There's been a number of studies on identical twins and if one is gay then the chances of the other being gay is around 50%. I know this is higher than the normal averages, but if the genes are responsible for homosexuality then it has to be 100% and nothing else. Don't these scientific studies show that homosexuality is due to a combination of genetics and responses to certain trigger events in their lives? So no one can really say they are "born" gay. They can only say that they have a genetic predisposition toward homosexuality. What do you think?
2006-09-12 12:57:52 · 24 answers · asked by Dr. D 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
I can't believe how many of you have missed the question entirely. I am NOT arguing in favor of genetic determinism -- in fact, that is the position of the gay rights movement. I am proposing the genetics alone cannot be a logical answer for homosexuality. Read the question and think before you answer.
2006-09-13 01:49:20 · update #1
Tendencies are determined genetically. But just like any other tendencies, people can control them or override them, either by choice or based on their environment and experiences.
Just like most people are born with one hand dominant. But for many years in many countries, people who were born left-handed were conditioned not to use that hand. Some eventually became right-hand dominant, while others learned to use both equally.
I also know identical twins where one had a particular aptitude (math, music, swimming in the specific examples I know) and the other twin was a complete klutz at that subject. So, even identical twins are not always truly identical.
2006-09-12 13:00:18 · answer #1 · answered by coragryph 7 · 6⤊ 0⤋
I'm not going to go crazy on this answer, but I took a course on developmental psychology my freshman year. Basically, a person's sexuality is determined by three things: their genes, and their environment, and their choice. Obviously, someone can be born homosexual because of their genetics. Also, someone could be born unsure, and because of their environment are moved in one direction or the other. And, for some people, it's because they just want to. The reasons some sets of twins are/are not both gay is because of the latter two factors. Just because they are twins does not necessarily mean that they are going to do exactly the same things all the time. This unshared environment may precipitate certain changes in one twin, relative to the other. That's why there is an approximate 50% chance. That fifty comes from genes, something the twins have in common no matter what they do. The other fifty percent comes from the environment. (Choice is not factored into the percentage, since that is something within control of the person--the other two are not--though this may also come into play)
2006-09-13 18:56:18 · answer #2 · answered by Doug 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
This is still an extremely gray area in science. But, there was a show on a recent study of gay people being genetically predisposed this way. It tributed this to the way women's bodies keep track (somehow scientifically) how many boys &/or girls they've had. The study was really interesting, but it's been a while since I saw it. Anyhow, it said that if your body thinks it's time for you to have a girl, but the embryo (sp?) is male, the body produces more estrogen in the womb or through the ambilical cord, which causes the baby to have alot more femanin (sp?) qualities. You can look it up on PBS.org and they should have something on there about it. There's alot more to the study, but it would take a novel to go over the details.
2006-09-12 13:15:04 · answer #3 · answered by TAMARA 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ever hear of Conjoined Twins? Ever here of twins that consist of one boy and one girl? Fraternal Twins? Identical twins? These are all based on variances in the gene and cell structure. So it is possible that one twin has a disease and the other doesn't. So obviously one twin an be gay and the other not be...
Predisposition is a theory I believe. I believe that it is learned in only a small percentage. usualy the result of a sexual assault when younger. But I too believe that most gays 99%+ are born to it.
In theory that would make it a sort of birth defect......
We are tolerant of people with 6 toes but not of people who have a predisposition to prefer people of the same sex.
Different but the same...
I say live and let live... rspect each others right to live as they were destined to live....
2006-09-12 15:28:07 · answer #4 · answered by john s 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well it is still not proved that you are born gay. And when people say it and support it they dont mean it literally...
The point is that the first attraction we get is towards the same sex. And we cant help it, no matter how we try or deny it. Thats the whole point of this argument.
I dont care whether I was born gay or I was a gay sperm or I turned gay while I was growing up.
What I know is, that even when I was six years old and didnt know what sex was, I would dream of kissing guys in my sleep and that there was no point in my life while I just sat and decided to go with guys, because it would be cool or trendy. On the contrary I was denying it to myself and I used to hate myself.
Genetic or not, it is something you cant control. And I grew up in a normal family.
2006-09-12 13:14:02 · answer #5 · answered by Nostromo 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
identical twins are that for all intents and purposes but in actual fact they are not identical. They still have their differences therefore plus or minus 50% are reasonable odds. Being born 'gay' is part of the stage of develeopment towards transgenderism. Where someone's gender is the opposite of what their physical sex is. Some people are affected so much that they have to go through life with this debilitating condition knowing that they are in the wrong body. Called gender dysphoria..
2006-09-12 13:08:15 · answer #6 · answered by ? 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think it would depend on whether the genetic difference takes place at conception or during the development process. We do know that there are things that mothers do or don't do has an affect on the fetus and how it develops. Identical twins are not completely identical, otherwise they would have the same finger prints.
2006-09-12 13:03:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Honestly Wally, I believe that it IS somewhere between nature and nurture. If it was all nature then 100% of twins would be either striaght or gay, no variation. If it was 100% nurture then only a small percent 5% or so of twins would both be gay.
The fact is gays are just tired of having to justify themselves to people. It's like having to justify your religion (100% Choice), it gets old after a while.
2006-09-12 13:10:19 · answer #8 · answered by collegedebt 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
If it is in the genes, it would be terminal--if the DNA is programmed to expect males to mate with males and females to mate with females, they won't reproduce. In that, homosexuals who hope to find a homosexual gene are wishing to win the Darwin Award, not passing on its genes. Think about it people, you aren't extinct dodos, some of you are exceptionally bright. Besides, where is the gene? You would want more evidence, there is more evidence for UFOs than for homosexual genes.
2006-09-12 15:50:35 · answer #9 · answered by Rabbit 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you go to your favorite search engine and type in INDENTICAL TWINS, DIFFERENCES you will get a lot of references that will help explain it.
Many scientists bellieve that the hormonal influences inside of the womb will cause one twin to be gay and the other not. There are many theories, but no one knows anything for sure yet.
2006-09-12 14:53:23 · answer #10 · answered by knightofsappho 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋