Do genes make you gay?

[knocker]

There is new paper on this still controversial subject. Although it doesn't really clarify the situation as it uses outdated techniques.

 

Anyway a summaryand broader discussion.

 

Study of gay brothers may confirm X chromosome link to homosexuality

 

http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/11/study-gay-brothers-may-confirm-x-chromosome-link-homosexuality

 

Do genes make you gay?

Edited November 19, 2014 by knocker

[Methuselah]

It's hard to, despite the rantings of various puritanical right-wingers, that gayness can be attributed to anything other than genetics, knocker. Or am I mad?

[Steve C]

I find the concept of a homosexual gene passing from generation to generation quite bizarre...

 

Having said that, there could be something genetically spontaneous, that could occur in a person's make up. I knew even as a young child that certain children (boys) had a femininity about them (the voice that some gay males have) In later life, these children became gay men, so maybe there is something in it?

[Methuselah]

It doesn't (except in cases of marriages of convenience)  'pass from generation to generation', Steve. How could it? So, as you suggest, the genetic mutation - minuscule, in the great scheme of things -  must be spontaneous...

[Mokidugway]

Skinny genes might ,best stick with regular fit you should be ok ......

[Methuselah]

Took me a while to get that...

[4wd]

I knew even as a young child that certain children (boys) had a femininity about them 

Oh dear, that's a whacking big assumption, if you think men are unlikely to be gay unless they have a feminine air and talk a bit like John Inman or Larry Grayson.

I can't actually think of a wronger stereotype.

 

[Steve C]

Oh dear, that's a whacking big assumption, if you think men are unlikely to be gay unless they have a feminine air and talk a bit like John Inman or Larry Grayson.

I can't actually think of a wronger stereotype.

 

 

Except it happened. I didn't just make this up. Also note my italics. I knew of some people who 'came out' who didn't fit my 'stereotype'

Edited November 19, 2014 by Steve C

[knocker]

It's hard to, despite the rantings of various puritanical right-wingers, that gayness can be attributed to anything other than genetics, knocker. Or am I mad?

 

If you are we both are.

[Jax]

Think it is a bit ambiguous to say it is just in the genes, but it could hold the "key" that if that person is given the right trigger then they will become a gay/lesbian/bi person.

[Gael_Force]

It doesn't (except in cases of marriages of convenience)  'pass from generation to generation', Steve. How could it? So, as you suggest, the genetic mutation - minuscule, in the great scheme of things -  must be spontaneous...

 

If it is genetic it may be carried through the maternal line but I would be more inclined to think it was a problem in the switch on of the 'male' hormone during early development of the foetus. Drugs aside, it is this type of event that has caused gender ambivalence in some athlete testing.

[Snowmadsam]

It's hard to, despite the rantings of various puritanical right-wingers, that gayness can be attributed to anything other than genetics, knocker. Or am I mad?

 

Can we not call it "gayness" it's homosexuality. Sorry it bothers me!! haha!!

 

I don't think its genetic at all, surely we shouldn't be studying people to find out what causes homosexuality etc. It seems immoral to me.

[Nick L]

Can we not call it "gayness" it's homosexuality. Sorry it bothers me!! haha!!

 

I don't think its genetic at all, surely we shouldn't be studying people to find out what causes homosexuality etc. It seems immoral to me.

 

I think anything to prove to bigots that homosexuality isn't some sinful lifestyle choice can only be beneficial. 

 

Plus gaining further understanding of human genetics can't be a bad thing either, surely?

[knocker]

If it is genetic it may be carried through the maternal line but I would be more inclined to think it was a problem in the switch on of the 'male' hormone during early development of the foetus. Drugs aside, it is this type of event that has caused gender ambivalence in some athlete testing.

 

hyperandrogenism which is a condition which produces high testosterone levels.

 

[Methuselah]

If it is genetic it may be carried through the maternal line but I would be more inclined to think it was a problem in the switch on of the 'male' hormone during early development of the foetus. Drugs aside, it is this type of event that has caused gender ambivalence in some athlete testing.

Does that imply that lesbianism might be passed along the male line? I'm being serious, not facetious...

[Gael_Force]

Does that imply that lesbianism might be passed along the male line? I'm being serious, not facetious...

 

Why would it need to be passed along the male line? Lesbianism does not preclude the equipment and the desire for motherhood.

[Methuselah]

Why would it need to be passed along the male line? Lesbianism does not preclude the equipment and the desire for motherhood.

My suspicion is that 'gayness' genes don't get passed on anyway...

[laserguy]

My suspicion is that 'gayness' genes don't get passed on anyway...

 

By definition, 'gayness genes' are very unlikely to be passed on!!

[Methuselah]

By definition, 'gayness genes' are very unlikely to be passed on!!

Precisely!

[Dami]

I have a dear friend who had cancer of the brain (and is still with us) and she actually started to have feelings for women which she hadn't before. She blames an chemical imbalance due to the cancer.  I therefore think it's more (an imbalance)  in people than a gene thing, personally.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Dami

[Lauren]

I believe a gay person has about as much choice about their gayness as I do about my straightness. I do believe (in most cases) you are born with your sexuality.

 

Genetically, it is unclear whether the 'gay' gene is a type of mutant gene or not. Gay people certainly do not always produce gay children, which would suggest it isn't a hereditary gene.

 

Dami - if homosexuality were a chemical imbalance it could easily be 'treated' with chemical and hormone supplements, but it doesn't respond to such treatments.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Lauren

[Thundery wintry showers]

I think that human sexuality is generally a spectrum- most people are heterosexual but can still get traces of attraction towards their own gender, such as when close same-sex relationships occasionally trigger a modest amount of involuntary sexual arousal.  This usually doesn't imply a desire to have sex, or progress to a sexual type of relationship, but nonetheless implies that a modest amount of sexual attraction probably exists.  

 

Given this issue, what chances have homosexuals got of eliminating their much greater attraction to their own gender?

 

I am not homosexual but I have been saddled with the archetypal traits of "gifted children" and to a lesser extent the "highly sensitive person", and I consistently find that while I can hide and suppress these traits up to a point, I cannot fundamentally change my ways of thinking, and that trying to hide/suppress them is consequently bad for my self-confidence.  I see a lot of evidence that homosexuals who try to change their sexual orientation run into a near-identical problem. 

 

Similarly, it may well be that rather than there being an outright homosexual gene, there may be a spectrum, where certain genes predispose individuals to having a much above-average probability of developing into homosexuals as they head into their teens, and once this develops it is generally impossible to reverse.  But of course I cannot be sure about this unless I see strong scientific proof and at present it is still in the process of being researched.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Thundery wintry showers

[Lauren]

Sexuality is a spectrum, we know that for a fact.

[laserguy]

Sexuality is a spectrum, we know that for a fact.

 

Speak for yourselves - I'm 100% straight.

[laserguy]

I don't think it's possible to be completely 100% straight or 100% gay. As Lauren and TWS have said, sexuality is on a scale and is not categoric.

 

At the risk of starting a row (I'll back out right now) I assure you 100% that I'm 100% straight. That's not some kind of 'boast' and I have no problem with a person's sexuality - just saying how it is when applied to me personally.