Disvered: No sign of a gay gene, but homosexualy uld start the womb; childhood oby is gog down; that fish you're eatg probably isn't really fish; a new SARS to eak out about.
Contents:
- WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
- BEN CARSON: BEG GAY IS A CHOICE — JT LOOK AT PRISON
- DO GAYS HAVE A CHOICE?
- ‘I AM GAY – BUT I WASN’T BORN THIS WAY’
- BEG GAY NOT A CHOICE: SCIENCE CONTRADICTS BEN CARSON
- THERE IS NO ‘GAY GENE.’ THERE IS NO ‘STRAIGHT GENE.’ SEXUALY IS JT PLEX, STUDY NFIRMS
- WHY WOULD PEOPLE 'CHOOSE' TO BE GAY?
- IS BEG GAY A CHOICE?
WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
Blogil factors shape sexual preference. cultur, 2% to 10% of people report havg same-sex relatns. In the U.S., 1% to 2.2% of women and men, rpectively, intify as gay. Dpe the numbers, many people still nsir homosexual behavr to be an anomalo choice. However, blogists have documented homosexual behavr more than 450 speci, argug that same-sex behavr is not an unnatural choice, and may fact play a val role wh populatns. In a 2019 issue of Science magaze, geicist Andrea Ganna at the Broad Instute of MIT and Harvard, and lleagu, scribed the largt survey to date for gen associated wh same-sex behavr. By analyzg the DNA of nearly half a ln people om the U.S. and the U.K., they nclud that gen acunt for between 8% and 25% of same-sex behavr. Numero studi have tablished that sex is not jt male or female. Rather, is a ntuum that emerg om a person’s geic makp. Nohels, misnceptns persist that same-sex attractn is a choice that warrants nmnatn or nversn, and leads to discrimatn and persecutn. I am a molecular blogist and am terted this new study as further illumat the geic ntributn to human behavr. As the thor of the book, “Pleased to Meet Me: Gen, Germs, and the Cur Forc That Make Us Who We Are,” I have done extensive rearch to the blogil forc that nspire to shape human personaly and behavr, cludg the factors fluencg sexual attractn. The hunt for ‘gay gen’ The new fdg is nsistent wh multiple earlier studi of tws that dited same-sex attractn is a herable tra. A new study suggts that gen are rponsible for between 8% and 25% of same-sex preference. Gu 3D The 2019 study is the latt a hunt for “gay gen” that began 1993, when Dean Hamer lked male homosexualy to a sectn of the X chromosome. As the ease and affordabily of genome sequencg creased, addnal gene ndidat have emerged wh potential lks to homosexual behavr. So-lled genome-wi associatn studi intified a gene lled SLITRK6, which is active a bra regn lled the diencephalon that differs size between people who are homosexual or heterosexual. Geic studi mice have unvered addnal gene ndidat that uld fluence sexual preference. A 2010 study lked sexual preference to a gene lled fuse mutarotase. When the gene was leted female mice, they were attracted to female odors and preferred to mount femal rather than mal. Other studi have shown that disptn of a gene lled TRPC2 n e female mice to act like mal. Male mice lackg TRPC2 no longer display male-male aggrsn, and they iate sexual behavrs toward both mal and femal. Exprsed the bra, TRPC2 functns the regnn of pheromon, chemils that are released by one member of a speci to elic a rponse another. Wh multiple gene ndidat beg lked to homosexualy, seemed highly unlikely that a sgle “gay” gene exists. This ia is further supported by the new study, which intified five new geic loci (fixed posns on chromosom) rrelatg wh same-sex activy: two that appeared men and women, two only men, and one only women. How might the gen fluence same-sex behavr? I fd trigug that some of the gen om men intified Ganna’s study are associated wh olfactory systems, a fdg that has parallels to the work mice. Ganna’s group found other gene variants that may be lked wh sex hormone regulatn, which other scientists have prevly suggted plays a large role shapg the bra ways that fluence sexual behavr. Condns the utes durg pregnancy are thought to fluence the sexual preferenc of the child. Anna Om/ Mal wh a geic ndn lled androgen sensivy syndrome n velop female genalia and are ually brought up as girls, spe beg geilly male – wh an X and Y chromosome – and they are attracted to men. This suggts that ttosterone is need to “masculize” a prenatal bra; if that don’t happen, the child will grow up to sire men. Siarly, girls who have a geic ndn lled ngenal adrenal hyperplasia are exposed to unually high levels of male hormon like ttosterone while the womb, which may masculize their bra and crease the odds of lbianism. It’s also possible that hormonal shifts durg pregnancy uld affect how a fet’ bra is nfigured. In rats, manipulatn of hormon durg pregnancy produc offsprg that exhib homosexual behavr. Why do homosexual behavr exist? Several hypoth have been advanced to expla how homosexualy n be beneficial perpetuatg faial gen. One ia volv the ncept of k selectn, whereby people work to ensure the passage of their fay’s gen to subsequent generatns. Gay uncl and nts, for example, are “helpers the nt” that help raise other fay members’ children to nurture the fay tree. Another ia suggts that homosexualy is a “tra-off tra.” For example, certa gen women help crease their fertily, but if the gen are exprsed a male, they predispose him toward homosexualy. Sexual behavr is wily diverse and erned by sophistited mechanisms throughout the animal kgdom. As wh other plex behavrs, is not possible to predict sexualy by gazg to a DNA sequence as if were a crystal ball. Such behavrs emerge om nstellatns of hundreds, perhaps thoands, of gen, and how they are regulated by the environment. While there is no sgle “gay gene,” there is overwhelmg evince of a blogil basis for sexual orientatn that is programmed to the bra before birth based on a mix of geics and prenatal ndns, none of which the fet choos. [ You’re smart and cur about the world. So are The Conversatn’s thors and edors. You n read daily by subscribg to our newsletter. ]This article is republished om The Conversatn, a nonprof news se dited to sharg ias om amic experts. It was wrten by: Bill Sullivan, Indiana Universy. Read more:For the parents of genr-nonnformg kids, a new approach to reIndia’s sodomy ban, now led illegal, was a Brish lonial legacyDenyg transgenr inty has ser impact on mental health Bill Sullivan do not work for, nsult, own shar or receive fundg om any pany or anizatn that would benef om this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliatns beyond their amic appotment. * is being gay a choice yahoo *
In 1991, a study published the journal Science seemed to show that the hypothalam, which ntrols the release of sex hormon om the puary gland, gay men differs om the hypothalam straight men. The third terstial nucls of the anterr hypothalam (INAH3) was found to be more than twice as large heterosexual men as homosexual men This study was cricized bee ed bra tissue obtaed at topsi, and all of the homosexual subjects the study were believed to have died of AIDS. ) Today, however, we know much more about the bra than we did when homosexualy was nsired a disease that required treatment, and the amount of knowledge that we have about the bra is creasg.
BEN CARSON: BEG GAY IS A CHOICE — JT LOOK AT PRISON
* is being gay a choice yahoo *
If we fe beg gay as engagg homosexual behavr (the ncept of "gay" as an inty is a Wtern cultural ncept - people who have sex wh both men and women may ll themselv gay, straight or bisexual, pendg on the l of their culture or subculture), then people stop beg gay as soon as they stop engagg this behavr. I believe that people have the right to engage any behavr that they choose, as long as their actns do not harm others, and I believe that gay sex and gay relatnships do not e harm to anyone.
Therefore, people who are gay by choice have the right to rema that way (Of urse, there are abive and unhealthy gay relatnships that should not be tolerated, jt as there are unhealthy heterosexual relatnships that should not be tolerated. ) If sexual preference n be altered, then people who support gay rights n't rely on the argument that gay people should be protected om discrimatn bee gay people have no choice but to be gay - an argument that seems like an apology for homosexualy, as if homosexualy is a disease for which there is no cure.
Jt as gay people who are happy as they are should not be forced to change their sexual orientatn, gay people who want to be straight should have the right to change if they n - and the rrect word is "change" - not "cure".
DO GAYS HAVE A CHOICE?
Why are people gay? Are they gay by choice or is beg gay geic? Are they born gay? Learn about the and reasons for beg gay. * is being gay a choice yahoo *
However, blogists have documented homosexual behavr more than 450 speci, argug that same-sex behavr is not an unnatural choice, and may fact play a val role wh a 2019 issue of Science magaze, geicist Andrea Ganna at the Broad Instute of MIT and Harvard, and lleagu, scribed the largt survey to date for gen associated wh same-sex behavr. As the thor of the book, “Pleased to Meet Me: Gen, Germs, and the Cur Forc That Make Us Who We Are, ” I have done extensive rearch to the blogil forc that nspire to shape human personaly and behavr, cludg the factors fluencg sexual hunt for ‘gay gen’The new fdg is nsistent wh multiple earlier studi of tws that dited same-sex attractn is a herable tra. Exprsed the bra, TRPC2 functns the regnn of pheromon, chemils that are released by one member of a speci to elic a rponse multiple gene ndidat beg lked to homosexualy, seemed highly unlikely that a sgle “gay” gene exists.
‘I AM GAY – BUT I WASN’T BORN THIS WAY’
Many scientific studi suggt that people don't choose to be gay, ntrary to the claims of Republin printial hopeful Ben Carson. * is being gay a choice yahoo *
Such behavrs emerge om nstellatns of hundreds, perhaps thoands, of gen, and how they are regulated by the there is no sgle “gay gene, ” there is overwhelmg evince of a blogil basis for sexual orientatn that is programmed to the bra before birth based on a mix of geics and prenatal ndns, none of which the fet choos.
It very much appears that same-sex sexual attractn is not a choice but actg on is; so if you fe gay as the mere prence of same-sex attractn, then om everythg we unrstand, beg gay is not a choice. Ben Carson, a retired nrosurgeon and possible 2016 Republin printial ndidate, said Wednday he believ homosexualy is a choice — and that prison is proof — a televised terview before later backtrackg om the remarks on social media. “It’s a well-tablished, fundamental pillar of society and no group — be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe btialy — don’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the fn [of marriage], ” Carson was forced to ncel a mencement speech at Johns Hopks Universy over those Tuday, Carson beme the send major Republin to form a printial exploratory mtee.
BEG GAY NOT A CHOICE: SCIENCE CONTRADICTS BEN CARSON
Jeb Bh (10 percent), ahead of is not the only possible 2016 GOP ndidate to stir up ntroversy on the issue of same-sex month, Huckabee said homosexualy is a liftyle choice like drkg and swearg — which is why he n accept iends who are gay, spe his relig nvictns.
What scientists refer to as “aternal birth orr effect” is based on the fact that fai wh several children there is a greater probabily of the velopment of homosexualy children further down the birth orr than there is the first or send child. In the 1968 edn of the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs (DSM)—the dispensable diagnostic tool ed by therapists—homosexualy appeared the sectn on sexual viatns as an stance of an aberratn which sexual terts are “directed primarily toward objects other than people of the oppose sex. Now lled the Stonewall Rts (named after the Stonewall Inn, which was at the center of the melee), they galvanized the morn gay-rights movement Ameri and iated a shift toward greater cultural acceptance of homosexualy.
Whereas is te that some homosexuals had poor relatnships wh their fathers when they were growg up, is impossible to say whether those fathers produced homosexual tennci their sons by rejectg them or, stead, whether some fathers simply tend to shun boys who are effemate at the outset. As for the effectivens of reparative therapy, a landmark study published October 2003 the Archiv of Sexual Behavr, Spzer terviewed 200 men and women who once nsired themselv homosexuals but who had lived their liv as heterosexuals for at least five years.
THERE IS NO ‘GAY GENE.’ THERE IS NO ‘STRAIGHT GENE.’ SEXUALY IS JT PLEX, STUDY NFIRMS
Although no one study is entirely nclive, studi of tws raised together, tws raised apart and fay tre suggt—at least for mal—that the more gen one shar wh a homosexual relative, the more likely is that one will be homosexual—the hallmark of a geic characteristic.
Whereas most people may believe that “straight” and “gay” are discrete tegori, there is strong evince that they are not—and this fact has important implitns for the way we unrstand the different ntroversi that surround homosexualy. It is unreasonable to say that he has been returned to a “natural” state, however; wh strong social support, he has simply chosen a new path for himself—one that his gen ma possible but that is almost certaly not possible for every gay person. Bee of the enormo prsur phg all of toward the straight end of the Sexual Orientatn Contuum om the time we are very young, is reasonable to assume that most of the people who currently live as homosexuals were probably close to the gay end of the ntuum to beg wh; other words, they probably have strong geic tennci toward homosexualy.
If you doubt that—and assumg that you are right-hand—try eatg wh your left hand for a day or two, and good luck wh your article was origally published wh the tle "Do Gays Have a Choice? You so obvly nnot be gay, was her implitn, bee this is good was 2006, a full five years before Lady Gaga would set the Born This Way argument atop s unassailable cultural perch, but even then the popular unrstandg of orientatn was that was somethg you were born wh, somethg you uldn’t change. But what feels most accurate to say is that I’m gay – but I wasn’t born this people may fd their sir changg directn - and n't jt be explaed as experimentatn (Cred: Ignac Lehmann)In 1977, jt over 10% of Amerins thought gayns was somethg you were born wh, acrdg to Gallup.
WHY WOULD PEOPLE 'CHOOSE' TO BE GAY?
Throughout the same perd, the number of Amerins who believe homosexualy is “due to someone’s upbrgg/environment” fell om jt unr 60% to ias reached cril mass pop culture, first wh Lady Gaga’s 2011 Born This Way and one year later wh Macklemore’s Same Love, the chos of which has a gay person sgg “I n’t change even if I tried, even if I wanted to. ” Around the same time, the Human Rights Campaign clared unequivolly that “Beg gay is not a choice, ” and to claim that is “giv unwarranted crence to roundly disproven practic such as nversn or reparative therapy.
”People who challenge the Born This Way narrative are often st as homophobic, and their thkg is nsired backwardAs Jane Ward not Not Gay: Sex Between Straight Whe Men, what’s tertg about many of the claims is how transparent their speakers are wh their polil motivatns.
“Such statements, ” she wr, “fe blogil acunts wh an obligatory and nearly ercive force, suggtg that anyone who scrib homosexual sire as a choice or social nstctn is playg to the hands of the enemy. ” People who challenge the Born This Way narrative are often st as homophobic, and their thkg is nsired backward – even if they are themselv, for example, Cynthia Nixon of Sex and The Cy fame. ”Gay rights do not have to hge on a geic explanatn for sexualy (Cred: Ignac Lehmann)For Aravosis, and many gay activists like him, the public will only accept and affirm gay people if they thk they were born gay.
IS BEG GAY A CHOICE?
In fact, the homophobic and non-homophobic rponnts he studied shared siar levels of belief a Born This Way Samantha Allen not at The Daily Beast, the growg public support for gays and lbians has grown out of proportn wh the rise the number of people who believe homosexualy is fixed at birth; would be unlikely that this small change opn uld expla the spike support for gay marriage, for stance.
“It don’t seem to matter as much whether or not people believe that gay people are born that way as do that they simply know someone who is currently gay, ” Allen spe of the studi, those who ph agast Born This Way narrativ have been heavily cricised by gay activists. Siarly, Ward has received her own hatemail for phg agast the lg LGB narrativ, wh some gays tellg her she’s “worse than Ann Coulter, ” the ntroversial US thor of books like If Democrats Had Any Bras, They’d Be Republins. And when I published my say on choosg to be gay, an irate Amerin lbian activist wrote me that had “jt been nfirmed” to her that my wrg was “directly rponsible for four gay aths Rsia.
There is a unanimo opn that gay “nversn therapy” should be rejectedLet’s first be clear that whatever the origs of our sexual orientatn, there is a unanimo opn that gay “nversn therapy” should be rejected.