Name: Born this way? The science of sexual orientation
Uploaded: 2025-11-26T14:45:06.681Z
Duration: 5 min
Description: Why are some people straight, others gay, and others somewhere in between? Science has explored genes, brains, hormones, and even social influences. Here’s what researchers have discovered — and what they haven’t.

Why are some people straight, others gay, and others somewhere in between? Science has explored genes, brains, hormones, and even social influences. Here’s what researchers have discovered — and what they haven’t.

The DW News segment investigates the scientific basis of sexual orientation, addressing whether it is a choice, a social construct, or an innate trait. The report highlights research indicating that sexual orientation is influenced by genetic and prenatal factors, though no single 'gay gene' or definitive brain feature has been identified. 

The segment also reviews evidence showing that upbringing, trauma, or environmental experiences do not determine sexual orientation. Attempts to change sexual orientation through conversion therapies are shown to be ineffective and potentially harmful, increasing mental health risks among sexual minorities. The origins of sexual orientation remain unclear, but current science suggests it is an innate trait that cannot be changed by force.

Born this way? The science of sexual orientation

Why are you gay? Is it a choice to be gay? Being gay is natural. Or is it a social construct? Sexual orientation is all about the butterflies in the stomach and the dizzy excitement when you think about someone you like. It usually kicks off in your teens. And it ranges across a spectrum. Most research looks at homo and heterosexuality. So that's what we will focus on in this video. But sexual orientation is way more than just who we are attracted to. It also involves behavior and identity. So it's complex. But how does it develop? Sexual orientation is something we're mostly born with. And it isn't something that is affected by our experiences after birth. Born with. What does that mean? Let's break it down. The first thing that comes to mind is genes. Identical twins share the same genes and the same environment while growing up. But one can be gay and the other can be straight. Still, identical twins are more likely to have the same sexuality than fraternal twins. Meaning that genes could be at play. No scientific study has found the one single gene that causes people to be gay though. Also that's not how genes work in the first place. You can't say it's just one gene. It's thousands of genes across the genome influencing traits like sexual orientation. So is sexual orientation genetic? Partly yes, but definitely not entirely. There is more. We are also born with what happened to us while we were in our mother's womb. Here is the theory. While we're busy growing in our mother's womb, tiny molecules tinker with us and predict for example if we grow a penis or a vagina. They also tinker with our brain while it's growing. And that could influence our sexual orientation in some way. There's a catch to this idea though. It has only been tested in animals so far. We obviously can't perform experiments on fetuses by injecting them with hormones. Some parts of the brain seem to look and work differently in homosexual and heterosexual people. But there's no conclusive finding of a specific brain feature that gives away a person's sexual orientation. So if we can't know between just typical men and women, it's not surprising at all that we're far behind that in homosexual versus heterosexual men. So if our genes and brains don't help us solve the mystery, could our upbringing and experiences tell us more? Short answer is no. For now, based on all the evidence we have, it's safe to say that parents or the experience of trauma or stress does not make people gay. Especially in countries where homosexuality is prohibited by law, like Uganda, political leaders state that homosexual people groom youths to become gay. But there is no scientific evidence to support any of these claims. Beating a gay person is not going to make you gay in your orientation. Some people believe a gay person can be turned straight. These efforts are called conversion therapy. But let's check if the following practices can make someone straight. Exorcisms? There is no evidence that they work. Beating, whipping or giving electric shocks? There's evidence it doesn't work. So people have tried this in the distant past and they haven't been able to successfully make a gay person straight. Hormonal treatment? The answer is no. There is no evidence for that. Counseling that resembles psychotherapy? The answer is no. So that's a pretty clear verdict. You can't force a sexual orientation onto someone. There is evidence it doesn't work. And there is also evidence even from Nigeria's path of work have done that it can increase mental health distress among sexual minority people. So anxiety, depressive symptoms, societal ideation, those things can increase the risk among them. To sum it all up, it's not entirely clear where sexual orientation comes from. But it seems to be an inert trait, one that can't be changed by force. If everybody was accepting and it was accepted as being a normal range of behavior, then we wouldn't even be asking the question, why am I different from the majority? But it's that there's a difference and people take negatively to that difference.

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