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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)

#61

Post by rectang »

swarnie_ wrote: post #28
antattack wrote: post #19

Honest question: what is being gay? Is it physical attraction? Emotional attraction? Both? Is it dislike, fear(?) of opposite sex?

An innate desire to form an atypical pairing in a non-reproductive fashion. Honestly i have no idea but this might be one of the last places left on the internet you can ask a question like this without getting dogpiled. I've batted for both teams in my life and i still can't tell you.

"What does it mean to be gay?" is a question that gay people ask themselves, especially while forming their identities. So there are many, many places where you can find kind and thoughtful answers to it.

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

#62

Post by nostromo »

dominotw wrote: post #26

Does it mean people are socialized into being gay ?

There's some strong data that suggests it has to do with the interplay of hormones between the mother and fetus.

If this theory is proven correct, it wouldn't be either socialization or genes.

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

#63

Post by swarnie_ »

dleslie wrote: post #55
swarnie_ wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An innate desire to form an atypical pairing in a non-reproductive fashion. Honestly i have no idea but this might be one of the last places left on the internet you can ask a question like this without getting dogpiled. I've batted for both teams in my life and i still can't tell you.

Indeed, sexual attraction is a lot more complicated than "I am attracted to this bimodal extreme of gender."

Agreed, and it isn't a static thing defined at birth by nature, it can change backwards and forwards over a lifetime.

Not sure why i'm getting a hard time from our co-commenters. I assumed this place being primarily US and Tech it would be quite liberal.

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

#64

Post by ristlane »

Bostonian wrote: post #22

"Ganna and his colleagues also used the analysis to estimate that up to 25% of sexual behaviour can be explained by genetics, with the rest influenced by environmental and cultural factors — a figure similar to the findings of smaller studies." An argument for gay rights has been that people are "born that way". That appears to be false. Does this suggest that it may be possible to shape the environment to reduce the…

This is a legitimate question. Has our sexuality changed in recent decades (in aggregate), or are we just more open about our differences which were always present?

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

#65

Post by hyperpape »

SonicScrub wrote: post #56
Bostonian wrote: post #22

"Ganna and his colleagues also used the analysis to estimate that up to 25% of sexual behaviour can be explained by genetics, with the rest influenced by environmental and cultural factors — a figure similar to the findings of smaller studies." An argument for gay rights has been that people are "born that way". That appears to be false. Does this suggest that it may be possible to shape the environment to reduce the…

> An argument for gay rights has been that people are "born that way". That appears to be false Only if you take the strict literal definition of the phrase "born that way" to mean your genetic make-up. A person has little to no control over their environmental factors during their upbringing. Everything from average air temperature, food nutrient makeup, airborne particles, etc are environmental factors that we know…

Entirely right. Even more: "environment" in this context includes the pre-natal environment.

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

#66

Post by zgin4679 »

flowerlad wrote: post #49
dominotw wrote: post #26

Does it mean people are socialized into being gay ?

Hopefully, no. Because if true then it legitimizes conversation therapies.

Or even conversion therapies. I'd much rather not be talked to ad nauseam about it!

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

#68

Post by dleslie »

swarnie_ wrote: post #63
dleslie wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, sexual attraction is a lot more complicated than "I am attracted to this bimodal extreme of gender."

Agreed, and it isn't a static thing defined at birth by nature, it can change backwards and forwards over a lifetime. Not sure why i'm getting a hard time from our co-commenters. I assumed this place being primarily US and Tech it would be quite liberal.

Heh, the political spectrum of this place is broad and well-distributed, but the quality of discussion _tends_ to be more respectful than most forums.

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

#69

Post by whatshisface »

ohduran wrote: post #2

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

The trouble with that argument is that it also works with,

"If there was a genetic cause for shortsightedness, why is it still around?"

"If there was such a thing as a genetic disease, why haven't they evolved out?"

"If not having X-ray vision was genetic, wouldn't the absence of X-ray vision have been selected out?"

You really can't expect evolution to accomplish its "goals," per se. It is sort of a gentle flow down a lazy river, towards adaptation.

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

#70

Post by bzb6 »

rootusrootus wrote: post #57
bonoetmalo wrote: post #41

Kind of hopeful we can stop using genetics as a way of justifying queer peoples' existence. Whether it's conditioning, a choice, or genetics, shouldn't really be a factor in how you treat queer people.

That would be ideal, but some people need to be convinced that it is not a choice before they will consider treating gay people with respect. So long as they think it's just a behavioral decision, they can rationalize their bigotry.

If anything this headline means the opposite, right? That you are not born a homosexual, at least from a genetic perspective.
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