Is There A Biological Basis For Human Sexuality?
Bill Stroop
(Originally Published in the May 2003 issue of The Communicant,
the monthly newsletter of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas)

     The story begins simply enough. "God created humankind in [God's] image, in the image of God, [God] created them; male and female ..." (Gen 1:27, NRSV). Is it really that straightforward? In Genesis, the human species is perfectly dimorphic. Males have an X and a Y chromosome, testes, a penis, and plumbing to deliver semen to the world. Males also have secondary sexual characteristics, including a muscular build and facial hair. Females have two X chromosomes, ovaries, plumbing, and a system to support pregnancy and fetal development. A decade ago, Anne Fausto-Sterling wrote an article for The Sciences, the journal of the New York Academy of Sciences, in which she argued for a five-sex system to acknowledge the simple biological truth that nearly 2% of people born in the United States are intersexual.

     Intersexuals are people who represent chromosomal, anatomical, and hormonal exceptions to the female/male dimorphic ideal. Fausto-Sterling suggested three additional sexes: "herms" (people born with both a testes and an ovary); "merms" (males born with testes and some aspect of female genitalia); and "ferms" (females who possess ovaries and some aspect of male genitalia). Surgery was the most common remedy formerly used to treat intersexuals. When presented with a baby with ambiguous genitalia, the medical team made a "gender assignment" based on what made the best surgical sense. Parents then raised their child based on the surgically assigned gender. However, time proved this program to be simplistic and in some cases catastrophic. Some individuals who were reassigned as males or females shortly after birth came to reject their surgically-defined assignments.

     Intersexuality poignantly illustrates that something as basic as one's sexual identity is not simply an issue of predestination or free-will. It is complex. Several lines of evidence indicate that gender identity and sexual expression are heavily predisposed by genetic factors, whether we are speaking of intersexuals, homosexuals, or heterosexuals. For example, several studies of human male twins indicate that there can be a genetic predisposition toward homosexual behavior, and other studies have shown that three important areas of the brains of homosexual males are decidedly anatomically different than their heterosexual peers. However, the data cannot directly support a cause and effect relationship here, because behavior affects and is affected by brain structure and function. However, if such differences do exist, they could be the result of prenatal hormonal factors, or of conditioning patterns, both of which can affect structure and functioning. But, since homosexuality occurs often in the animal kingdom (and at about 2% in the human population), it is not strictly a matter of human choice. Indeed Chandler Burr, author of A Separate Creation: The Search for Biological Origins of Sexual Orientation is convinced that sexual orientation is fixed at birth, cannot be changed, and is not a matter of choice.

     The fact that people come in bewildering sexual varieties - which may be significantly influenced by innate factors - speaks directly to the awe-inspiring wonder and diversity of God's creation. We are called to honor and respect that creation in all of its forms. A good way to live into that calling is to let the world of nature become our teacher. Next, we need to dispassionately let what nature teaches us speak to our hearts so that the Spirit can guide our hearts and minds toward an appreciation of the majesty of creation. Toward that end, I invite you to join me in an adult education class beginning May 25 entitled, "The Biology and Spirituality of Human Sexuality." We will honestly and openly discuss the theological implications of the biology and genetics of sexual identity, the psychology of sex, cultural influences on sexual expression, sex as sacrament, the ethics of sexuality, and Biblical views of sexual behavior.

[Bill Stroop is Assisting Priest and Curate at St. Paul's. He has a Ph.D. in experimental pathology and is a former Professor of Ophthalmology, Pathology, and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock. He did medical research and taught at medical schools for 18 years before attending seminary.]

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