Proposal

Colby Wolffis
UWRT 1103
800903946

My subject for my paper will be homosexuality and how is it determined. This is because
I identify as a straight male and the idea of homosexuality is something that I havent always
agreed with, understood, or thought about. The reason that I want to explore this identity is
because since coming to school here I have met a good friend who I originally did not know was
gay. Finding this out, it has made me question some of my beliefs and I have realized that I can
say that I havent actually formed my own opinion about the situation. This is one of the main
reasons that I have chosen this topic.
As previously stated, I dont know too much about homosexuality so this is one of the
reasons that I chose it. I know that it is now legal in the United States and that it has been a long
fought battle on both sides. I know that it has been a long progression to get to this point and I
think that is a rare moment to live in to see a movement like this. I think that our generation, the
millennials, is one of the first to question why we have always abided by the rules and the
societal norms that our parents and their parents have always followed. In that last 20 years so
many things have changed and one of the bigger mile stones is the change and shift in approval
of gay marriage and being more open bout ones sexuality.
The main reason that I chose to explore the identity of homosexuality is that I really dont
understand it because of the lack of exposure to it a child and because of its resent profound
impact that it has made on society. Another reason that I chose this identity to explore is because

just this year I have made a good friend that I originally had no idea was gay who told me two
weeks into school. If someone had told me a year ago that one of my first great friends that I
would meet in college would be someone who identified as homosexual, I would have been
highly skeptical. This is because coming from a moderately conservative up bringing where
church attendance was very regular and the idea that homosexuality was frowned upon. This is
another big reason that I want to learn more about an identity that I have not really given a
chance because the moral values that I have grown up with thus far have not been all my own.
Most of the questions that I have have to do with how it may originate and what it is like
to grow up as a homosexual. My main questions would include some of the following that I will
list. Does a chemical aspect play into whether someone identifies as homosexual or
heterosexual? Is there more of a nurture side of things that can play into the way someone
identifies sexually? How does a region/country play into effect on the rates/openness to the idea
of homosexuality? How much does religion play into the acceptance of homosexuality and do
homosexuality rates increase in a family that isnt religious? As the ideas of
masculinity/feminism start to slowly degrade, have homosexuality rates gone up? What is it like
growing up as a homosexual? How has the openness in society such as in the music and
entertainment industry changed the views of homosexuality? These are the main questions that I
have to start off my paper.
Some of the sources that I will be looking to gain a new insight are from medical sources.
Another good source will be to interview my good friend to find out a little more about what it
was like growing up being openly homosexual and also what it was like discovering his sexuality
for himself. Other sources will be from both sides of a pro and against stance for the subject to
get an idea of what it may have been like to grow up with these constant outside stances. I think

that other good sources are medical documents that may study chemical impulses in the brain
and some of the hormonal effects that babies are exposed to that may give way to new findings
for how developmentally some of these hormones may play into effect toward hetero or
homosexuality.
Given the wide rage of information on this topic I chose to explore. I predict that I will
most likely have to narrow my topic down as to focus more on the identity of a specific trait
within homosexuality. This is going to be challenging because there is so much information on
homosexuality because of the resent movements and the civil rights laws that have been changed
to accommodate for this new cultural event. In the rare case that I would have to broaden my
topic I could consider going more into the LBGT community as a whole because that would give
me a little more material to research so that I can correctly explore an identity that I dont fully
understand.