What do the new ‘gay gen’ tell about sexual orientatn? | New Scientist

Contents:

• THERE IS NO ‘GAY GENE.’ THERE IS NO ‘STRAIGHT GENE.’ SEXUALY IS JT PLEX, STUDY NFIRMS
• WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
• MANY GEN INFLUENCE SAME-SEX SEXUALY, NOT A SGLE ‘GAY GENE’
• THERE’S (STILL) NO GAY GENE
• WHAT DO THE NEW ‘GAY GEN’ TELL ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATN?
• IS BEG GAY GEIC?
• IS THERE A "GAY GENE"? MAJOR NEW STUDY SAYS NO
• THE 'GAY GENE' IS A MYTH BUT BEG GAY IS 'NATURAL,' SAY SCIENTISTS

THERE IS NO ‘GAY GENE.’ THERE IS NO ‘STRAIGHT GENE.’ SEXUALY IS JT PLEX, STUDY NFIRMS

There is no sgle gene rponsible for a person beg gay or a lbian. The study of nearly a half ln people clos the door on the bate around the existence of a so-lled “gay gene. In s stead, the report fds that human DNA nnot predict who is gay or heterosexual.

It is worth keepg md that this study only vers some typ of sexualy — gay, lbian and cis-straight — but don’t offer many sights to genr inty. Humans have tried to unrstand human sexualy for centuri — and geics rearchers joed the ay the early 1990s after a seri of studi on tws suggted homosexualy ran fai.

WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?

“As a teenager tryg to unrstand myself and unrstand my sexualy, I looked at the ter for “the gay gene” and obvly me across Xq28, ” said Fah Sathirapongsasuti, a study -thor and senr scientist at 23andMe, which he joked once led him to believe he hered his gayns om his mother.

MANY GEN INFLUENCE SAME-SEX SEXUALY, NOT A SGLE ‘GAY GENE’

“We worried a lot about volunteer bias, ” said Bailey, whose rearch clus a wily publicized study on Xq28 and gay brothers om 2018. Sanrs llaborated wh Bailey on those earlier studi and said their work had always admted that there was no sgle “gay gene.

THERE’S (STILL) NO GAY GENE

The rearchers had members of the same-sex muny review the study’s sign and language, and they adm that their termology and fns for gay, lbian and heterosexual do not reflect the full nature of the sexualy ntuum. In other words, tri to judge if a person leans gay, straight or bisexual. “[Our study] unrsr an important role for the environment shapg human sexual behavr and perhaps most importantly there is no sgle gay gene but rather the ntributn of many small geic effects sttered across the genome, ” Neale said.

Estimat as to the number of gay people the populatn range om 1--20 to 1--10, so why are some people gay? Are they gay by choice or is beg gay geic?

The simplt answer is to look at the fn of the word "gay. " The term gay is a synonym for homosexual, which is fed as, 1, 2.

WHAT DO THE NEW ‘GAY GEN’ TELL ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATN?

In other words, 5-10% of people experience same-sex sexual attractn or behavr; of urse, this don't speak to what mak people gay. No one knows for certa why any dividual is gay, but the current thought is that beg gay is not a choice.

(read: Cure the Gay: Gay Conversn Therapy – Real or Hoax?

) The reasons people are gay are both physlogil and psychologil. Why Are People Gay?

IS BEG GAY GEIC?

Morn science is workg to show that geics is one of the of beg gay, although some science nflicts this area. "In recent years, evince has accumulated that a homosexual orientatn is hered.

Study of fay history reveals that homosexual men have more homosexuals their fay tree than do heterosexuals. The precise gen volved the of beg gay have not yet been intified but they appear to e om the mother.

Addnally, some studi have found that the bras om homosexuals differ om the bras of heterosexuals. Psychologil reasons also appear to be part of why a person is gay.

IS THERE A "GAY GENE"? MAJOR NEW STUDY SAYS NO

Acrdg to, what mak people gay may clu:5. A female-domated upbrgg a gay man's past, wh an absence of a male role mol.

While psychologil factors may crease the likelihood that someone is gay, no sgle factor is known to e homosexualy.

THE 'GAY GENE' IS A MYTH BUT BEG GAY IS 'NATURAL,' SAY SCIENTISTS

Is Beg Gay a Choice? Consirg whether people choose to be gay is plex. 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.