Born or bred?

There is no simple answer to the question, "Are some people born lesbian or gay?"

No one knows what causes heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality.

Homosexuality was once thought as the result of a troubled family or faulty psychological development, but these assumptions are "now understood to have been based on misinformation and prejudice."

While there have been many researches into the biological cause of homosexuality - ranging from the size of the hypothalamus to the difference in the lengths of a person's index and ring fingers "to date there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological etiology for homosexuality."

Similarly, no specific psychosocial or family dynamic cause for homosexuality has been identified, including histories of childhood sexual abuse. Sexual abuse does not appear to be more prevalent in children who grow up to identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, than in children who identify as heterosexual.

What researchers have established is, that lesbian and gay young people are not "failed" heterosexuals and that homosexual partners are generally of the same age, proving wrong the assumptions that young people are "turned gay" by older people.

But experts also acknowledge, that "people's behavior is influenced by their family environment, their experiences and their sense of themselves. Beliefs about sex are initially shaped by family values. Later on these beliefs may be shaped by pleasant and unpleasant experiences of sex and also shape their choice of activities and partners. Throughout their life a person's sense of who and what they are has a strong impact on their sexual development and experience."