Is sexuality in your genes?

I have read some articles recently about this being a possibility. I think it is a case of enough research supporting a weak theory because there is research on the other side that suggest one's enviroment is a more important factor for sexuality. Anyone with some insight?

If one believes in re-incarnation (like I do), then past lives or lack of them also has something to do with this.

In almost all cases where you want to connect genetics with behavior, the genes create a latency or potentiality, and socialization/environmental factors manifest it to the degree observed in behavior.

Listen to the number of gay people who tell you they are driven by some physiology, and not buy choice, to their orientation.

I don't know the answer but I support the framework that I gave above. I'm not sure that I have ever had a gay thought in my life (except the happy-type ones).

I beleav thjis to be true....

some scientest guy figered it out long-ago....

but it was ignored

Genes is important, but Envirment affects man more!!

I guess it depends what type of jeans you have?

Maybe contacting the manufacturers and letting them know of the feelings one has to having these thoughts!

helen

Quite agree with you there, guenther!!!
Enviroment and society plays a BIG part in determening how and why we react in certain situations.....

And NO there has not been any FACTUAL evidence of GENES determening our sexuality...
helen

This is one touchy subject(no pun intended)! The whole "born a homo" thing,,,I don't know whether i believe that or not. Like mentioned above, I think it's society. And many think you are born gay or start early,,but maybe thats not the case. I remeber a couple of kids back in school. You all know the type...The kind that couldn't fit into some of the superficial crowds. A follower, or maybe someone who needs to be noticed but never was...Just to be different some of these nerds,,ummm,,,excuse me,,people go and experiment and next thing ya know,,,Good old Michael is gettin it from Bobby in Boy's Room staul! Then they become artists and in my area(NJ),,they all flock to Village in NYC!!! or maybe they're born with it,,,who knows?

So do ya'll think that as society progresses and becomes more gay-concious there will be more gay people? Don't know whether I'm scared or excited about the idea. More gay guys, more straight or bi ladies for me!!

Well that's *almost* reassuring MA..you are either sure or you leave room for questioning

Back to the topic, yes I think it's in our genes and what helps us have the desire to procreate..without sexuality there probably wouldn't be too many reasons to *you know* It's what attracts oneanother initially and ultimately what holds oneanother in place. I saw it on the discovery channel so don't take my word for it. We are animals searching for the right smelling, thinking, looking, tasting etc companion who will enhance our own mating abilities and thus create the closest to possible perfect human being together..something along those lines anyway.
Mags

Based on personal experience I think we are born with a predisposition to a certain type of sexuality. The choice arises if and when we decide to act on those feelings.

This subject always makes me feel uneasy as the idea of sexuality being something you choose can be interpreted by many bigots as you chose to be this way so it's ok to discriminate/persecute you.To be honest even if scientific research bore out the nurture/environmental hypothosis, to reduce it down to a case of 'hey I think I'll be gay today' is a little simplistic to say the least. Whatever the cause it is ingrained to such a profound extent within your psyche that it is no where near to being any kind of choice we'd recognise.

[Edited on 22-10-2003 by ubermunche]

thank you ubermunche

beleaving it has NOTHING to do with genes is plan STUPID IGNORANCE

If you believe society creates gayness then how long does it take before the dictates of society become normal human behaviour? The time of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhaenaten, the first recorded Homosexual? In the time of Socrates and Plato? That of Alexander the Great? Maybe the time of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci? Or perhaps it was the straight laced and puritanical times of Oscar Wilde?

Just to turn this on it's head for a moment. If I could be born straight and made gay, doesn't it also follow that some people could be born gay and made straight.

Or are we all born inherently bi-sexual.

Did you mean plan STUPID IGNORANCE or

plain STUPID IGNORANCE?

just playin

I remember seeing a programme once that suggested that sexuality could be afffected by exposure to hormones in the womb .In it they showed female mice that had been exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb trying to mate with other females.

I think that just as with many other behaviours and personality traits it starts with a genetic pre-disposition towards something, that can also have a degree of intensity to it, then environmental influences that multiply it's affects

example : a girl is born with a slight genetic pre-disposition towards lesbianism, she is raised in what i'll call the 'normal american way' for a female, she'll probably turn out straight

if she had a major genetic pre-disposition to the same and all else was the same, she would probably turn out lesbian or bi-sexual

But: a girl could be born with lets call it a medium disposition towards hetero-sexuality but has one or more extremely bad experiences with males, she will probably turn out a lesbian to some degree


this all only works out with people who admit their true sexuality, i've met girls who were clearly completely straight but claimed they were bi-sexual because they found it socially acceptable, girls that were lesbians simply because they hated men, but weren't really attracted to women either, and guys that were homo-sexual but would claim they were hetero-sexual because they found doing that more socially acceptable.

100% agree with KKing123

thats how it is.

Hm! Again I'm gonna have to speak from my own experiences and say that upbringing, social environment etc may have little to do with it. It doesn't take into account the people raised in rigidly conformist/ conservative/religious families or communities who deplore or dislike the idea of homosexuality yet still these individuals turned out gay, or suppressed their true nature for years before finally admitting to it. I still believe you are born that way.

I don't know, but I know it's in my "jeans"....

intelgurl