Question

What do we know about the biological and societal influences on sexual orientation?

Answer 1

It's simple, just think about all the gender bias there are out there. People expect different behaviors of different genders, this is the way our society works. Each country is different, so I'll focus on western culture.

If a girl wears a skirt, it's fine. If a girl wears pants, it's fine. When I guy wears pants, it's fine. When a guy wears a skirt, he's a fag! He's a fag and there is something wrong with him! o.O Mind you, this isn't my opinion, but this seems to hold true across the board. Wearing clothing, listening to certain kinds of music and even television shows fall under this 'gender bias' I'm referring to. Having a certain 'norm' forced on you can be rather troublesome. Like a girl who wants to 'code and hax' rather than 'curl her hair' may be frowned upon by her more 'girly' peers, where as she may appeal more to 'the guys' now.

As a girl, I was suppose to be taught to be pretty quiet, not to rough house with the boys, and playing video games was something that was reserved only for males. (This is growing up in the early 90's by the way.) I did all of these things and as a result, I was I called a tomboy. If I were a boy, these things would be common place and no one would think twice, but because I was a girl I was slapped with a label.

This is only a small example out of many. Try and find some things that effected you because of your gender. Good options to think about exploring are 'weight', 'sexual orientation' and 'job titles'. You'd be surprised of the bias's out there! You may actually be sickened if you dig too deep.

If I gave you all the answers to your project, you won't learn anything from it. You need to do some 'self-exploration'. The project isn't really about having the 'correct answer', but how well you can identify yourself as an individual and how 'being who you are' effects how you grow up and interact with others.

Culture problems would be something along the line of 'gay bashing'. If a guy is gay, he may be beaten up. If a girl is gay, no one cares...most of the time.

To sum up what I said: Your gender comes pre-set with cultural norms you are expected to follow. If the status quo doesn't fit your values, you are viewed as an outsider.