Can a person be born gay/homosexual?

Examiner.com ^ | Feb. 3, 2010 | Réne Girard

[Antoninus]

However, I imagine, that when the gay gene is found...

So you base your conclusion that homosexuals are created with a genetically inborn the desire to have anal sex on a premise that you admit hasn't been validated by science. (And probably won't ever be, in my opinion).

That is known as faith, not science. And there are few things in this world less worthy of faith than the ultimate discovery of a "gay gene".

[MetaThought]

Anecdote =/= Data. Thanks for playing!

[MetaThought]

Symmetry Of Homosexual Brain Resembles That Of Opposite Sex, Swedish Study Finds

ScienceDaily (June 18, 2008) — Swedish researchers have found that some physical attributes of the homosexual brain resemble those found in the opposite sex, according to an article published online (June 16) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617151845.htm

[colorcountry]

You’re so gay.

[Antoninus]

So, you are ready to prove the nonexistence of a gene?

Can't prove a negative, genius. The burden of proof falls entirely on those claiming that there is a "gay gene."

[MetaThought]

It’s not just you, and it’s a PITA. I wonder whats going on.

[EnquiringMind]

Nonsense. Homosexuality is a deviation of the mind

Guess you don't have a gay person in your family, 'cause if you did, you'd know "deviation of the mind" is utter BS.

And, "our mind is formed by our experience"?????? LOLOLOL!

[Antoninus]

I have learned a lot from him about judgment and compassion, even as he struggles with his own demons.

Indeed, he does struggle with demons. However, validating those demons is not compassion and never can be.

[GraceG]

I think it is something that someone can be born with a “predisposition for that sort of behavior”. I have known several families that have had kids that when growing up, despite being raised the same way as their siblings, they were kind of “nelly” and they later turned out to be gay, no big surprise there, except for the people in the family who were surprised, but that is because when people are around other people they tend to ignore things that are right in front of them. From someone on the outside looking in, I could see signs that the kids in question were more effeminate in how they acted and related to other kids.

I think it could be a “pre-disposition” that can influence someone’s sexuality, but it is not a 100% sure thing. I also think it may not be genetic, but also dependent upon hormone levels during brain development in the womb. Genes may have some influence, but it like people who are genetically predisposed to have a genetic disorder, some will express that disorder, some won’t.

[GraceG]

>> Symmetry Of Homosexual Brain Resembles That Of Opposite Sex, Swedish Study Finds

ScienceDaily (June 18, 2008) — Swedish researchers have found that some physical attributes of the homosexual brain resemble those found in the opposite sex, according to an article published online (June 16) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617151845.htm <<

Prenatal Hormone levels during brain development could have an influence on this. I think it has been shown that if a women has several boys in a row the last ones are more at risk as the woman will develop anti-bodies against testosterone from the previous pregnancies that can influence the developing fetus.

[Shethink13]

Guess you don't have a gay person in your family, 'cause if you did, you'd know "deviation of the mind" is utter BS.

You're right. I don't have a gay person in my family, therefore there's no need for me to make up excuses and delude myself that my family member is "born gay" in order to assuage my guilt that something I might have done has caused my loved one to live a tragic, unhappy life.

And, "our mind is formed by our experience"?????? LOLOLOL!

It's not? You have a gene that makes you love your mother, love chocolate ice cream, prefer blondes to brunettes, enjoy the Holidays, have a liberal ideaology...??? What you like and how you live is not based on your life-long experiences from birth, but from a super-secret magic preference gene that you inherited?

If you believe that your family member was born gay, they you must believe that his/her mind is deviated from the norm, since the natural, normal, biologically sound sexual attraction is to the opposite sex. At the risk of being too graphic, the biological function of an anus is not as a receptacle, and two women don't have the necessary apparatus for normal, biological sexual intercourse. Sorry, facts are facts...

[Shethink13]

Guess you don't have a gay person in your family, 'cause if you did, you'd know "deviation of the mind" is utter BS.

You're right. I don't have a gay person in my family, therefore there's no need for me to make up excuses and delude myself that my family member is "born gay" in order to assuage my guilt that something I might have done has caused my loved one to live a tragic, unhappy life.

And, "our mind is formed by our experience"?????? LOLOLOL!

It's not? You have a gene that makes you love your mother, love chocolate ice cream, prefer blondes to brunettes, enjoy the Holidays, have a liberal ideaology...??? What you like and how you live is not based on your life-long experiences from birth, but from a super-secret magic preference gene that you inherited?

If you believe that your family member was born gay, they you must believe that his/her mind is deviated from the norm, since the natural, normal, biologically sound sexual attraction is to the opposite sex. At the risk of being too graphic, the biological function of an anus is not as a receptacle, and two women don't have the necessary apparatus for normal, biological sexual intercourse. Sorry, facts are facts...

[TheBigIf]

And what do the brains of people who have sex with animals look like?

Your study is not scientific proof of anything. How people develop (based upon their enviroment) also changes brain structure as well.

Sexuality is an aspect of behavior and not a natural in-born trait.

[Fawn]

Since many babies are born with both sex organs and since some parents have to make a choice what sex the baby should be —it seems logical to me that some babies are born with unlevel hormones.

[DJ MacWoW]

Since many babies are born with both sex organs

Cites?

it seems logical to me that some babies are born with unlevel hormones.

Cites?

And hormones aren't genes.

[Shethink13]

I have known several families that have had kids that when growing up, despite being raised the same way as their siblings, they were kind of “nelly” and they later turned out to be gay, no big surprise there, except for the people in the family who were surprised, but that is because when people are around other people they tend to ignore things that are right in front of them. From someone on the outside looking in, I could see signs that the kids in question were more effeminate in how they acted and related to other kids.

Unless you actually lived in that household and observed day in and day out the interaction of the family, there's no way someone from "the outside looking in" could possibly know the subtle nuances of the interrelationships of that family. Even the family members themselves were clueless as to how they were interacting, which is human nature not subject to blame.

[scripter]

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out soon but my guess is the science behind it doesn't say what you think it might say. And I say that because every single study I've read that was supposed to support the born-that-way theory has fallen into that category.

[MetaThought]

It just says that there’s some biological difference between homosexual and heterosexual brain function, and that a homosexual man’s brain function is closer to that of a woman’s.

[longtermmemmory]

IOW when a homosexual is show a picture of the same sex they have the same reaction in their brain as a normal woman who is shown a picture of the opposite sex.

talk about gaming the operational definitions!

[Fawn]

Cites?

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Birth_defects_ambiguous_genitalia

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBF_en&q=boys+born+with+too+much+estrogen&aq=f&aqi=&oq=