Is Homosexuality Genetic?

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I won’t excuse homosexual acts but it seems that, while not tied to a specific gene there is a biological cause for the orientation. This should not frighten us. It does not mean that these people are sinners just for finding their own gender more attractive than the opposite one. Even Holy Mother Church denies such. Alot depends on how we view the intersexed. While nothing should be done to change the gender of a person we know that there are those born with physical attributes of both genders. If this can happen physiologically, is it too farfetched that brain chemistry can be affected to produce a homosexual orientation? Yet I believe that if even the homosexual person tries hard enough he can find the right person of the opposite gender to settle down with and get married. In the meantime we should not condemn the celibate homosexual as an idolator. He or she is quite capable of worshipping the same God that the rest of us do.
 
Teen4Christ said:
Maybe…no one knows and those who say they do know are liars.
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i wouldnt say theyre liars, they just truly believe without a doubt that their opinion is the only possible one.
i believe its genetic, my first crush was on punky brewster (the super popular 80s tomboy) followed shortly by doogie howser. i was 4. i didnt know what sex was, in any capacity, but i knew they made me feel funny. i didnt understand how or why tho, until i was older. people like to link to to absentee fathers, or overbearing mothers, but that wasnt the case for me. my mother was distance, and we never got along, and my dad was (and still is, wonderful father) always there for me. i dont fit any of the “nuture” arguments, tho im sure theres plenty of people who could find more ways to explain away the gay. ive just always been like that, so without definite scientific proof, i have to go with what i know, and this has always been what i know.
 
iamme said:
i wouldnt say theyre liars, they just truly believe without a doubt that their opinion is the only possible one.
i believe its genetic, my first crush was on punky brewster (the super popular 80s tomboy) followed shortly by doogie howser. i was 4. i didnt know what sex was, in any capacity, but i knew they made me feel funny. i didnt understand how or why tho, until i was older. people like to link to to absentee fathers, or overbearing mothers, but that wasnt the case for me. my mother was distance, and we never got along, and my dad was (and still is, wonderful father) always there for me. i dont fit any of the “nuture” arguments, tho im sure theres plenty of people who could find more ways to explain away the gay. ive just always been like that, so without definite scientific proof, i have to go with what i know, and this has always been what i know.
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Doogie howser…eww…lol

I don’t believe it’s genetic myself, but I do believe it’s perfectly natural. I believe it has to do with what happens early in your life.
 
Teen4Christ said:
Doogie howser…eww…lol

I don’t believe it’s genetic myself, but I do believe it’s perfectly natural. I believe it has to do with what happens early in your life.
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but thats the thing, nothing happened early in my life. i had a mom and dad, i had a little brother, we went to church every sunday, and i went to preschool with other kids. it was a completely normal childhood, unless you want to call being adopted abnormal. in my particular instance, i have no choice but to believe that i was born this way, as theres no evidence to suggest otherwise, yknow?

EDIT: and doogie was keeeeeyute! and a doctor!
 
I’m not saying something bad has to happen in your life or it can’t be normal, I’m just saying I believe sexuality is developed over time.

PS: No he’s not, now David from the show Rosanne, he was a good looking tv star.
😃
 
I think homosexuality may be a mental illness, but nobody really knows. But don’t take that to mean “mental illness” as its commonly known. I think, perhaps, a cerebral developmental difference, very uncommon, is the best way to say it.

One thing is certain, I think, and that is that it is not a choice. A genetic aspect of it may be an increased risk of developing homosexuality, but a twin study proved that it is not entirely genetic, or even mostly genetic.

Hershberger, SL (1997): A twin registry study of male and female sexual orientation. J. of Sex Research 34, 212-222.

Bailey, JM; Dunne,MP; Martin,NG (2000): Genetic and Environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample. J. Pers. Social Psychology 78, 524-536.

Warren Thockmorton, a psychologist (and nice man) conducted an interview with Mr. Bailey, which can be found here: wthrockmorton.com/2008/07/09/baileyinterview/
 
Neolithic said:
I think homosexuality may be a mental illness, but nobody really knows. But don’t take that to mean “mental illness” as its commonly known. I think, perhaps, a cerebral developmental difference, very uncommon, is the best way to say it.

One thing is certain, I think, and that is that it is not a choice. A genetic aspect of it may be an increased risk of developing homosexuality, but a twin study proved that it is not entirely genetic, or even mostly genetic.

Hershberger, SL (1997): A twin registry study of male and female sexual orientation. J. of Sex Research 34, 212-222.

Bailey, JM; Dunne,MP; Martin,NG (2000): Genetic and Environmental influences on sexual orientation and its correlates in an Australian twin sample. J. Pers. Social Psychology 78, 524-536.

Warren Thockmorton, a psychologist (and nice man) conducted an interview with Mr. Bailey, which can be found here: wthrockmorton.com/2008/07/09/baileyinterview/
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“In the new twin study, the genetic effects are estimated at 35-39% for men and 18-19% for women”

First of all, I wouldn’t consider these numbers to be ‘small’.

Considering women (usually) are XX and men are (usually) XY, this actually makes complete sense. If it is some sort of recessive trait, women would be more immune to it, notice the rates are half.

Also, twin’s genes can unravel completely differently. Cancer may occur in one, but not the other. Once the genes are set into motion, future events can activate or deactivate various genes, even though the base is the same.
 
pathia said:
“In the new twin study, the genetic effects are estimated at 35-39% for men and 18-19% for women”

First of all, I wouldn’t consider these numbers to be ‘small’.

Considering women (usually) are XX and men are (usually) XY, this actually makes complete sense. If it is some sort of recessive trait, women would be more immune to it, notice the rates are half.
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When you have only 40% of something being genetic, that indicates, basically, that you’re simply at an increased risk for it and that your environment - which, of course, determines, in many ways, how your brain develops - is the main factor.

EDIT: The reason some twins develop cancer and the other does not, is because your environment can cause certain genes to mutate, thus causing cancer. Smoking, for example.
 
If I am out of line monitors please delete my post…

seriously, we aren’t arguing that there exists a gene that determines if we want to have sex in our rear are we?

Please someone tell me that this is not what this debate ultimately boils down to? 😊

If someone is genetically more feminine than the next guy wouldn’t this ultimately play a role in they’re social conditioning?
 
chrisb said:
If I am out of line monitors please delete my post…

seriously, we aren’t arguing that there exists a gene that determines if we want to have sex in our rear are we?

Please someone tell me that this is not what this debate ultimately boils down to? 😊
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No, it does not. I know many gay men who despise anal sex. It’s not like straights cannot do the act. Being gay does not mean fascination with anal sex, especially for gay women.
 
chrisb said:
If I am out of line monitors please delete my post…

seriously, we aren’t arguing that there exists a gene that determines if we want to have sex in our rear are we?

Please someone tell me that this is not what this debate ultimately boils down to? 😊

If someone is genetically more feminine than the next guy wouldn’t this ultimately play a role in they’re social conditioning?
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If homosexuality was as innate as some would have you believe, then when one identical twin was homosexual, the other would be homosexual 100% of the time, not 40% of the time.

The argument that your genes “made you do it” carries no weight whatsoever. For example, you may be biologically equipped and ready to engage in sexual acts at an early age, but whether or not you actually do depends on how you were raised- or, your environment.

Early environment - how we perceive the world at an early age - ultimately shapes us for the rest of our lives. Homosexuality, in my opinion (and I am a psychologist), is not innate nor a choice; it is developed at an early age.

Whether or not it is reversible is open to discussion.
 
Neolithic said:
If homosexuality was as innate as some would have you believe, then when one identical twin was homosexual, the other would be homosexual 100% of the time, not 40% of the time.
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This latest study was controlled for environmental factors. It goes to show something is genetic, because, if there was NO genetic influence what so ever, then the twins would only be both gay at the same rate all people have at being gay 2-5% or so. 40% is several magnitudes out of whack from that.

As for it being reversible, it may be in some, but I was in therapy from the age of eight and I still ended up queer.
 
pathia said:
This latest study was controlled for environmental factors. It goes to show something is genetic, because, if there was NO genetic influence what so ever, then the twins would only be both gay at the same rate all people have at being gay 2-5% or so. 40% is several magnitudes out of whack from that.

As for it being reversible, it may be in some, but I was in therapy from the age of eight and I still ended up queer.
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No, it doesn’t really mean there is an overwhelming genetic factor - at all. All of us perceive the world differently, and no one person has the same exact childhood experience as another. For example, one twin may have had a closer relationship with his mother than the other; one may have had a childhood friend that the other did not have; one may have been closer with his father. One may have been closer with a teacher, etc…

Even identical twins perceive things differently.
 
Neolithic said:
No, it doesn’t really mean there is an overwhelming genetic factor - at all. All of us perceive the world differently, and no one person has the same exact childhood experience as another. For example, one twin may have had a closer relationship with his mother than the other; one may have had a childhood friend that the other did not have; one may have been closer with his father. One may have been closer with a teacher, etc…

Even identical twins perceive things differently.
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Do you believe Nicolosi’s theories then?
 
I doubt studies can completely control for developmental factors. How do you ensure that children, even twins, were raised the same way over many years, particularly if teasing or level of intimate contact with good or bad role models is involved? Surely twins often have more similar upbringings than non-twins, but that seems like it could also explain similar trends for developmental reasons.

I’m not sure how important the question is, though. Even with inclinations and predispositions, genetic or developmental, action is ultimately a choice. Children tend to carry on some of the traits of their parents, but if those conditioned traits are negative, is it okay for them to continue acting that way? Likewise with genetic predispostions. Violence in the first case and alcoholism in the second case come to mind as examples of what I’m trying to point out.
 
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