In the 21st Century, LGBT activists and their allies have repeatedly claimed that gay people are born gay; and trans people are born in the wrong body. But there is no evidence to substantiate any theory that there is a biological or genetic determinate for homosexuality. Despite Lady Gaga singing that we are all merely “Born This Way.” Even the highly gay-affirmative American Psychological Association had to admit that:
There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors.
What is evident – a high correlation between same-sex attraction and childhood sexual abuse (CSA); especially same-sex abuse in males. But is correlation also causation. I think so. But you can look at some of the evidence that I collected (listed in chronological order) and make up your own mind. [Update: It also appears that the majority of those who identify as transgender, and transsexuals, were sexually abused as children.
43% of males with same sex attraction reported sexual activity with another male during the ages of 10-12, versus 9% of males with opposite sex attraction.
“Early sexual behavior in adult homosexual and heterosexual males.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Manosevitz, M. (1970)
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-09878-001
A large national survey of almost 35,000 Americans showed that more than three times as many men and women who had been sexually abused as children became same sex attracted, versus opposite sex attracted.
“Origins of Sexual Preference: Sexual Preference. Its Development in Men and Women.” Indiana University Press, Alan P. Bell, Martin S. Weinberg, and Sue Kiefer Hammersmith, (1981)
58% of male adolescents who later became same sex attracted suffered sexual abuse as children.
“Sexual Victimization of Boys: An Ongoing Study of an Adolescent Medicine Clinic Population.” Diane Shrier and Robert L. Johnson, The Journal of the National Medical Association, (1988)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2571548/
“More than half of both case and control patients reported a sexual act with a male by age 16 years, approximately 20 percent by age 10 years.”
“The Initiation of Male Homosexual Behavior.” The Journal of the American Medical Association, Harry W. Haverkos, et al., (1989)
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/378099
“Thirty-seven percent of participants reported they had been encouraged or forced to have sexual contact before age 19 with an older or more powerful partner; 94% occurred with men.”
“Self-reported childhood and adolescent sexual abuse among adult homosexual and bisexual men.” Child Abuse & Neglect, Lynda S. Doll, et al., (1992)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0145213492900878
“…boys victimized by older men were over four times more likely to be currently engaged in homosexual activity than were non-victims. The finding applied to nearly half the boys who had had such an experience. Further, the adolescents themselves often linked their homosexuality to their sexual victimization experiences.”
“The sexual abuse of male children and adolescents: a review of current research.” The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, B Watkins and A Bentovim, (1992)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1737828/
“In the studies examining CSA in MSM, the prevalence rates were considerably higher and varied from 11.8% (Duncan, 1990) to 37% (Doll et al., 1992)…The literature demonstrates a significant connection between CSA and HIV risk behaviors; problems with social adjustment; psychological disorders, including anxiety, depression, and substance use; and confusion about sexual identity.”
“Childhood Sexual Abuse in Men Who Have Sex With Men: The Current State of the Science.” The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Michael V. Relf, (2001)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055329006602604?via%3Dihub
“In research with 942 nonclinical adult participants, homosexual men and lesbian women reported a significantly higher rate of childhood molestation than did heterosexual men and women. One of the most salient findings was that 46% of the homosexual men in contrast to 7% of the heterosexual men reported homosexual molestation. 22% of lesbian women in contrast to 1% of heterosexual women reported homosexual molestation.”
“Comparative data of childhood and adolescence molestation in heterosexual and homosexual persons.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, ME Tomeo, et al., (2001)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11501300/
“One-fifth reported CSA, primarily by non-family perpetrators. Initial CSA experiences are characterized by high levels of force (43% involved physical force/weapons), and penetrative sex (78%; 46% reported attempted or actual anal intercourse).”
Understanding childhood sexual abuse as a predictor of sexual risk-taking among men who have sex with men: The Urban Men’s Health Study, Jay P. Paul, et al,. (2001)
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11967002_Understanding_childhood_sexual_abuse_as_a_predictor_of_sexual_risk-taking_among_men_who_have_sex_with_men_The_Urban_Men’s_Health_Study
“Fifty men (26%) reported sexual experiences before age 17 with someone at least 5 years older, constituting CSA according to the age-based definition.”
“Gay and bisexual men’s age-discrepant childhood sexual experiences.” The Journal of Sex Research, Jessica L Stanley, Kim Bartholomew, and Doug Oram, (2004)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15765278/
“LGB participants reported more childhood psychological and physical abuse by parents or caretakers, more childhood sexual abuse, more partner psychological and physical victimization in adulthood, and more sexual assault experiences in adulthood. Sexual orientation differences in sexual victimization were greater among men than among women.”
“Victimization Over the Life Span: A Comparison of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Siblings.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Kimberly F. Balsam, Esther D. Rothblum, Theodore P. Beauchaine, (2005)
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-06517-010
“Sexual identity was substantially associated with CSA…6 of 7 (86%) gay/bisexual men…reported a male perpetrator.”
“Men’s childhood sexual abuse histories by one‐parent versus two‐parent status of childhood home.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, William C. Holmes, (2007)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2652941/
“This report describes the high prevalence and context of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among men who have sex with men (MSM) across 3 independent qualitative studies.”
“Childhood sexual abuse in black men who have sex with men: results from three qualitative studies.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Sheldon D Fields, David Malebranche, and Sonja Feist-Price, (2008)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18954175
“Anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant subset of children abused by clergy identify as gay as adults.”
“The impact of sexual abuse on sexual identity formation in gay men.” The Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, Stephen Brady, (2008)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19042606/
“Results showed strong evidence of elevated frequency, severity, and persistence of abuse experienced by lesbian and bisexual women. Comparing physical abuse victimization occurring in both childhood and adolescence, lesbian…women were more likely to report victimization than were heterosexual women.”
“Disparities in child abuse victimization in lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women in the Nurses’ Health Study II.” Journal of Women’s Health, S. Bryn Austin, et al., (2008)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18447763/
“Previous studies have found high rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among US men who have sex with men (MSM)…Of the 4295 participants enrolled, 39.7% had a history of CSA.”
“Childhood sexual abuse is highly associated with HIV risk-taking behavior and infection among MSM in the EXPLORE Study.” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Matthew J. Mimiaga, et al., (2009)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19367173/
“Several men revealed that as adolescents they served as a sexual partner for an adult man in return for attention, affection, or material support…A few men and women indicated that they had experienced confusion about their sexual orientation and attributed the confusion to the CSA.”
“The Sexuality of Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors.” International Journal of Sexual Health, Cynthia Roller, et al., (2009)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142010/
“Information extracted from 13,000 face-to-face interviews clearly showed those with same-sexual or bisexual orientation were more likely to have experienced negative events in childhood…People who had experienced sexual abuse as children were three times more likely to identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual than those who had not experienced abuse…Also, the more adverse events someone experienced in childhood, the more likely they were to belong to one of the ‘non-exclusively heterosexual” groups.”
“Sexual orientation link to past: study.” Otago Daily News, Allison Rudd, (July 23, 2010)
http://www.odt.co.nz/campus/university-otago/117336/sexual-orientation-link-past-study
“It is apparent that 42 (30.7%) of the 137 males, 59 (41.3%) of the 143 females, and 101 (36.1%) of the total number of participants reported molestation.”
“Gay Men and Lesbian Women with Molestation History: Impact on Sexual Orientation and Experience of Pleasure.” Jessica Jones Steed and Donald I. Templer, The Open Psychology Journal, (2010)
https://openpsychologyjournal.com/contents/volumes/V3/TOPSYJ-3-36/TOPSYJ-3-36.pdf#
“The non-exclusively heterosexual groups were more likely to have experienced adverse events in childhood.”
“Multiple aspects of sexual orientation: prevalence and sociodemographic correlates in a New Zealand national survey.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, J Elisabeth Wells, Magnus A McGee, and Annette L Beautrais, (2011)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20567892
“…male sexual minority individuals were 4.9 times more likely to experience childhood sexual abuse…The higher rates of abuse experienced by sexual minority youths may be one of the driving mechanisms underlying higher rates of mental health problems, substance use, risky sexual behavior, and HIV reported by sexual minority adults.”
“A Meta-Analysis of Disparities in Childhood Sexual Abuse, Parental Physical Abuse, and Peer Victimization Among Sexual Minority and Sexual Nonminority Individuals.” The American Journal of Public Health, Mark S. Friedman, et al., (2011)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3134495/
“Across all studies, the highest estimates reported were for LSA [lifetime sexual assault victimization] of LB [lesbian and bisexual] women (85%), CSA [childhood sexual assault] of LB women (76.0%), and CSA of GB [gay or bisexual] men (59.2%).”
“The prevalence of sexual assault against people who identify as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual in the United States: A systematic review.” Trauma Violence Abuse, Emily F. Rothman, Deinera Exner, and Allyson Baughman, (2011)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3118668/
“CSA prevalence was high in the tested sample (39%).”
“Exploring the role of child sexual abuse and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in gay and bisexual men reporting compulsive sexual behavior.” Child Abuse & Neglect, Leah M. Blain, et al., (2012)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22622224/
“Among men, bisexuals, gay men, and heterosexuals with same-sex partners had 12.8 times, 9.5 times, and 7.9 times the odds, respectively, for CSA…Extraordinarily high rates of CSA were observed for sexual minorities…”
“Associations of sexual identity or same-sex behaviors with history of childhood sexual abuse and HIV/STI risk in the United States.” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Thersa Sweet and Seth L. Welles, (2012)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22083072/
“Of 575 participants (85% men and 15% transgender), 32% reported childhood sexual experiences with an older partner. Mean age at first experience was 9 years, partners being, on average, 19 years old, and mostly men.”
“Recalled sexual experiences in childhood with older partners: a study of Brazilian men who have sex with men and male-to-female transgender persons.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, Alex Carballo-Diéguez, et al., (2012)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21484505/
“Previous research has indicated a high prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States…”
“HIV risk among men who have sex with men who have experienced childhood sexual abuse: systematic review and meta-analysis.” AIDS Education and Prevention, Shane Lloyd and Don Operario, (2012)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22676462/
“Gay/lesbian respondents had higher odds of exposure to child abuse…than heterosexuals.”
“Disproportionate exposure to early-life adversity and sexual orientation disparities in psychiatric morbidity.” Child Abuse & Neglect, Katie A. McLaughlin, et al., (2012)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22964371/
“The high prevalence of CSA in MSM highlights the need to develop resources to educate health care professionals about childhood abuse and subsequently integrate appropriate interventions into clinical settings as well as sexual risk prevention programming.”
“HIV-Infected Men Who Have Sex With Men and Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Implications for Health and Prevention.” The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Katherine R. Schafer, et al., (2013)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055329012001872
“In instrumental variable models, history of sexual abuse predicted increased prevalence of same-sex attraction by 2.0 percentage points…Effects of sexual abuse on men’s sexual orientation were substantially larger than on women’s.”
“Does maltreatment in childhood affect sexual orientation in adulthood?” Archives of Sexual Behavior, Andrea L Roberts, M Maria Glymour, and Karestan C Koenen, (2013)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22976519/
“Compared with heterosexual respondents, gay/lesbian and bisexual individuals experienced increased odds of six of eight and seven of eight adverse childhood experiences, respectively.”
“Disparities in adverse childhood experiences among sexual minority and heterosexual adults: results from a multi-state probability-based sample.” PLOS ONE, Judith P. Andersen and John Blosnich, (2013)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23372755/
“We found support for this hypothesis in that childhood adversity predicted childhood sexual abuse; that childhood adversity also predicted same-sex sexual attraction, partners, and identity…”
“Considering Alternative Explanations for the Associations Among Childhood Adversity, Childhood Abuse, and Adult Sexual Orientation: Reply to Bailey and Bailey (2013) and Rind (2013).” Archives of Sexual Behavior, Andrea L. Roberts, M. Maria Glymour, and Karestan C. Koenen, (2015)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3951775/#R2
“For both sexes, gay/lesbian and bisexual men/women were significantly more likely to be sexually abused in childhood than their heterosexual counterparts…”
“Does Sexual Orientation Precede Childhood Sexual Abuse? Childhood Gender Nonconformity as a Risk Factor and Instrumental Variable Analysis.” Sexual Abuse, Yin Xu and Yong Zheng, et al., (2015)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1079063215618378
“Participants reported sex before age 12 years with someone at least 5 years older (31.1%), unwanted sex when aged 12 to 16 years (30%)…”
“Relation of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Intimate Partner Violence, and Depression to Risk Factors for HIV Among Black Men Who Have Sex With Men in 6 US Cities.” American Journal of Public Health, John K. Williams, et al., (2015)
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302878
“Rates of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) among MSM have been estimated as high as 46%…These findings suggest that CSA, with one or more complexities, creates patterns of vulnerabilities for MSM, including post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use, and sexual risk taking…”
“Complexity of childhood sexual abuse: predictors of current post-traumatic stress disorder, mood disorders, substance use, and sexual risk behavior among adult men who have sex with men.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, Michael S, Boroughs, et al., (2015)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26159863/
“Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with psychiatric symptomology in adolescence, and MSM are disproportionately impacted by CSA compared to heterosexuals.”
“The impact of childhood gender expression on childhood sexual abuse and psychopathology among young men who have sex with men.” Child Abuse & Neglect, Marco A. Hidalgo, et al., (2015)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26002599/
“Sexual minorities and men tend to have earlier sexual debut compared to heterosexual populations and women, respectively…Larger effect estimates depicting the association between ACEs [adverse childhood experiences] and sexual debut were seen for women compared to men, and among sexual minorities, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with women (WSW), compared to heterosexuals.”
“Sex and sexual orientation disparities in adverse childhood experiences and early age at sexual debut in the United States: results from a nationally representative sample.” Child Abuse & Neglect, Monique J. Brown, et al., (2015)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25804435/
“Results showed that sexual minority individuals experienced higher prevalence of childhood victimization and lifetime physical health problems than heterosexuals.”
“Multiple early victimization experiences as a pathway to explain physical health disparities among sexual minority and heterosexual individuals.” Social Science & Medicine, Judith P. Andersen, et al., (2015)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25864147/
“A total of 66.4% of participants reported at least one sexual experience prior to the age of sixteen, with 34% of those reporting the sexual experience as being non-consensual.”
“Childhood sexual abuse and depression in Latino MSM: Does resilience protect against nonadherence to ART?” Journal of Health Psychology, John A. Sauceda, John S. Wiebe, and Jane M. Simoni, (2016)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4476931/
“Prevalence of non-contact and contact CSA was 36.2% and 29.8%…”
“Prevalence of non-contact and contact childhood sexual abuse: An Internet-based sample of men who have sex with men in China.” PLOS ONE, Wenjian Xu, et al., (2017)
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/bd33/140a7594fbd7265cc33183024aa44163204c.pdf
“Rates of childhood physical, sexual, and emotional abuse were consistently higher for sexual minority youth than for their heterosexual peers.”
“A Systematic Review of Family Victimization Experiences Among Sexual Minority Youth.” The Journal of Primary Prevention, B.L. McGeough and P.R. Sterzing, (2018)
https://europepmc.org/article/MED/30206750
“Black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by childhood sexual abuse (CSA).”
“Early Sexual Experiences, Mental Health, and Risk Behavior among Black Non-Hispanic and Hispanic / Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM).” Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, Martin J Downing, et al., (2020)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31697197/
“The researchers also found that same-sex sexual encounters first happen, on average, at 14.5 years, with Hispanic/Latinx and Black non-Hispanic participants reporting a younger age for their first time performing oral sex or engaging in anal sex, compared to their peers.”
“Age of Sexual Debut among Young Gay-identified Sexual Minority Men: The P18 Cohort Study.” The Journal of Sex Research, Perry N Halkitis, et al., (2021)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32609010/
“Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with a wide range of health outcomes and is more prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to men who have sex with women exclusively.”
“Age of occurrence and severity of childhood sexual abuse: impacts on health outcomes in men who have sex with men and transgender women.” The Journal of Sex Research, Casey D. Xavier Hall, et al., (2021)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8134626/
“Men who have sex with men (MSM) disproportionately experience childhood sexual abuse (CSA) compared with heterosexual men, often resulting in continued trauma-related sequelae, including symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) such as avoidance.”
“Indirect Effects From Childhood Sexual Abuse Severity to PTSD: The Role of Avoidance Coping.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Abigail W. Batchelder, et al., (2021)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30246600/
“More than half (53%) grew up in a single-mother household. More than half (53%) of the sample reported CSA, and almost 75% of the Black SMM [sexual minority men] reported still being bothered by CSA. The majority stated the perpetrator was a male (90%)…”
“Assessing the Influence of Child Sexual Behavior on Depression among Black SMM in the Southeastern United States.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Donte Travon Boyd, et al., (2022)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9658341/
“Most of the study participants reported history of CSA (70.3%).”
“Childhood sexual abuse, alcohol and drug use problems among Black sexual minority men in six US Cities: Findings from the HPTN 061 study.” PLOS ONE, Sylvia Shangani, et al., (2022)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36548261/
“This research suggests ACEs are associated with mental health outcomes during adulthood among diverse MSM in Los Angeles, California. The prevalence of individual ACEs in the study sample was consistently higher than in nationally representative samples. Specifically, physical abuse was two times more frequent, and sexual abuse was nearly three times more frequent than reported in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.”
“Association between Childhood Maltreatment and Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Los Angeles.” Journal of Urban Health, David A. Wiss, et al., (2023)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9951846/
“…sexual minority populations had a stronger relationship between CSA [childhood sexual abuse] and SCD [subjective cognitive decline] compared to heterosexual populations.”
“Childhood Sexual Trauma and Subjective Cognitive Decline: An Assessment of Racial/Ethnic and Sexual Orientation Disparities.” Journal of Applied Gerontology, Monique J. Brown, et al., (2023)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37218145/
“Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by childhood sexual abuse (CSA) compared to heterosexual men.”
“Pathways from Childhood Sexual Abuse to Sexual Risk Behaviour in MSM: A Mixed Methods Study.” University of Windsor, Daniel Provenzano, (2024)
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/9178/
(Pictured: Painting by Karl Vikentievich Lemoch, Russia, 1841-1910.)
