Homosexual Gene? [+ poll]
 

Alright well I am doing a research paper on the validity of the theory for Homosexual Genes. First I would like to ask your opinion on such a subject? Then I would appreciate it very much if you could vote on that matter on the poll. So yeh, please vote and share your opinions, preeeeeety pleeeeeaze? Thanks! :rose:




Study Links genes, homosexuality

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Genetic factors, along with cultural and early experiences, influence male homosexuality, Italian scientists said on Wednesday.

Researchers at the University of Padua said the genetic components are linked to the X chromosome which is inherited only from the mother. But they are probably on other chromosomes and could partly explain male homosexuality.

"The key factor is that these genes both influence homosexuality in men, higher fecundity in females and are in the maternal and not the paternal line," Andrea Camperio-Ciani, who headed the research team, said in an interview.

More than a decade ago scientists in the United States reported that they had found evidence of a "gay gene" in men. But other researchers questioned the finding when they could not duplicate the results.

Camperio-Ciani and his team suggest there several genes could be involved, including those on the X chromosome.

In their research, which is reported in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, they found an increase in homosexuality in the maternal line of gay men they studied which suggests the X chromosome.

"We know that at least one of these genetic factors in on the X chromosome but that it not enough, there must be other genetic factors that are important but are elsewhere," Camperio-Ciani added.

The results are based on a study of 98 homosexual and 100 heterosexual men and about 4,600 of their relatives. The scientists compared the frequency of gay men on the maternal and paternal lines of the families.

Among homosexuals there were a greater number of gay men in the maternal line of the family, as well as greater fertility in the female relatives.

An early interest in sex before the age of 10 was also a predictor of homosexuality, according to the researchers.

"We can no longer say that is it impossible to have a gene that influences homosexuality because we found out that genes might have different effects depending on gender," Camperio-Ciani.

But he added that cultural and individual experience also play a part.


Source: Cnn.com

Well, I can't talk for anyone else but i was definately born gay...I certainly didn't choose it...and I don't see how someones "environment" could effect their sexuality. I can pretty much track my homosexuality down to the age of 5...I remember having a crush on my sister's friend...you don't even usually know what "homosexual" means when you are 5, so I certainly didn't choose then!

Yes, people are born gay. That's what makes sense to me.

Of course you can option to experiment with your sexuality, but you can never "option" to be gay, that's just silly.

Also, I think the environment plays a big role. If it's an environment of repression a person lives in, they might only find out they're gay later on, maybe even after they're married, or if they had the strictest education and are brainwashed, they can spend their lives unsatisfied sexually and don't really know why because the chance of being gay sounds so wrong that it would be absurd to them to even consider it.

BTW for my paper i am going to argue that there is no such thing as an homosexual gene.


Yup I was considering that as well. When I was young, even through my early teens, I was a total tomboy. Believing that I was a boy, I felt the "boy" thing to do was to find girls attractive, and i did. There were numerous incidents where I can explain my sexual orientation now, but short of telling my life story, I fell in dated many boys and fell in love with one..then a girl totally turned my world upside [and as she puts it "we fell into heaven" :D]. My point is that, I dont think people are born gay, just as straight people are not born straight. However, i dont believe that we can choose who we fall in love with, but it is our choice whether to act on those feelings or continue to act on them. So yeh, thats my opinion on this subject.



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psssst..ice_cream, have you heard of downelink?

Well then how do you explain it, sis? :D It just happens, just like that?

That's just....wow! :eek: :cool:

1. People are definitely born gay or not gay. Those people (I know 2 very well) who used to be in a heterosexual relationship, or even married, were just trying to conform to societal norms, and/or not wanting to admit to themselves that they were gay.

2. "Environment" has nothing to do with it. Trust me. It's rare that I go a day of my life without interacting with someone who is gay. I'm not gay and don't plan on starting anytime soon. Being gay is not contagious. Conservatives keep blocking gay couples from adopting because of any of the following reasons:

- They think that living with gay parents will increase the chances that the child will grow up to be gay.

- They think that a child needs a male figure and a female figure to grow up "right".

- They think that the child will be persecuted at school.

The second one has no scientific backing, and the third is not worth saying "No" to the hopeful parents. The chances of a kid really getting messed with are growing smaller by the week, among other reasons. The main reason used is the first one, which has no scientific backing, and my personal experience dicatates that there is no correlation whatsoever. Since as far as I'm concerned, people are born with one or another sexual orientation, if the kid is born gay and is then adopted by a gay couple, it's not the parents' fault that the kid will grow up to be gay. Conversely, a straight child adopted by gay parents will not "jump the fence".

How come 90% of these conservative excuses for inequality have no scientific backing, and are really just hear-say, but they still carry so much power? :rolleyes:

When I spoke of "environment" I was speaking of being gay and realizing it, not becoming it, because I don't think you can become gay, like you can become a lawyer or an actor, lol. Like, if you grow up in a repressed environment and have a very strict education and follow it, it might be harder for you to realize who you are sexually. On the other hand, if you grow up in an atmosphere where everybody is ok with everyone and you meet tons of different people and everybody talks openly about everything, you might come to a conclusion earlier. That's what I meant :p

I think people are born the way they are. Straight people arent born straight. Child molestors arent born child molestors. I think it's about choices. BUT, i dont believe that people can choose whom they fall in love with, just like a straight billionaire cant help falling in love with an teacher? You dont choose whom you fall in love with, love chooses you..


Ive also sensed from some gay individuals who beleive that they were born gay, that believing that theory is a way out. I think that some gay people need the reassurance that being gay is not a bad thing, that it isnt a sin, and a homosexual gene plays just that role.

Ok, so let's forget love for a second. Just thinking of sex now.
Do you really think any person can just think "well, I'm just gonna choose and I'll sleep with people the same sex as mine" ? :hmmm:

lol honestly, i dont know how to answer that. because i wouldnt sleep with anyone i didnt love.. :o

People can be born with a characteristic without it being caused by genes, it can be caused by the hormonal balance in the womb of the mother for example, hormones in the womb play a big role.

It's possible to imagine that sexual orientation is caused by the various levels of different hormones the fetus receives in the womb, which causes the brain to develop in a certain way and defines the sexual orientation.

but can that be proven? i wonder? i mean it makes sense as far as words go, but i'm not sure?



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how can i add more choices to my poll??

I don't know if that was proven or not, but it seems rational enough to me.

Anyway, nataku, what I mean is... There just has to be something there for the person to choose something like that. You chose to sleep with a person of the same sex, because you already came with the desire to have sexual relations with a person of the same sex. I don't think people who have never had that desire (some have it and don't know it for a while or ignore it but I'm not talking bout that) could just "turn to other side" ( :p ) just like that and stay that way. That's not possible. So that's why I think people are born with certain features that will define their sexuality in the future (depends on who they are and how they grow up and face themselves). Personally, since I believe in reencarnation, I think not only physical features are involved (those too), but also spiritual ones, like a challenge one has to go through.

But it doesn't make any sense to me that one just chooses it, without having a certain pattern already. When you say that, when you were little, you behaved kinda 'boy-ish', it's not because you just simply "chose" that out of the blue, you chose to be like that because you FELT it, it was in you, you followed your ESSENCE, what was already a part of you. See what I mean? Well, just my thoughts :p

ooh i get what your saying. and that is definately a good point. damn you! now i have to reconstruct my whole thesis and conclusion! Lol :p

but concerning your comment about my being a tomboy, honestly, i dont think it was about my essence.. i would say that it was because i found that boys had more power and cooler. and also at the time my father was the only parent i was living with and i was 1 of two girls. so i think that being someone that my father wanted to me be[not that he ever forced it on me or anything, i just felt that a boy would be more suitable to him, so that i can relate to him more], a boy, was also part of it.

But i do see how you think that something has to cause that impulse to want to sleep with someone and other such things..and now you just threw me off! gah! :bebebe:

Yes, I've chosen to not hide the way I feel, but I never chose to feel this way. I sometimes wonder how it would be if I was straight. I think "wouldn't life be so much easier?" So WHY would anyone choose to be gay? I, for one, am not into being terrified I'll lose my friends if they find out about me :rolleyes:

No one chooses whether or not to be gay, but they can choose whether to act on their feelings. You can be married to someone of the different sex - it's not who you're having sex with/living with - it's who you want to have sex with/who you have feelings for. So you don't need to be having sex with someone of the same sex to be gay - so you don't choose to be gay!

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downelink?!

i still dont think that a specific homosexual gene exists. The idea is still too far fetched for me to grasp, because then you can just use genes as excuses to everything. A killer's son who's followed in his fathers footsteps could claim that it is in his genes, should he be set free?

I've also read that some scientist are trying to argue that it may be classified as an disease. probably in the same category as schizophrenia..




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if your heard of myspace or friendster, its that but for glbt's

Yeah, but for you to be sure of that to the point of behaving like one, it was because you had something in you that was pre-established so you could behave like that if you chose to. If it had *nothing* to do with you, you *could* choose to behave like it, but it wouldn't last long cause you'd feel like you were being fake, you were in the wrong 'skin'.

Heeeheeee :p

I don't know about genes, science isn't really my area. But something that already comes with people, a pattern.

definately a pattern :yes:

well it lasted for *counts* 4-5 years? lol i dont think that specific behaviour of mine was pre-established tho, i think my environment contributed alot, among other things..



FAQ 274 A Christian take on this issue
i needed a laugh




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oh cuz i thought i was the only one who didnt know about it..lol :D

Not saying it was pre-established. Just saying you had something in you that let you go with that kind of behavior. If a "girly girl" would choose to be a tomboy, she'd probably never succeed lol

LMFAO!! :lol:

->If some experts claim, who is going to refute it? Yeah, a lot of people, duuuh :laugh: Including you, bitch!
Also, I find it hilarious that a curse is mentioned :lol: So there's some sort of witchcraft practice to make people gay! HAHAHAHAHA I had heard of spells for stopping men from having boners, but spells for turning people gay is just genius, I must say! LMFAO :lol:

BTW... I don't know much about christian religious history, but Jesus himself didn't actually dictate much of the Bible IN PERSON, did he? It was mostly done by his apostles, who then said it was the word of the Lord, I am right? If I'm wrong, I'm sorry, but I just think leading your life based on what a book says, no matter how holy it's supposed to be, is such a turn off for me humanly that I just prefer not to know much about it LOL