Is being gay really genetics???

Question

Very interesting concept.....what do you all think??

Answer 1

A report of Odenwald and Zhang's findings, to be published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to the mounting evidence that homosexuality has genetic origins, and is sure to produce new fireworks in the contentious debate over what it means to be gay. The two scientists are not foolhardy enough to claim that a single gene can make a person homosexual. But they think their studies may yield important new insights into how genetic makeup, through a complex series of biochemical reactions, influences sexual orientation.

Such work stirs mixed emotions in the gay community. To some extent, gays and lesbians welcome the research because it supports what most of them have long felt: that homosexuality is an innate characteristic, like skin color, rather than a perverse life-style choice, as conservative moralists contend. And if that is true, then gays deserve legal protection similar to the laws that prohibit racial discrimination. "On a political level, genetic research does seem to move the debate along a certain path," says Denny Lee of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, a gay advocacy group in New York City. "When people understand that being gay or lesbian is an integral characteristic, they are more open-minded about equality for gay Americans."

Answer 2

it's NOT 100% genetics, but genetics plays a large part in making someone inclined to turn out homosexual.

Genetics makes it possible, other things make it probable.

There is strong evidence that a super high level of testosterone in the womb during fetal development can make women lesbian, and a low level make men homosexual.

Stress can dramatically change these levels in a woman's body while pregnant.

Also playing a role is socialization while growing up.

Even with the genetic predisposition to be homosexual, being gay is not absolute just because of genetics.

The family dynamics, as well as the early sexual experiences children have play a big part.

The last thing is something few people want to admit exist, and I'm not talking about childhood sexual abuse.

Many pre-pubescent children engage in some sort of sex-play (playing Dr. for example.)

If the playing a child does is mostly or all with members of the same sex, this can decide the impact a genetic predisposition will have.

If the playing a child has is with the opposite sex then it can turn a likely homosexual child into a clear bisexual.

Answer 3

Wow there's a lot of gay hate in this question.. I still can't believe that so many people believe being gay is completely a "choice". Like someone would really choose to be doubted, and bigoted against on a regular basis.

To answer your question; I believe being or realizing you're gay is a natural thing. However I do not believe it to be technically genetic. Simply because most things regarding unchosen preference are just a matter of human difference, not genetic difference.

I also disagree with homosexuality being considered "genetic" because that would mean it could become changeable. And there would people people (bigots) dedicating their lives trying some kind of experiments to change "gay genes".

Answer 4

I think that there are two main driving forces for homosexuality. One is genetics, there is strong evidence that if certain hormone levels are not attained during animal development, the parts of the brain develops as the opposite sex. This does not mean that the brain as a whole is under or overdeveloped or damaged. It simply means that the portion that drives reproduction as developed as the opposite sex. This has certainly been observed with sheep studies (people usually don't donate there own brain for studies). Here I don't think that people choose to be gay, that is simply the way they are, I must also state that I in no way am saying that there is damage to normal brain functions. But, hormones drive development, and if those hormone levels are off, there are developmental repercussions.

The other factor is society. Now it is mostly acceptable in many societies to be gay or bisexual. In certain groups of people it is more acceptable than to not be. This can serve as a type of peer pressure and drive down the taboo of experimenting with members of the same sex. Although in this case, I would say these people choose to be gay.

In the end, the people who simply are gay, it is a mix of genetics and circumstance. For the people who choose, it is society and personal exploration. And hey, whatever floats your boat as long as your boat is floating right?

Answer 5

Scientific researchers have shown that being gay is based on biological and genetic factors.

Some more recent studies have included an October 2004 scientific research publication stated that scientists at the University of Padua have found that women tend to have more children when they inherit the same genetic factors linked to homosexuality in men. This fertility boost more than compensates for the lack of offspring fathered by gay men, and keeps the “gay” genetic factors in circulation.

Another study published in Human Genetics in February 2006 examined X chromosome inactivation in mothers of gay sons and mothers whose sons were not gay. Researchers found extreme differences between women who had gay sons and women who did not.

A Canadian university study published in June of 2006 stated that, although researchers have known for years that a man's likelihood of being gay rises with the number of older biological brothers, that the new study found that the so-called "fraternal birth order effect" persists even if gay men were raised away from their biological families.

Answer 6

I'm gay and have 1 gay uncle and 2 gay cousins (1 male, 1 female) from 2 different aunts. Not sure if it's genetic but it seems like it based on my family. Even still I have my doubts. I don't think sexuality is a sensation that is easily defined. It's very complex!

Answer 7

No, whom we have sex with is our choice. You also have the choice of walking away. Either way, it's a choice.

To say that orientation is genetic is saying that a straight man would not be able to go down on another man because he lacks the genetics to do so.

More likely, a gay man comes from a divorced home raised by his mother than to have any one gay in the family tree.

Answer 8

It is simply a choice with people who are intrigued by the idea. For others there is a hormone that some may be born with, were they don't have the physical attraction to the straight sex, and therefore, give into their physical feelings. However, If you seek out of the Bible, God ordained man and woman to be together, and that is his natural way, and that is how I think it ought to be. Frankly, I am a woman who finds men irresistible. I find it sick to like girls, unless you are a guy who likes me, or other woman. In fact, I simply wouldn't have it any other way. People can get over their problems, if they are gay. It may not be easy, but for most... being gay or lesbian is simply a choice to be. It is not genetics, unless you are transgendered or gained that simple hormone that will screw up a person's genetic traits and senses. If you were to put all the gays on an island, they would go extinct!

Answer 9

I think that if it's genetic, then you'd have to have a gay parent, and if the parent had you, then he/she isn't really gay, right?

However, I don't dispute that in most cases a person is gay before they are even born, like a chromosone thing...not sure what you'd call it.

I don't think a person "becomes gay" by choice.

Answer 10

Yeah, a very interesting concept.

And the question too.