Gay brothers may hold genetic clues for roots of homosexuality

SuzannePjam
SuzannePjam Posts: 411
edited October 2007 in A Moving Train
If it's proven that there really is a "gay gene" and an evangelical pro-lifer who was intolerant of homosexuality was expecting a child that had this gene, do you think they would get an abortion or have the gay child?

Gay brothers may hold genetic clues
Study seeks scientific explanation for roots of homosexuality


For the full article, click on the link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21309724/

Excerpt: Dr. Alan Sanders of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute, the lead researcher of the new study, said he suspects there isn’t one so-called “gay gene.”
It is more likely there are several genes that interact with nongenetic factors, including psychological and social influences, to determine sexual orientation, said Sanders, a psychiatrist.
Still, he said, “If there’s one gene that makes a sizable contribution, we have a pretty good chance” of finding it.
Many gays fear that if gay genes are identified, it could result in discrimination, prenatal testing and even abortions to eliminate homosexuals, said Joel Ginsberg of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
"Where there is sacrifice there is someone collecting the sacrificial offerings."-- Ayn Rand

"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • Abuskedti
    Abuskedti Posts: 1,917
    There is no gay gene..

    choosing how you like your sex for pleasure is like choosing what kind of movie you like
  • I just was reading this today. I too believe from the science already known, that there is a genetic factor to homosexuality. Studies are very conclusive as to specifics in brain function and development in homosexuals. Much of the research is not released publicly yet. But it is coming. So be ready.
    "When you're climbing to the top, you'd better know the way back down" MSB
  • surferdude
    surferdude Posts: 2,057
    If it's proven that there really is a "gay gene" and an evangelical pro-lifer who was intolerant of homosexuality was expecting a child that had this gene, do you think they would get an abortion or have the gay child?
    I think the more interesting question is would this be wrong? I was under the assumption that abortion was a private choice and as such there was to be judgement caste on those choosing abortion. Or are we going to start deciding on valid and invalid reasons for abortion?
    “One good thing about music,
    when it hits you, you feel to pain.
    So brutalize me with music.”
    ~ Bob Marley
  • surferdude wrote:
    I think the more interesting question is would this be wrong? I was under the assumption that abortion was a private choice and as such there was to be judgement caste on those choosing abortion. Or are we going to start deciding on valid and invalid reasons for abortion?
    Why should this be any different from the rest of the hypocritcal issues in the churches?
    "When you're climbing to the top, you'd better know the way back down" MSB
  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    I just was reading this today. I too believe from the science already known, that there is a genetic factor to homosexuality. Studies are very conclusive as to specifics in brain function and development in homosexuals. Much of the research is not released publicly yet. But it is coming. So be ready.

    dude you crack me up. this is the second post of yours today but had me laughing.
  • jlew24asu
    jlew24asu Posts: 10,118
    Abuskedti wrote:
    There is no gay gene..

    choosing how you like your sex for pleasure is like choosing what kind of movie you like

    how do you know? I have heard a few gay dudes say they are born that way.
  • soulsinging
    soulsinging Posts: 13,202
    If it's proven that there really is a "gay gene" and an evangelical pro-lifer who was intolerant of homosexuality was expecting a child that had this gene, do you think they would get an abortion or have the gay child?

    publicly, they will stick to pro-life. but just like they do now, they will still have that under the table abortion. or they will deny the science, birth the kid, and make his life a living hell and inflict massive amounts of psychological damage and abuse in an effort to keep it straight.
  • prism
    prism Posts: 2,440
    jlew24asu wrote:
    how do you know? I have heard a few gay dudes say they are born that way.

    yep. I had a friend that when i asked him why he was gay he told me that he was born that way. so he asked me if I was born straight? I said
    "well yes...cause I do like dick."
    he then replied with "except for the bit about being straight or gay you know exactly how I feel!" :)

    to me it doesn't even matter if being gay is genetic or not, if someone is gay then nothing will change that fact so why not just accept them for the person that they are.
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  • jeffbr
    jeffbr Seattle Posts: 7,177
    prism wrote:
    to me it doesn't even matter if being gay is genetic or not, if someone is gay then nothing will change that fact so why not just accept them for the person that they are.

    Perfectly said. That is what it comes down to. Why do people even care about this argument (except for the interest in science)? Whether one is born gay, or chooses to be that way, it should not matter in the slightest. Live and let live.
    "I'll use the magic word - let's just shut the fuck up, please." EV, 04/13/08
  • LikeAnOcean
    LikeAnOcean Posts: 7,718
    Abuskedti wrote:
    There is no gay gene..

    choosing how you like your sex for pleasure is like choosing what kind of movie you like
    I don't think sexual preference is something you just choose. I never choose to get my first boner to Carrie Fisher when she wore that bikini in Return of the Jedi. It just happened when my hormones hit. It was part of my programmed nature.

    If you think sexual preference is as easy as a decision, then deep down you are probably a bi-sexual and just don't realize it.
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 11,175
    I don't think sexual preference is something you just choose. I never choose to get my first boner to Carrie Fisher when she wore that bikini in Return of the Jedi. It just happened when my hormones hit. It was part of my programmed nature.

    hehe i much preferred han :)

    i agree it's not something you just choose. i also agree with prism 'Whether one is born gay, or chooses to be that way, it should not matter in the slightest. Live and let live..'
  • glasshouse
    glasshouse Posts: 1,762
    to this day it's hard for me to believe that people are "born" gay. It’s opposing one of the fundamental laws of nature.
    personally i think 90% of those people who are genuinely gay were "brought" up to be that way ~ without realizing it. Molested as a kid, a weak father figure, the list goes on – that line of experiences..
    Athens, Greece: 2006/09/30

    "Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
  • Abuskedti
    Abuskedti Posts: 1,917
    I don't think sexual preference is something you just choose. I never choose to get my first boner to Carrie Fisher when she wore that bikini in Return of the Jedi. It just happened when my hormones hit. It was part of my programmed nature.

    If you think sexual preference is as easy as a decision, then deep down you are probably a bi-sexual and just don't realize it.

    Is there a Pearl Jam fan gene?
  • prism
    prism Posts: 2,440
    glasshouse wrote:
    to this day it's hard for me to believe that people are "born" gay. It’s opposing one of the fundamental laws of nature.
    personally i think 90% of those people who are genuinely gay were "brought" up to be that way ~ without realizing it. Molested as a kid, a weak father figure, the list goes on – that line of experiences..


    how would you explain that in nature homosexuality occurs in nearly all species of animals?

    would you say that a gay penguin or lesbian seagull (just for examples) had weak fathers or were molested as kids?




    your theory just doesn't add up. I was molested by males as a kid and I didn't become a lesbian. I know males that as a kid were molested by a male and they didn't become gay. I can't say that I know of anyone that was molested by a female(s). I know plenty of people that didn't have any father figure to speak of (my kids included) and they're straight. I know gay people that weren't molested (or at least never said so) and that were brought up in perfectly "normal" households with a loving Mommy and Daddy that were there for them. so one really has to wonder where this theory of yours comes from?
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
  • 810wmb
    810wmb Posts: 849
    I don't think sexual preference is something you just choose. I never choose to get my first boner to Carrie Fisher when she wore that bikini in Return of the Jedi. It just happened when my hormones hit.

    i still get a boner when i see that!
    i'm the meat, yer not...signed Capt Asshat
  • elmer
    elmer Posts: 1,683
    Studies are very conclusive as to specifics in brain function and development in homosexuals. Much of the research is not released publicly yet. But it is coming. So be ready.
    will it be a bombshell do you think?
    surely any developments will only be used negatively, as for parents being given the choice to interfere with the genetics of future children......
  • elmer
    elmer Posts: 1,683
    Abuskedti wrote:
    Is there a Pearl Jam fan gene?
    in underground scientific research facilitys this gene you make reference to is recognised as a mutation, pernicious to society. Has anybody noticed the vanishings?
  • Anon
    Anon Posts: 11,175
    Researchers may never locate a 'gay gene.' But according to The Boston Globe's Neil Swidey, the scientists hunting for the roots of homosexuality seem to be closing in on an answer.

    http://www.phenomenologycenter.org/course/gaygene.htm
  • glasshouse
    glasshouse Posts: 1,762
    prism wrote:
    so one really has to wonder where this theory of yours comes from?

    iv'e read somewhere that 8/10 people who get molested (by the same sex) during infancy/childhood do have homosexual tendancies during adulthood. i did not say this theory explains homosexuality as a rule, i just think it is a contributing factor. i know 3 people who were molersted as children and all 3 of them are gay today.
    Athens, Greece: 2006/09/30

    "Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
  • prism
    prism Posts: 2,440
    glasshouse wrote:
    iv'e read somewhere that 8/10 people who get molested (by the same sex) during infancy/childhood do have homosexual tendancies during adulthood. i did not say this theory explains homosexuality as a rule, i just think it is a contributing factor. i know 3 people who were molersted as children and all 3 of them are gay today.

    since such a tiny percentage of child molesters are women how do you then explain what contributes to females becoming lesbian?

    again not that it matters what does or doesn't "make" a person gay or lesbian or straight, they just "are". i don't think that nurture and a child's environment has nearly as much of an impact on someone's sexual orientation as does nature and that people really are "born that way"
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    angels share laughter
    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~