Tuesday, March 3, 2009
What makes people gay?
In your first post, explain one study in this article that another student hasn’t explained yet. Hopefully by the time everyone posts, all the various studies will be summarized. Then in your second post, what do you think of all this research? Do you think homosexuality is innate or chosen? If a study were to come out that definitively proved that sexual orientation is innate and unchangeable, do you think that would change the opinion of Americans who currently feel homosexuality is morally wrong?
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In May 2005, Swedish researchers tested a group of gay and straight men by letting them smell two scents belived to be linked to sexual arousal. One was a female-urine compound and the other was a male-sweat compound. When the straight men smelled the female scent and the gay men smelled the male scent, the results were the same. The scents activated their hypothalamus. This shows a connection between sexual orientation to the brain and may help prove that sexual orientation is biologically genetic, and not a lifestyle choice.
ReplyDeleteIn 1993 a scientist from Harvard, Dean Hamer, discovered the "gay gene". By studying gay brothers he discovered that gay brothers shared a specific section of the X chromosome, called Xq28, at a higher rate than gay men shared with their straight brothers. This again suggests that sexual orientation is in fact a caused by something genetic or biological, not by environment or choice.
ReplyDeleteResearches at Northwestern University claim that men who are gay or bisexual are aroused more by clips of two men having sex. The researchers think, "In men, arousal is orientation. It's as simple as that. Thats how gay men learn they are gay." However, most women are aroused by sex between any partners no matter what their sexual orientation is. This bit of researcher shows that "a woman's sexual arousal pattern has little to do with her sexual orientation."
ReplyDeleteIn Vienna scientist announced that they had found a genetic switch for the sexual orientation of fruit flies. When they flicked that "Switch" in the female flies instead of mating with the males they attempted to mate with the females. These female flies also did mating dances and sang songs just as the males do.
ReplyDeleteIn 1991, Simon LeVay found differences in the brains of straight and gay men. His research found that a clump of neurons on the hypothalamus was twice the size in heterosexual men's brains as in homosexual men's brains. His research suggests that homosexuality has a strong biological connection and paved the way for more research to prove that homosexuality stems from biological factors.
ReplyDeleteOne interesting study was from a Cornell Psychologist, Daryl Bem, who proposed how CNN might lead to homosexuality. His theory is called "the exotic becomes erotic" and it's main idea is that children are born with traits for temperment, such as aggression and activity level, that predisposes them to gender typical activities. They seek out playmates that have the same interests as them. So, if a boy's trait leads im to want to play hopscotch and away from typical male activities,he will feel ostracized and different from the other boys. This leads to physiological arousal of fear and anger in their presence, arousal that eventually is transformed from exotic to erotic.
ReplyDeleteCritics of homosexuality have used Bem's theory, which stresses environment over biology, to argue that sexual orientation is not inborn and not fixed. But Bem says this pathway is triggered by biological traits (like boys wanting to play hopscotch rather than rough housing), and he doesn't really see how the outcome of homosexuality can be changed."
A large-scale, five-year genetic study of gay brothers is underway in North America. The study received $2.5 million from the National Institutes of Health, which is unusual. Government funders tend to steer clear of sexual orientation research, aware that even small grants are apt to be met with outrage from conservative congressmen looking to make the most of their C-Span face time. Relying on a robust sample of 1,000 gay-brother pairs and the latest advancements in genetic screening, this study promises to bring some clarity to the murky area of what role genes may play in homosexuality.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Reiner with the Univeristy of Oklahoma studied boys who were born with inadequate penises or none at all. He found that even though most of these children were castrated and raised as females, they held no attraction toward men. Reiner believes the formation of sexual identity happens before sex organs are developed which would lead to more of a hormonal reasoning as to why people are homo- or heterosexual.
ReplyDeleteThe study with imprinted genes caught my attention. With imprinted genes there is no backup. So, if there is something wrong in the copy from the mom then the copy from the dad can not be used or 'turned on'. The UCLA lab is now collecting DNA from identical twins in which one twin is straight and the other is gay. Because the twins are genetic clones, if a gene is imprinted in one twin, it will be in the other twin as well. Normally, as the fetuses are developing, each time a cell divides, the DNA separates and makes a copy of itself, replicating all kinds of genetic information. So how is it then that one twin would be gay and not the other? There has to be something atypical with the way the genes are being copied... I think.
ReplyDeleteClaires comment which used the terminology, "something wrong in the copy" brings up an interesting point. If the 'gay gene' or a predisposition to be gay were discovered and could be eliminated or altered I wonder how the parents and society would react. If you knew your child were to be born with a gay predisposition would you 'play God' so to speak and alter that gene? Kind of a catch-22!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the question "Do you think homosexuality is innate or chosen?" My personal opinion is that it's chosen. It's not something that I believe, but that I know. I think it's very hard for me to give my personal opinion, like I'm being asked to, in a class were the majority seems to believe the opposite. I also think its hard to give my opinion when all of the articles that we are reading seem to be very biased and one-sided. Where are the articles from the other side? I'm not going to try to change anyone's opinion about what they believe and I'm not going to shove my beliefs in anyone's face, but what backs up my beliefs and research is based off a deity that not everyone in the class lives their life for.
ReplyDelete"If a study were to come out that definitively proved that sexual orientation is innate and unchangeable, do you think that would change the opinion of Americans who currently feel homosexuality is morally wrong?"
It might for some, but not for the majority. I know it wouldn't for me.
I think that research is definitely leading in the direction that homosexuality is not in fact chosen, but innate. If this turns out being true, I do not think that it will change anyone's opinion about where they stand on the issue. Those that oppose it do so because they believe that it is a sin. They also believe that selfishness and greed is a sin a well, which are both desires that are innately born in us. Just because we are born with this things, does not make them morally right. It is something that we are meant to overcome and figure out for ourselves what is right and wrong. I can see those who oppose homosexuality taking this stance on the issue.
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that homosexuality is innate and cannot be changed. I would like to think that if it is proven to be so that people would change their opinions about the issue. Homosexuality is something that only makes up part of a person. Sexual orientation is not something that someone should have to "over come" and is not considered to be a sin in some peoples eyes. It's hard for me to understand the comparison between being gay and being selfish or greedy. To me this automatically puts a negative spin on homosexuality. I believe that everyone has the ability to be greedy and selfish, but not everyone is at all times. I also don't quite understand why homosexuality would be a sin because it is one person loving another person that happens to be the same sex. Why would loving a person be a sin? Isn't God supposed to love everyone no matter what sex, race, gender, or sexual orientation we have? Or is sexual orientation an exception on his list of people not to love?
ReplyDeleteHowever, I understand where Jennifer is coming from. Everyone has their own opinions about this issue, but the only way to learn and grow as a person is to hear other views. One of my best friends and I disagree on almost EVERYTHING, including this topic, but yet we still continue to have debates so that we can understand where the other person is coming from on their views. We know we're not going to change each others minds, and usually conclude are debates by agreeing to disagree, but we walk away having a better appreciation and understanding of one another.
There is very little doubt in my mind that homosexuality is innate. People do a lot of crazy things, but I highly doubt that anyone would decide, "Hey, I think I'm going to find women/men attractive today and for the rests of my life." Most of the homosexual people I know struggled throughout their childhoods/adolescence to try to hide their real selves and simply survive until they could leave home. I sincerely hope that, in the near future, the stigmas and hate that are aimed at the homosexual population will finally be laid to rest.
ReplyDeleteHow is it that in our modern society that we can harbor such hate toward a group of people. I dont know about in your schools but in mine they always left out the stuff about sex in classes- especially in history classes. I think if the issue of sex was spoken about more freely then we would not have such huge issues about it. For instance why don't they ever talk about the homosexuality in Greek and Roman times. It was not weird then for there to be male bathes but now it is-
ReplyDeleteI think we need to talk about it and not lead our students to believe these lies or mis beliefs. We also need to use the pc vocabulary when we do talk about it. As an art teacher i feel like I need to be even more open than the next to talk about these things. I feel a lot of these students find solace in the arts and being able to freely express themselves.
The question "Do you think that if a study cam out stating that homosexually is innate would it change the opinion of the American?" I honestly I have no idea, I would hope that people would not be so judgemental if they knew for sure that it was a chosen decision. That is a hope, but unfortunately i do not think that is would change the opinion of some fundamentalist.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought that homosexuality was a choice, but obviously there is a lot of research that is pointing in the other direction. Whether it is a decision we make, or an innate characteristic, it shouldnt make a difference in how people view it. We should learn to accept eachother for who we are. If you believe that homosexuality is morally wrong, then that is your right, but it is also the right of anyone to be gay if they so choose. I believe each person should live there life by there own choices and not worry about what anyone else does.
ReplyDeleteThe study that I thought was interesting was the one that Boston University's Richard Pillar and Northwestern's Michael Bailey conducted. In identical twins, if one was gay the other had a 50% chance of being gay as well. When the case changed to fraternal twins, the rate dropped to about 20%, the thought behind it being that the twins share less of a genetic makeup.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought that homosexuality is innate or chosen. My friend, who happened to be gay, would tell me at times that he wished so bad that he could be straight, then the next day, he would be so in love with his boyfriend. I never really knew if he was born with it or it was chosen because even I got mixed signals. I have many gay friends, and I love and don't judge them. I don't necessarily agree with it based on my religion, but who am I to judge? I love my friends for who they are, but I just wouldn't chose to live my life that way, and I wasn't born with it, so I don't really know what to think.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that people would change their minds about the issue if they were to find out that homosexuality was innate. I think there would always be religious controversy there.
I don't think this segment has been addressed...
ReplyDeleteIn 1991 a twin study done by Bailey is often used as the cornerstone for the argument that homosexuality is genetic. He looked at a comprehensive registry of twins in Australia to look at their homosexuality. Sexual similarity in twins is much lower than non twins, with twins having a sexual orientation similarity of 20%, while non-twin siblings have a similar orientation of 50%. However, Bailey believes the real breakthrough will come from looking at gender bending activity through home movies and the like, so further research is being done in that specific field to pinpoint and expose more about homosexuality.
Out of all issues that we may discuss in this class during the duration of this semester, I will undoubtedly be the most vocal about homosexuality. I was raised Methodist, but my family was not very church or religion oriented, and I am thankful since I feel religion needs to be a personal choice. But... that may be beside the point.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, I feel that homosexuality is almost entirely innate. First, why would someone intentionally choose to be oppressed by certain communities? It isn't in human nature to choose to be hated. Secondly, do you know how I know that I'm not gay? I don't get an erection when looking at men. Plain and simple. Love is a true human right, and I think to some degree that we can all agree that we can't always "choose" who we fall in love with. Hetero or homo, it makes no difference in that regard. What's the difference between a marriage between a homosexual and a heterosexual couple? There shouldn't be any, at all, whatsoever. Gay marriage does not affect the rights of others in a negative way. It only infringes on the human rights of the homosexual couple. In the media, homosexuality is only accepted if it is exaggerated through humor, which can be quite the double edged sword.
To answer the second part, I don't think it would change the views of America if definitive proof came out that homosexuality was innate. In fact, I think it would still be viewed as "wrong" to be homosexual, and then they would try and find a way to "fix" children that are indicated to be homosexual through their DNA.
I have a feeling that, should we ever find one, some people will still find a way to condemn homosexuality. Genetically "inferior" or some such nonsense will supersede the "sinner" epithet. We must remember that some people will still condemn until the final Trumpet sounds that which is unfamiliar and not like them. The dirty looks and such will exist forever, no matter if the religious beliefs of those who hold them differ.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the results of the large-scale study of the gene issues that Alex talks about between twin brothers. The human genome holds so many secrets that we may never unravel all of them, and the fact that this study is on such a large-scale makes my little word-addled mind jealous of those in the sciences who can make sense of such large-scale/small-focus projects. Nevertheless, I wonder what this study will accomplish other than giving those who condemn homosexuality one common condemnation to use. Their response might not be quite like the pastor in the other reading who believes that the church should prepare itself for the coming scientific evidence.
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