Quote:
Quote by: gela  Its been argued alot in other threads, but rarely from a scientific viewpoint.
Is homosexuality a choice? is it a result of environment? is it purely genetic? Is it a mixutre of all three?
Note: This is a scientific debate. Not religious.
Things to consider:
+ true story:
A 19 year old girl was kidnapped by a group of men and sexualy assulted by them for three days before she escaped.
After this, she became a lesbian; while before it she was hetrosexual.
+ List of mammals displaying homosexual behavior - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
+ The number of homosexual people seems to have risen as it has became more socialy acceptable
[I have no proof for this statement, only a personal observation. Im happy for anyone to either prove or disprove this statement] |
While there were a couple of lesbians (who did not know each other and were not in a relationship with each other) that insisted they chose to be lesbians (after I had suggested it was not a choice), I'm not convinced that anyone chooses to be sexually/romantically attracted to another.
I really wish you would have cited a credible source (like this one:
MercatorNet - A gay old time in the animal kingdom) and not Wikipedia.
As for the title question of a gay gene:
"Gay gene" researcher Dean Hamer was asked by Scientific American if homosexuality was rooted solely in biology. He replied: "Absolutely not. From twin studies, we already know that half or more of the variability in sexual orientation is not inherited. Our studies try to pinpoint the genetic factors...not negate the psychosocial factors."
Source: "New Evidence of a 'Gay Gene'," by Anastasia Toufexis, Time, November 13, 1995, vol. 146, Issue 20, p. 95.
Something important to understand in this whole gay gene (and, thus, "born that way") theory:
1. Heritable does not mean inherited.
2. Genetics research which is truly meaningful will identify, and then focus on, only traits that are directly inherited.
3. "Associated with" does not mean "caused by."
Almost every human characteristic is in significant measure heritable. But few human behavioral traits are directly inherited, in the manner of height, for example, or eye color. Inherited means "directly determined by genes," with little or no way of preventing or modifying the trait through a change in the environment.
According to a February 7, 1999 Boston Globe article, Ruth Hubbard, a board member of The Council for Responsible Genetics, and the author of Exploding the Gene Myth, said that searching for a gay gene "is not even a worthwhile pursuit...Let me be very clear: I don't think there is any single gene that governs any complex human behavior. There are genetic components in everything we do, and it is foolish to say genes are not involved, but I don't think they are decisive."