Are people born gay or made gay?

Answer 1

People are born gay, and numerous scientific studies have shown this to be true.

Answer 2

I would bet that anyone who is of the opinion that being gay is a "choice" or "decision", is probably straight. I would also bet that the majority of gays would say definitively that they were born with that orientation. People tend to be judgemental and naive about things they don't really understand. I don't think individuals choose what arouses them sexually. Something or someone either turns you on or it doesn't. It's an inate, involuntary response. A straight person sees a hot individual of the opposite sex, and bingo!, the attraction is just there. It's obvious and undeniable. You just know that this person "does it for you." The same holds true for a gay person when they encounter an attractive individual of the same sex. People do not change their sexuality!! Sometimes people repress their instinctive urges to conform to societal "norms." But sooner or later, their true sexuality becomes clear and evident to them, and they realize that they are indeed gay, and not the straight person they have been trying so hard to be. A question for straights... Did you ever consider changing your sexual preference to the same sex? Probably not. Sounds pretty ridiculous, huh?

Answer 3

You can be born gay or around middle school ages (12-15) decide if you like one or the other cuz personally, I love girls, but I can not get aroused on them. So I stuck with guys and here I am still in middle school more or less happily living.

Answer 4

The arrangement of a mother's genes could affect the sexual orientation of her son, according to a new study.

The finding, detailed in the February issue of the journal Human Genetics, adds fuel to the decade-long debate about whether so-called "gay genes" might exist.

The researchers examined a phenomenon called "X chromosome inactivation" in 97 mothers of gay sons and 103 mothers whose sons were not gay.

X and Y

Chromosomes are large thread-like molecules that contain an organism's genetic instructions. Humans have 23 chromosome pairs. The X chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in mammals; the other is the Y chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and no Y's, while males have one X and one Y.

Even though women have two X chromosomes, only one is functional because the other is inactivated through a process called "methylation."

"It gets wrapped up in a ball and is not used with the exception of a few genes," explained study leader Sven Bocklandt of the University of California, Los Angeles.

If one of the females' X chromosomes is not turned off, then there is too much genetic material, which can lead to a harmful overabundance of proteins. Down syndrome, for example, results from the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Big difference

Normally, X chromosome inactivation occurs at random: half of the cells in a woman's body will have one X chromosome inactivated, while the other half inactivates the other chromosome.

However, when the researchers in the current study examined cells from the 42 mothers who had at least two gay sons, they found that about a quarter of the women in this group showed something different.

"Every single cell that we looked at in these women inactivated the same X chromosome," Bocklandt told LiveScience. "That's highly unusual."

In contrast, only 4 percent of mothers with no gay sons and 13 percent of those with just one gay son showed this type of extreme skewing.

Bocklandt thinks this suggest that a mother's X chromosomes partly influences whether her son is gay or not.

"We think that there are one or more genes on the X chromosome that have an effect on the sexual orientation of the sons of these mothers, as well as an effect on the cells we were looking at," Bocklandt said.

Other chromosomes implicated

Bocklandt was also involved in an earlier study that looked at the entire human genome of men who had two or more gay brothers. The researchers found identical stretches of DNA on three chromosomes—7, 8 and 10—that were shared by about 60 percent of the gay brothers in the study.

That study also found mothers to have an unusually large role in their son's sexual orientation: the region on chromosome 10 correlated with homosexuality only if it was inherited from the mother.

The results from these two studies suggest that there are multiple genetic factors involved in determining a person's sexual orientation and that it might vary depending on the person.

"We think that there are going to be some gay men who are X chromosome gay men and some who are chromosome 7 gay men or chromosome 10 gay men or some combination," Bocklandt said in a telephone interview.

Most researchers now think that there is no single gay gene that controls whether a person is homosexual or not. Rather, it's the influence of multiple genes, combined with environmental influences, which ultimately determine whether a person is gay.

A touchy subject

Research into the genetics of sexual orientation is controversial. Religious leaders who believe that sexual orientation is a choice argue that such research is an attempt to legitimize homosexuality; others worry that a detailed knowledge of the genetics underlying homosexuality will open the door to genetic engineering that prevents it.

But Bocklandt doesn't think these concerns should prevent scientists from asking the basic question of whether homosexuality has an underlying genetic component to it or not.

"I have no doubt that at some point we'll be able to manipulate all sorts of aspects of our personality and physical appearance," Bocklandt said. "I think if there's ever a time when we can make these changes for sexual orientation, then we will also be able to do it for intelligence or musical skills or certain physical characteristics—but whether or not these things are allowed to happen is something that society as a whole has to decide. It's not a scientific question."

Answer 5

I believe that sexual preference is a CHOICE. Personally, I think people belive that they are born gay because they feel guilty about their decisions (PLEEZ I AM NOT TRYING TO OFFEND ANY HOMOSEXUALS). Especially with the stigma placed on gays these days guess scientists are trying to prove that it isn't their "fault" Hmmm...fault that is a peculiar word to use isn't it? Just thin about the big picture...do people go around debating whether or not hair color, or even speaking fluency is genetic (of course not!) this is because people aren't stigmatized by society. I think that people have the freedom to choose (I am not saying whether or not I agree or disagree with their choices). Afterall, God gave us the freedom of choice. Why would he make something that is spoken against of in the BIble not a choice?(AGAIN I AM NOT BASHING HOMOSEXUALITY)

Answer 6

As has been asked numerous times before, we're born that way. The argument that a person's sexual orientation is a preference is bogus. To those who believe it's a choice, then you also came to a point in your life where you had to decide whether to be straight or gay.

Answer 7

Ask yourself this question were you born straight?? I am gay and know that I was born gay, I had no choice. women are simple nothing to me apart from friends, I could never look at a woman and see her sexually... being gay is NOT a choice..

Answer 8

I believe it's a developmental process in a way, but at the same time I believe the deciding factors are present at birth. So I'm gonna say more or less born.

Answer 9

The answer is yes to each of those. I recently saw a special on t.v. about children who appear to be more gay than straight. Like this set of twins. Identicle boys, one just happened to like everything that little girls like. His bedroom was decked out in pink. Other than that I've heard of people switching their preference mid-way through life.
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Answer 10

i thank people are born gay cuz i did not wacko up and say that I'm not going to be gay i all ways look at girls!!!! so i thank you are!!!!