The biology of homosexuality: sexual orientation or sexual preference?

This paper begins with a summary of the biological research on homosexuality that occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It then summarizes the treatment of this research chiefly by the print media. It then adumbrates the presuppositions about sexuality and gender upon which the reports were based. It is argued that the presuppositions, which are asserted without being examined, date back to the nineteenth century. They ignore the historical, sociocultural, and humanistic research of the last two decades that collectively comprise the field of gay, lesbian, and bisexual studies. The discussion of the issue of choice follows and it recognizes the various constraints on choice without eliminating it as an element of sexual expression. Finally, the paper sets forth a general conception of homosexuality that includes its psychological and socio-cultural dimensions along with the biological.