Difference between revisions of "Homosexuality and Genetics"
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| − | + | In regards to homosexuality and genetics, a common argument is that an inclination to homosexuality is inborn and immutable. It is widely believed that the public will become more accepting of homosexuality if they are convinced that it is inborn and immutable. For example, neuroscientist and homosexual [[Simon Levay]] stated: "...people who think that gays and lesbians are born that way are also more likely to support gay rights."<ref>http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000682.cfm</ref> | |
| + | However, there is no scientific consensus on the subject, and the American Psychological Association's assertion is that: | ||
| − | + | *...most scientists today agree that [[sexual orientation]] is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. <ref>http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html#whatcauses</ref> | |
| − | + | ||
| + | For example, research suggests that adoptive brothers are more likely to both be homosexuals than the biological brothers, who share half their [[gene]]s. This data prompted the journal ''Science'' to report "this . . . suggests that there is no genetic component, but rather an environmental component shared in families".<ref>(''Science'', Vol. 262, page 2063, December 24, 1993)</ref><ref>http://www.trueorigin.org/gaygene01.asp</ref><ref>[http://www.freetobeme.com/r_biol.htm</ref> However, in regards to [[psychosocial]] and biological theories in regards to the origin of homosexuality, [[Columbia University]] [[psychiatry]] professors Drs. William Byrne and Bruce Parsons stated in 1994: "There is no evidence that at present to substantiate a [[biology|biological]] theory. [T]he appeal of current biological explanations for sexual orientation may derive more from dissatisfaction with the present status of psychosocial explanations than from a substantiating body of experimental data".<ref>http://www.cwfa.org/images/content/bornorbred.pdf</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Herbert Hendin wrote: | ||
| + | {{Cquote|Anthropologists had observed that relatively uncompetitive primitive cultures such as those that do not distinguish or reward the best hunters in distinction to the other men in the tribe have virtually no homosexuality."<ref>"Kardiner and Linton, in a psychoanalytic anthropological study of Tanala, examined homosexuality in the context of the entire Tanalese culture (1939). They showed that a dramatic rise in homosexuality when social and economic forces inflamed competitiveness was one of several manifestations of frustrated rage (crime was another) among young men who were having particular difficulty with the pressures the culture was exerting on them. [http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=jaa.006.0479a Homosexuality: The Psychosocial Dimension] - ''Journal of American Academy of Psychoanalysis'', 6:479-496(1978) </ref>}} | ||
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| + | Dr. [[Dean Hamer]] is a researcher often cited to show that there is empirical data supporting the notion that homosexuality is genetic in origin. News organizations like [[National Public Radio]] and [[Newsweek]] have done news stories regarding his work.<ref>http://www.narth.com/docs/istheregene.html</ref> In regards to the press trumpeting various findings genetics-of-behavior research uncritically the science journal ''Science'' stated the following in 1994: | ||
| + | {{Cquote|Time and time again, scientists have claimed that particular genes or [[chromosome|chromosomal]] regions are associated with behavioral traits, only to withdraw their findings when they were not replicated. "Unfortunately," says Yale's [Dr. Joel] Gelernter, "it's hard to come up with many" findings linking specific genes to complex human behaviors that have been replicated. "...All were announced with great fanfare; all were greeted unskeptically in the popular press; all are now in disrepute."<ref>[http://www.narth.com/docs/istheregene.html Mann, C. Genes and behavior. Science 264:1687 (1994)]</ref>}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | Martin A. Silverman, M.D. wrote regarding a famous study of Dr. Dean Hamer: | ||
| + | {{Cquote|On July 16, 1993, it was reported in Science (pp. 291, 321) that geneticist Dean Hamer and his team at the [[National Cancer Institute]] had reported on a study involving 40 pairs of brothers both of whom were gay that had led them to conclude that they had discovered a factor on the X [[chromosome]] through which gayness was genetically transmitted to them from their mothers. This was hailed as proof that homosexuality in men is biological in origin. Two years later, however, Eliot Marshall reported in ''Science'' (June 30, 1995, p.268) George Ebers and George Rice of the University of Western Ontario had unsuccessfully attempted to replicate Hamer's findings and had "found no evidence that gayness is passed from mother to son" genetically. He also reported that the Office of Research Integrity in the Department of Health and Human Services was investigating Hamer's work.<ref>http://www.narth.com/docs/1996papers/silverman.html</ref>}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | In May of 2000, the [[American Psychiatric Association]] issued a fact sheet stating that "..there are no replicated scientific studies supporting a specific biological [[etiology]] for homosexuality.<ref> http://www.cwfa.org/images/content/bornorbred.pdf</ref> | ||
In any event, the search for a "gay gene," largely misses the point. Homosexual ''behavior'', regardless of one's "orientation" is still voluntary and subject to control by the human will. | In any event, the search for a "gay gene," largely misses the point. Homosexual ''behavior'', regardless of one's "orientation" is still voluntary and subject to control by the human will. | ||
Revision as of 01:39, October 5, 2007
In regards to homosexuality and genetics, a common argument is that an inclination to homosexuality is inborn and immutable. It is widely believed that the public will become more accepting of homosexuality if they are convinced that it is inborn and immutable. For example, neuroscientist and homosexual Simon Levay stated: "...people who think that gays and lesbians are born that way are also more likely to support gay rights."[1] However, there is no scientific consensus on the subject, and the American Psychological Association's assertion is that:
- ...most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. [2]
For example, research suggests that adoptive brothers are more likely to both be homosexuals than the biological brothers, who share half their genes. This data prompted the journal Science to report "this . . . suggests that there is no genetic component, but rather an environmental component shared in families".[3][4][5] However, in regards to psychosocial and biological theories in regards to the origin of homosexuality, Columbia University psychiatry professors Drs. William Byrne and Bruce Parsons stated in 1994: "There is no evidence that at present to substantiate a biological theory. [T]he appeal of current biological explanations for sexual orientation may derive more from dissatisfaction with the present status of psychosocial explanations than from a substantiating body of experimental data".[6]
Herbert Hendin wrote:
| “ | Anthropologists had observed that relatively uncompetitive primitive cultures such as those that do not distinguish or reward the best hunters in distinction to the other men in the tribe have virtually no homosexuality."[7] | ” |
Dr. Dean Hamer is a researcher often cited to show that there is empirical data supporting the notion that homosexuality is genetic in origin. News organizations like National Public Radio and Newsweek have done news stories regarding his work.[8] In regards to the press trumpeting various findings genetics-of-behavior research uncritically the science journal Science stated the following in 1994:
| “ | Time and time again, scientists have claimed that particular genes or chromosomal regions are associated with behavioral traits, only to withdraw their findings when they were not replicated. "Unfortunately," says Yale's [Dr. Joel] Gelernter, "it's hard to come up with many" findings linking specific genes to complex human behaviors that have been replicated. "...All were announced with great fanfare; all were greeted unskeptically in the popular press; all are now in disrepute."[9] | ” |
Martin A. Silverman, M.D. wrote regarding a famous study of Dr. Dean Hamer:
| “ | On July 16, 1993, it was reported in Science (pp. 291, 321) that geneticist Dean Hamer and his team at the National Cancer Institute had reported on a study involving 40 pairs of brothers both of whom were gay that had led them to conclude that they had discovered a factor on the X chromosome through which gayness was genetically transmitted to them from their mothers. This was hailed as proof that homosexuality in men is biological in origin. Two years later, however, Eliot Marshall reported in Science (June 30, 1995, p.268) George Ebers and George Rice of the University of Western Ontario had unsuccessfully attempted to replicate Hamer's findings and had "found no evidence that gayness is passed from mother to son" genetically. He also reported that the Office of Research Integrity in the Department of Health and Human Services was investigating Hamer's work.[10] | ” |
In May of 2000, the American Psychiatric Association issued a fact sheet stating that "..there are no replicated scientific studies supporting a specific biological etiology for homosexuality.[11]
In any event, the search for a "gay gene," largely misses the point. Homosexual behavior, regardless of one's "orientation" is still voluntary and subject to control by the human will.
Work of the Human Genome Project
- Dr. Collins succinctly reviewed the research on homosexuality and offers the following: "An area of particularly strong public interest is the genetic basis of homosexuality. Evidence from twin studies does in fact support the conclusion that heritable factors play a role in male homosexuality. However, the likelihood that the identical twin of a homosexual male will also be gay is about 20% (compared with 2-4 percent of males in the general population), indicating that sexual orientation is genetically influenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations." [12]
- Regarding the contributions of genetics to areas such as homosexuality, Dr. Collins concluded, "Yes, we have all been dealt a particular set of cards, and the cards will eventually be revealed. But how we play the hand is up to us." [13]
External links
- "Homosexuality Is Not Hardwired," Concludes Dr. Francis S. Collins, Head Of The Human Genome Project
- Is there a "gay gene"? - explores how the media misrepresented the science
References
- ↑ http://www.family.org/socialissues/A000000682.cfm
- ↑ http://www.apa.org/topics/orientation.html#whatcauses
- ↑ (Science, Vol. 262, page 2063, December 24, 1993)
- ↑ http://www.trueorigin.org/gaygene01.asp
- ↑ [http://www.freetobeme.com/r_biol.htm
- ↑ http://www.cwfa.org/images/content/bornorbred.pdf
- ↑ "Kardiner and Linton, in a psychoanalytic anthropological study of Tanala, examined homosexuality in the context of the entire Tanalese culture (1939). They showed that a dramatic rise in homosexuality when social and economic forces inflamed competitiveness was one of several manifestations of frustrated rage (crime was another) among young men who were having particular difficulty with the pressures the culture was exerting on them. Homosexuality: The Psychosocial Dimension - Journal of American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 6:479-496(1978)
- ↑ http://www.narth.com/docs/istheregene.html
- ↑ Mann, C. Genes and behavior. Science 264:1687 (1994)
- ↑ http://www.narth.com/docs/1996papers/silverman.html
- ↑ http://www.cwfa.org/images/content/bornorbred.pdf
- ↑ http://www.narth.com/docs/nothardwired.html
- ↑ http://www.narth.com/docs/nothardwired.html
