In our society, socialization clearly favors the development of hetero-sexuality. Young boys are frequently taunted or scolded for “sissy” or “feminine” behaviors, and they are taught that homosexuality is wrong.

According to learning theory, homosexual behaviors are punished and thus discouraged. If an individual does become homosexual, according to this theory, it is the result of special conditions that reward homosexuality or punish heterosexual development.

Some theorists, for example, have regarded male homosexuality as the result of having had unpleasant sexual experiences with females. One investigator reported that threatening or painful sexual experiences with girls were more common in the developmental histories of homosexual men than in those of heterosexual men. However, while such traumas may be found in individual biographies, more comprehensive studies have provided little support for this view. One investigator found no evidence of greater punishment or threats of punishment for heterosexual sex play among his homosexual subjects than among heterosexual subjects. Other studies, though, have found that homosexual men recalled having disliked sexual contacts with females more than did their heterosexual counterparts.

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