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The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

nature.com

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Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#11

Post by npwr »

ohduran wrote: post #2

Not an expert here but, IF a gay gene existed, wouldn't have it been evolved into extinction?

Not if it is recessive. Example with a recessive "gay gene": Both parent have one normal allele and one "gay" allele. The repartition of the offspring will be:

- 25% both normal alleles (normal phenotype) - 50% one normal allele (normal phenotype) - 25% both gay alleles (gay phenotype)

But homosexuality is not a gene. I believe that the [fetal androgen exposure theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenatal_hormones_and_sexual_o...) is the one currently preferred.

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#12

Post by creata »

ohduran wrote: post #2

Not an expert here but, IF a gay gene existed, wouldn't have it been evolved into extinction?

A common analogy here is that in lots of insects, you see whole groups of non-reproductive members, and yet the idea of a "non-reproductive worker insect" hasn't "evolved into extinction."

(I'm not commenting on whether being gay has a genetic basis or whether it's an example of kin selection, because honestly, I have no idea.)

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#13

Post by KingMachiavelli »

ohduran wrote: post #2

Not an expert here but, IF a gay gene existed, wouldn't have it been evolved into extinction?

There is also the 'beneficial sibling' theory where a homosexual sibling improves the reproductive success of their siblings/close family via being able to devote more energy to their siblings offspring instead of their own or are able to gather/utilize more resources that leads to a familial advantage.

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#14

Post by mnky9800n »

Kye wrote: post #3

A lot of the search for a gay gene seems trapped in an outdated understanding of sexuality as a binary proposition: "you're either A or B." How do you even begin to contemplate a study on sexuality once you understand it as highly varied and fluid? Same with gender. They're bimodal distributions at best . You can't just crop off the confounding valleys and call what you do with them good science.

This would be evidence of your argument then.

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#15

Post by abcc8 »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #4
ohduran wrote: post #2

Not an expert here but, IF a gay gene existed, wouldn't have it been evolved into extinction?

Not necessarily, as long as it's recessive. Not an expert either here though.

If recessive, you'd expect the wild type and 'gay' alleles to be in Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. However, this obviously isn't the case.

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#17

Post by [deleted] »

Kye wrote: post #3

A lot of the search for a gay gene seems trapped in an outdated understanding of sexuality as a binary proposition: "you're either A or B." How do you even begin to contemplate a study on sexuality once you understand it as highly varied and fluid? Same with gender. They're bimodal distributions at best . You can't just crop off the confounding valleys and call what you do with them good science.

[deleted]

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#18

Post by hliyan »

ohduran wrote: post #2

Not an expert here but, IF a gay gene existed, wouldn't have it been evolved into extinction?

It might persevere through kin selection. For siblings who share the gene, such an individual would have all the benefits of a male/female (security, hunting, care-giving), but none of the mating competition. One could argue if such a gene existed, it would be quite an altruistic one.

Re: The largest study to date on the genetic basis of sexuality (2019)

#20

Post by NortySpock »

ohduran wrote: post #2

Not an expert here but, IF a gay gene existed, wouldn't have it been evolved into extinction?

A lot of the musings I've seen in this direction have been along the lines of

(1) some people are bisexual and thus would occasionally reproduce and

(2) if sexuality promotes "togetherness" and "group cohesion", then having "our gay uncle who 'has connections' and is always willing to help out the family group" is still beneficial for the family unit and thus a gay gene would not be selected against within that family lineage.

Probably not a majority of the population, but there's no reason for such a "gay gene" (if it were to exist) to be driven to zero.

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