unit of hereditary that our sexuality is established through and the genes determine
the biological characteristics of an individual, both physically and mentally. The essay
will then give further evidence that our sexuality is biologically driven, by describing
the changes our bodies undergo when we reach puberty, changes that are triggered by
hormonal transitions. Hormones are chemical messengers, they send massages from glands
around the body, which triggers a response in other parts of our anatomy. The essay will
give evidence that, hormones are a biological indicator that we are biologically driven
towards our sexuality.
The second part of the essay will argue that, sexuality is greatly influenced by
environmental factors, environmental factors such as rearing styles and differing
cultural practises. It will look at different societies and the way in which they
perceive sexuality and argue that sexuality is learned through a combination of expected
social norms and observational learning, giving evidence from Bandura, Mead and Money
along the way. Finally the essay will look at the evidence that has been put forward and
sum up what has been debated, it will then draw a conclusion.
From the point of conception, human beings are made up of 46 chromosomes, 23 male and 23
female. After insemination, paternal and maternal chromosomes fuse, this fusion
determines the sex of the child. The amalgamation of two X chromosomes creates a female
child, while the combination of X and Y chromosomes, leads to the development of a male
offspring. Each chromosome contains thousands genes and each gene contains specific
information about how part of the body will be formed. Genes are responsible for almost
every aspect of the human body, from hair colour to the development of our organs, organs
like the brain and it is within the brain were the biggest changes take place when our
bodies under go their sexual metamorphous, during sexual maturation. 
When we reach sexual maturity, we have our first insight into our sexuality, an insight
which is genetically programmed into our consciousness through our DNA, this theory is
supported by the work of hamer et al ( 1993) who conducted a study of male sexual
orientation. Hamer examined 40 pairs of gay brothers. He examined 22 genetic markers
distributed across the X chromosome in order to see if brothers concordant for
homosexuality, were also concordant for the markers. He found that the chromosomal region
of xq28, at the tip of the long arm of the X chromosome, 33 of the 40 pairs of brothers
shared all the markers. This was statistically different from the expected rate (20 out
of 40) suggesting that the gene influencing male sexual orientation, lies within that
chromosomal region In this study, Hamer along with many other fellow geneticists, is
claiming that he has found the gene which dictates our sexual orientation, therefore
genes are a precursor to our sexuality and our sexuality is decided at an anatomical
level in the womb. 
Whilst in the womb, it seems that our sexuality is being pre programmed by our genes but
there are other biological developments taking place, namely the formation of our
hormones, hormones which will lie dormant until the onset of puberty. The hypothalamus an
important co-ordinating centre in the brain, signals the onset of puberty. The
hypothalamus stimulates a gland just below it, the pituitary, to secrete hormones
(chemical messengers carried in the blood). These are carried to other hormonal secreting
glands. In their turn these release other hormones which regulate physical growth and
development (DR Christian Barnard. 1981) 
The two main hormones released at sexual maturity are testosterone for males and
oestrogen for females. When Testosterone is distributed throughout the sexually maturing
male, his testes will enlarge and begin producing sperm. His body will begin to grow
pubic hair, his voice will deepen, his muscles will become larger and he will show more
aggression when trying to assert his masculinity. By comparison, the manufacture of
oestrogen within the adolescent female will promote quite different developments
throughout her body. She will develop breasts, her hips will grow and widen, she will
grow pubic hair and most importantly she will start her menstrual cycle, meaning, like
the sexually maturing male, she will have attained full reproductive capacity. So
therefore, it seems that it is testosterone what gives man his masculinity and it is
oestrogen that helps establish womens femininity. This theory is given support by an
experiment carried out by W.C.Young. Young carried out an experiment on a pregnant
monkey, that was carrying a female foetus, she gave the primate large daily doses of the
male hormone testosterone to try and ascertain if the hormone would have any effect on
the monkey's sexuality. When it was born, the female monkey behaved in a much more
assertive and aggressive manner, than other females of her kind, her behaviour was noted
to be more like that of a male monkey. She participated in all the boisterous activity
with the male members of her species and challenged them in fights, which helped
establish her social status amongst the male monkeys. Other experiments have shown that
monkeys injected with testosterone between birth and puberty, developed similar
assertive, typically male behaviour. These case studies put forward, argue precisely the
point, that it is biological factors that decide our sexuality and we are therefore
biologically driven towards our sexuality.
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The nurture theory, put simply, means that our sexuality is not the result of our biology
(nature) but rather that our sexuality and characteristics are socially learned through
experience. A study by Albert Bandura et al ( 197-) has shown how children learn their
roles from those influential models they observe around them, particularly their parents.
If the two sexes are treated differently and have different expectations of their
behaviour then they will learn to behave differently. These differences include their
gender and this might be papering them for the kind of social roles that they find them
selves in later In this statement, Bandura is trying to tell us that the essence of who
we are and who we perceive our selves to be, is acquired at an early age, through
observational learning and it is through observational learning that we develop our
concept of social norms. Social norms are expected patterns of behaviour that develop in
any social group over time, they become a major part of our culture and one part of that
culture is the perception of our sexuality.
In the 1930s, a social anthropologist named Margaret Mead (193-) carried out a study of
the sexual roles of a native Indian society known as the Tchambuli people, who lived on
the island of New Guinea. Mead found dramatic differences in the ways boys and girls are
treated and in the personalities and behaviour of the adults which appeared as a result
Mead discovered that the women of the Tchambuli people socialised their male children to
be artistic, creative and sentimental. The adult males would sit around the village
gossiping, making themselves look pretty and they generally took over the role as the
female gender. The women on the other hand had assumed the lead in all matters, they were
competitive, aggressive, they were the hunters and conducted all the trade necessary for
their village. Mead concuded, that it was a classical gender role reversal This study
helps to prove, that how we are raised and other environmental factors, help shape our
sexuality/gender. 
A study by John Money, determined that it was environmental factors that helped a young
Jewish boy (one of identical twins) establish his sexuality after having his penis
damaged during a circumcision operation. His penis was so badly damaged, that his doctors
came to the conclusion, he would not be able to function as a male and therefore, at the
age of seventeen months, it was decided to make him into a female. The boy had surgery
and a course of hormone treatment began. With female socialisation, the child soon began
behaving like other girls. By the time the child had reached the age of five, the
differences between the twins was considerable. She enjoyed feminine things such as
playing with dolls, having her hair brushed and putting on makeup, by the time she had
reached adulthood, she was indistinguishable from any other female of her own age. If
sexual roles were determined by innate forces then such a change in behaviour would not
have been possible, as this female was genetically male.
The first part of this essay argued that, sexuality is a biologically driven process that
is established in the womb. It reviled our gender is decided from the moment of
conception, through the fertilization of the female ovum. It then took a more in-depth
look at the biological side of our sexuality by looking at our genetic makeup. It showed
that a study by Hammer had indicated that it was possible to locate the gene that is
responsible for our sexuality by studying same sex family members. The essay then further
substantiated that our sexuality is a biological process, by giving a descriptive account
of how hormonal changes affect the human body, when we reach maturation. It showed how an
experiment by W.C.Young, helped to prove that hormones play a major role in our
sexuality, by injecting the female foetus of a monkey with the male hormone testosterone.
She found, after the monkey was born, it was more predisposed to being male than it was
female. She concluded, that in all probability, it was because of the testosterone
injections. 
The second part of the essay concentrated on the nurture side of our sexuality and tried
to establish if our sexuality could be shaped by environmental factors. It gave an
account of a study by Bandura,which showed that children use observational learning, to
help them understand their identity. Bandura argued that children imitate influential
models around them. They try to live up to people's expectations of them, expectations
including gender and this can lead to a self fulfilling prophesy in adulthood In the
1930s, Mead studied the native Indian people of New Guinea and found dramatic differences
in the way they reared their children compared to other cultures. She observed that the
gender roles were reversed, boys were raised as females and girls reared as males. She
determined this had lasting ramifications on their sexuality and gender in adult life.
Money conducted a study of a young boy whose penis was damaged in a bungled circumcision
operation. The organ was so badly damaged that it was decided to transform him into a
female. After socialising and raising him as a girl, money noted that he had become
mentally and physically indistinguishable from any other female of his own age. This
essay has examined both sides of the argument of how we acquire our sexuality and after
giving much thought, has come to the conclusion, that although our environment plays an
important part in our sexual development, it is an innate biological process that
determines our sexuality. It is our genes that dictate sexuality and therefore our
sexuality is genetically programmed within us at the earliest stages of foetal
development. 
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