Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
IsThis

HEALTH

The Claim

Sexual orientation, specifically being gay, is primarily a result of psychological factors or social influence rather than innate biological factors, and it can be changed.

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The Short Version

This claim is false. The overwhelming scientific and medical consensus — from the APA, NIH, and major research institutions — holds that sexual orientation is substantially influenced by biological, genetic, hormonal, and early developmental factors, not primarily by psychological or social influence. There is no credible evidence that sexual orientation can be durably changed through intervention. Conversion therapy efforts have been found ineffective and linked to serious mental health harms including depression, PTSD, and suicidality.

Caveats

  • The few studies cited in support of this claim rely on self-selected participants and self-reported outcomes from conversion therapy settings, which do not demonstrate durable orientation change and conflict with higher-authority consensus reviews.
  • Conversion therapy (SOCE) has been found by every major medical and psychological organization to be ineffective at changing sexual orientation and is associated with serious harm, including depression, PTSD, and increased suicidality.
  • Observed fluidity in sexual identity labels or behavior over time is not the same as a change in underlying sexual orientation — a critical distinction this claim ignores.

The Receipts

  1. Neurobiology of gender identity and sexual orientation - PMC - NIH

    PMC - NIH

  2. Gender identity: Biology or environment?

    American Psychological Association (APA)

  3. APA Resolution on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts

    American Psychological Association

  4. Banning Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts

    American Psychological Association

  5. An assessment of the evidence on conversion therapy for sexual ...

    UK Government

  6. The Longitudinal Measurement of Sexual Orientation and Gender ...

    PubMed

  7. Understanding sexual orientation and homosexuality

    American Psychological Association

  8. Advancing Research on Structural Stigma and Sexual Orientation

    PubMed Central / National Institutes of Health

  9. The Association Between Sexual Orientation Identity and Behavior

    PubMed Central / CDC

  10. What does the scholarly research say about whether conversion therapy can alter sexual orientation without causing harm?

    Cornell University What We Know Project

+ 9 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

homosexualitysexual orientation