Two gene variants have been found to be more mon gay men. New Scientist looks at what this tells about the way blogy shap our sexualy
Contents:
- GENE LONDON, CHILDREN’S TV SHOW HOST AND OUT GAY ADVOTE, HAS DIED
- NO 'GAY GENE', BUT STUDY FDS GEIC LKS TO SEXUAL BEHAVR
- NO SGLE GENE ASSOCIATED WH BEG GAY
- THE REAL STORY ON GAY GEN
- WHAT DO THE NEW ‘GAY GEN’ TELL ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATN?
- THERE’S (STILL) NO GAY GENE
GENE LONDON, CHILDREN’S TV SHOW HOST AND OUT GAY ADVOTE, HAS DIED
A large scientific study to the blogil basis of sexual behavr has nfirmed there is no sgle "gay gene" but that a plex mix of geics and environment affects whether a person has same-sex sexual partners. * gene london gay *
Out gay man Gene London, the celebrated host of “Cartoon Corners” aka “The Gene London Show” om 1959-77 died Sunday, Jan.
C., the March on Washgton for Lbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberatn drew an timated 1 ln participants, and the famo Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ary policy went to effect.
NO 'GAY GENE', BUT STUDY FDS GEIC LKS TO SEXUAL BEHAVR
* gene london gay *
It was a time when no printial ndidate dare speak of gay marriage or LGBTQ protectns. Many LGBTQ folks were still closeted and beg gay was still parad as sexual perversn by the right-wg and others.
LONDON (Rters) - A large scientific study to the blogil basis of sexual behavr has nfirmed there is no sgle “gay gene” but that a plex mix of geics and environment affects whether a person has same-sex sexual rearch, which analyzed data on DNA and sexual experienc om almost half a ln people, found there are thoands of geic variants lked to same-sex sexual behavr, most wh very small of the geic markers were “signifintly” associated wh same-sex behavr, the rearchers said, but even the are far om beg predictive of a person’s sexual preferenc.
”Sexual rights mpaigners weled the study, sayg “provis even more evince that beg gay or lbian is a natural part of human life”. “This new rearch also re-nfirms the long tablished unrstandg that there is no nclive gree to which nature or nurture fluence how a gay or lbian person behav, ” said Zeke Stok of the U. In theory, humans and other animals who are exclively attracted to others of the same sex should be unlikely to produce many blogil children, so any gen that predispose people to homosexualy would rarely be passed on to future generatns.
NO SGLE GENE ASSOCIATED WH BEG GAY
Yet same-sex attractn is wispread humans, and rearch suggts that is partly a study of data om hundreds of thoands of people, rearchers have now intified geic patterns that uld be associated wh homosexual behavur, and showed how the might also help people to fd different-sex mat, and reproduce.
THE REAL STORY ON GAY GEN
The thors say their fdgs, published on 23 Augt Nature Human Behavur1, uld help to expla why gen that predispose people to homosexualy ntue to be passed down. None of the variatns seemed to greatly affect sexual behavur on s own, backg up prev rearch that has found no sign of a ‘gay gene’.
Most of the participants were born durg a time when homosexualy was eher illegal or culturally taboo their untri, so many people who were attracted to others of the same sex might never have actually acted on their attractn, and uld therefore have end up the wrong group the Monk, an elogist and evolutnary blogist at Yale Universy New Haven, Connecticut, thks that the veats are so important that the paper n’t draw any real nclns about geics and sexual orientatn. Instead, he thks the rearchers have found geic markers associated wh openns to new experienc, which uld expla the overlap between people who have had a homosexual partner and heterosexual people who have had many partners. And he adms that g a sgle homosexual experience as an ditn of sexual orientatn isn’t ial, but says that the UK Bbank didn’t provi data on attractn.
Image source, Getty ImagA geic analysis of almost half a ln people has nclud there is no sgle "gay gene" study, published Science, ed data om the UK Bbank and 23andMe, and found some geic variants associated wh same-sex geic factors acunted for, at most, 25% of same-sex behavur. Advocy group GLAAD said the study nfirmed "no nclive gree to which nature or nurture fluenced how a gay or lbian person behav. "There is no sgle gay gene, and a geic tt for if you're gog to have a same-sex relatnship is not gog to work.
WHAT DO THE NEW ‘GAY GEN’ TELL ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATN?
"Fah Sathirapongsasuti, senr scientist at 23andMe, add; "This is a natural and normal part of the variatn our speci and that should also support precisely the posn that we shouldn't try and velop gay 'curism'.
THERE’S (STILL) NO GAY GENE
"David Curtis, honorary profsor at the UCL Geics Instute, Universy College London, said: "This study clearly shows that there is no such thg as a 'gay gene'. "Even if homosexualy is not geilly termed, as this study shows, that do not mean that is not some way an nate and dispensable part of an dividual's personaly. "Zeke Stok, om the LGBT media advocy anisatn GLAAD, said: "This new rearch re-nfirms the long-tablished unrstandg that there is no nclive gree to which nature or nurture fluence how a gay or lbian person behav.