Thursday, June 05, 2008

GAY GENES?
I read an article by Robert Kunzig (Psychology Today) which examines why Evolution hasn't found a way to eradicate homosexuality...

if you think about it, from a purely evolutionary standpoint, Homosexuality doesn't make much sense, because the sole purpose of a species is to pass on their genes.


Before I begin I should prolly state for the record that I am not a homophobe. DUH!

Like many of you I have gay friends and relatives. Despite my blog title I am by nature a raging hetero (HOMO is latin for man) and I believe that being Gay can mean that you are happy or Homosexual or both.

There are charming and tedious Gays just like everyone else and I am supportive of every initiative for Gay people to have children, get married, get divorced, and have the same f*cking problems as everyone else.
To me it is not a huge religious issue or a trendy bandwagon cause, just a fact of life.

Whatever.


After Millenia of experiencing varying levels of acceptance or intolerance by Cultures since the dawn of Civilization, by the twentieth Century, Homosexuality in the Western World was eventually labelled a 'curable' psychological defect by organizations like the AMA...
it was considered nothing more than a state of arrested development caused by a child's exposure to a distant father and/or overbearing mother...
which most of us by now realise isn't true...
no thanks to the Cocaine fueled ramblings of Freud.
So then why, despite the aforementioned evolutionary imperitive for species to reproduce,
are 4% (2-6% is the best scientificky estimate) of Human males, born gay?


According to this article 'IT' isn't purely genetic because in pairs of identical twins it is possible for only one child to be gay...current scientific research suggests that a mutation in more than one gene is responsible.


These Gay Genes are thought to interfere with the masculinization of the brain and when found in lower proportions, as it is throughout 96% males who are heterosexual, these genes may be secretly responsible for developing a larger proportion of so-called 'gay traits';
kinder, gentler, and more nurturing men...
which are the kind of males that females actually prefer when choosing a sperm donor and future father.


One interesting observation was that 'some' of the Gay men had mothers and aunts who had bigger families and more sexual partners (3 to 4X as many) .
This was dubbed the "man-loving" gene and in evolutionary terms, having a lot of children compensated for producing gay children who would not reproduce...
but these 'kinder, gentler' genes would be passed on to more baby boys more often in women with this marker.


Another finding is that the more older brothers a man has, the greater the chances of him being gay? HUH?
Researchers Blanchard and Bogaert suggest that antibodies in a Mother's body are sent to combat the production of a male...and can you blame them?

However subsequent male pregnancies strengthen her immune system and gradually the anti bodies actually interfere with the masculinization of the fetal brain...which would have produced a "typical, aggressive, psychopathic, male".
Nice.


Here are some other quirky findings..
Gay men supposedly;
-have longer , straighter, thicker, penises
-are worse at reading maps, spatial orientation, finding missing objects, and packing their trunks...read into that whatever you like..
and naturally lesbian women are better at these tasks than straight women.
-Gay men are more likely to be lefties or ambidextrous
-the ratio of the lengths of the 2nd to 4th fingers predicts sexual orientation.


So where the hell are they going with this?
My impression is that they are trying to say that...

A. Females are designed to try to stop males from ever being produced in the first place..we know that all vertebrates start out as females so it would stand to reason that God really IS a woman afterall!

B. This predesigned genetic thingamabob eventually leads certain man-loving women (with equally horny sisters) to a modicum of success producing ready-made dishrag husbands with kinder, gentler traits, however the price of this success is that 4% of the time they inadvertently produce Gay, left handed, boys, who may have larger, straighter, penises, but can't read maps or find hidden objects in their poorly, packed, trunks.


Are they on to something or is this just Poppycock?

30 comments:

  1. I'm proud at being a right handed homothexsual.

    I don't really have much of an opinion as to why we are gay. However I do find the label "curable psychological defect" quite offensive.

    The thought of someone wanting to cure me makes me physically ill.

    That being said, maybe we are here to make sure these new gentler, kinder straight men get laid by passing on our jeans, not genes. Afterall without us, you'd all be walking around with your ill fitted jeans hanging down around your knees with your dirty word of the day underwear showing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. *imagines the bliss of living in a world entirely made up of big ole homos and sighs with delight*

    Oh wait. I'm imagining Kylie Minogue's life.

    *waves to CyberPoof above*

    I certainly hope you're not saying CyberPete's mother was a trollop!

    ReplyDelete
  3. CYBERPETE
    I hoped that people would 'get this. I mean it's the 21st Century and for cryin' out loud we need to get over the religious, cultural and political bigotry once and for all.

    Here in Canada we are making some headway...but I still see far too many news items from down South where protestors with hate filled placards are spreading their ignorance.

    Political correctness and LABELS are two things that really annoy me..but our fast-food instant gratification demands flashpoint references.

    I hope that you realised that I find the curable thing ridiculous.
    I know a lot of people who still believe it.

    I posted this because the less stigmata that we attach to issues the better...if we can play around a bit and poke fun at how stilted ans stupid our cultural progression is then we need to do it...we can't ignore talking about it as most people would prefer.


    I just wanted to say hey look at what 'Science' is trying to deduce because let's be honest, most people are afraid to even talk about it. Unfortunately I am too stupid to just keep my mouth shut and think that talking about this, like any other issue concerning the human condition, is better served by trying to understand something about it.

    MJ
    HA! Yes imagine. I knew that you would be brave enough to make fun of me making fun of how ridiculously most Humans approach such topics with trepidation.

    I am not suggesting for one second that Petey's Mom or Aunties were promiscuous...I am relaying the absurdity of people looking for man-loving genes instead of laying the blame at the doorstep of lifestyle recruiting agents like Liberace and Elton John.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great commentary on social evolution and our (in)ability to understand and embrace the vast tapestry of human sexuality. And yes, God is a woman! Cheers, JP/deb

    ReplyDelete
  5. As usual, Donn, you produce yet another thought provoking post with a twist. The way we (as in the human race 'we') are so wound up about anyone seen as different, that they must be ill or diseased and we must find a way to cure or eliminate their disease.

    I am glad I don't live in the US any more - spent 5 years in the South (Texas and California) and got really tired of the lack of acceptance of anyone 'different'. We are making a bit of headway up here - I know a number of people who are gay (male and female) - but we still have such a long way to go. And if studies like those you cited gain validity, then perhaps we as a species can make some headway and realize not every human is wired the same way.

    Diversification of the species is not always just for the proliferation and procreation of said species. Cuz (god) knows we don't really need more of us on this big blue ball - and more of the kinder, gentler, nurturing types (male or female) would be a welcome change.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:12 pm

    In India, most do not come out open. In our closed society, it is a tabbo. For that matter anything to do with was tabbo a while back.

    Homosexuality can be seen in the temple sculptures. That prioves that it was considered normal in the olden times. I suppose only now we have become prudes.

    This time you don't get a rap on your knuckles. You wrote a thoughtful post.

    *grin*

    PS: Where has ghosty gone? I miss my admirer!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous12:13 pm

    PPS: I like the new look!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good one! You certainly have that creative ability to look at all sides of a subject. Love that. 'Course back in the day the human species didn't think it was their right to reproduce, saving that option for those most likely to succeed at it, so being gay was probably less of an issue anyway.

    "The more older brothers a man has, the greater the chances of him being gay" makes some sense in my dad's family. His youngest brother is the gay one. But having an openly, 'educating' gay parent doesn't always make it easier. His daughter didn't exit the closet until she was 30!

    My 15 year old son, with whom I am watching the FANTASTIC Six Feet Under (second time for me), and I have picked up on a phrase the hunky Keith said and use it all the time now. You'd be amazed how many everyday, non-sexual situations "We're having lots of sex and it's really, really gay" applies to. (Yeah, I'm a terrible mother, exposing my teenager to such content, but he can handle it. My younger son probably not so much until he's over 18.)

    PS Poppy is a girl, ergo no cock.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have a gay sister and my mom was completely sexually repressed...or was she?

    Now I must go and read back through all this brilliant writing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I completely understand that we have to talk about these things and poke fun at them whenever we can.

    I'm all for poking fun. I'm just sad that we/you have to make statements like that. Because we are just like everyone else and if we didn't tell anyone we were gay people wouldn't think hate us. It would be like I started hating people with red hair.

    Because I hereby claim that it says in the bible that red haired people are going to hell. It's a sin to have red hair.

    But you already knew that, right?

    As for MJs comment, no my mother was and is not a trollop. Does it count that one of my aunts used to be?

    ReplyDelete
  11. // Despite my blog title I am by nature a raging hetero (HOMO is latin for man) and I believe that being Gay can mean that you are happy or Homosexual or both.// LOL! theres always the doubt that ppl will misunderstand....hahahahah

    gay genes...it might be true...or it might be ploy by advocates to trump it up. but all goes, we are jst another animal in the sex chain.

    ReplyDelete
  12. wait...whats a sex chain?

    ReplyDelete
  13. JP/DEB
    The fact that GOD is female is the worst kept secret in the universe.
    Our inability to understand so much about ourselves is due to the fact that religious dogma retarded the progress of scientific discovery for centuries..it's all brand new.


    PONYGIRL
    Actually I believe that diversification is the vehicle that species use to gain an advantage in reproducing. There are certainly too many of us on the planet but you may have noticed that our increase in numbers is directly proportional to the decrease in the number of other species...it isn't called the Human Race fer nuthin'!

    GAUTAMI
    Before the advent and expansion of the Monotheists and their homophobic misogynist phobias, there certainly were periods of time when culturally it was more accepted.

    Ghostay will soon be back to fan you with Palms...mark my words..

    ANDREA
    You're an awesome Mother for openly exposing those old verboten issues as nonsensical.

    There is certainly some truth to these observations and who knows how many conditions need to be satisfied before we will get the great unwashed to put down whatever they are doing and say HEY! We need to talk about_______!
    Now!

    ELLEN
    Hola! Well if you have a gay sis, then you certainly have a better opportunity to adjust to the reality.

    The article stated that scientific investigation about gay women is far behind..isn't that typical! Well that won't last for long because female university enrollment is zooming past the number of male students..it is now just a numbers game and a matter of time before our culture shifts to the feminine..and personally I look forward to that..
    HURRY UP!

    CYBERPETE
    Ɖcoute la...
    I am NOT poking fun at gays I am poking fun at our collective hesitancy and awkwardness at exploring the scientific and cultural reality of the sitch.

    According to the new age of political correctness I am a member of the most vile repulsive selfish ignorant deplorable insensitive group of humanoids on the planet;
    a middle class caucasian male of european descent...
    OMG does it get any f*cking worse than that?

    ReplyDelete
  14. CYBERPETE cont...
    Sorry I was getting a little wound up there..
    what I meant to say when I garbled 'get any worse' UGH...

    was that my own labelling, is the nadir of the human experience du jour and I f*cking resent being generalised too..
    oddly enough.

    GHOSTAY
    Please start lavishing Gautami with praise apparently you have been remiss in your duties and she misses you.

    You're right, this stuff may be accurate and it may be complete bullsh*t, but there is no doubt that we certainly are very complicated sexual animals.

    Asexuals, people who deliberately abstain from having sex, also object to the categorization of asexuality itself as a pathological state.

    This is something that definitely needs to be explored..
    and bottled.

    ReplyDelete
  15. GAY! GAY?
    does that mean I can't be happy anymore?

    "I have never touched another mans penis!"

    ReplyDelete
  16. WHITESNAKE
    Really?
    Not even accidentally at a swingers party?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think science has a long way to go on this one. In a perfect world, this would be pure research for research sake, but as it is, the "why" is important to combat bigotry and misunderstanding.

    ReplyDelete
  18. are there gay snakes? now thats what I wanna know.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gautami! Ill b there...ive lost my head again! thx donn! :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. We have so many other huger problems in the world and people are focusing on the "gay gene." Give it up -- homosexuality has been part of the human race since the beginning.

    Why not eradicate the mass murder gene? Obesity? Stupidity?

    I hardly think homosexuality is worth the battle.

    ReplyDelete
  21. MISS CELLANIA
    There is still a lot of pressure from the Lobbyists of the Religious Right who make it damn near impossible to study anything about the human body because they think that it is UNGODLY to tamper with the CREATION!

    It will happen somewhere else, American Scientists are severely limited by interference from the present Theocracy.
    Stem cell research and cloning are perfect examples.

    GHOSTAY
    Yes there are Gay Snakes on You Tube.

    ANGELA
    The question was why hasn't 'Evolution' found a way to cancel this trait because it would appear to be contrary to the entire system.
    I am sure that in the future this sort of tampering will fall into the wrong hands and will be used to create The Boys From Brazil type scenarios.

    I did not suggest that Society would, could, or should eradicate homosexuality...c'mon now? It's me.

    Geez we've barely started to understand human sexual behavior it's a little early to start making plans.

    I would be in favour of eliminating the mass murderer gene and stupidity..
    although there might not be enough humans left after the cull to maintain a stable healthy population?

    AND I am certainly not going to pick on the Obese. Now that smokers have been sufficiently ostracized, the next group with their heads on the chopping block are the Obese.
    Good Night and Good Luck.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Obviously this issue is emotionally charged and deeply personal to some. Perhaps I had misjudged the fluidity and transparency of the Blogosphere.
    There is a double standard afterall and political correctness is permeating deep into the binary code.

    When the real sh*t hits the fan and push comes to shove, all of this faux acceptance dog and pony show PR charm offensive could evaporate in a heartbeat. When times are tough the mob will grab any and all available scapegosts...and historically speaking we all know who they are.

    I apologize if I offended anyone, it was not my intent, but I don't think that any person, thing, or group, is above being audited.


    I believe that if we cannot discuss things like this our HERE, then there is no f*cking way on earth that it could ever be resolved in the RW.

    C'est ca....
    plus Ƨa change, plus c'est la mĆŖme chose!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I know plenty of gay men and women who have passed on their genes in the regular fashion. But never their jeans or that really trendy gillet that I so want (you know who you are).

    ReplyDelete
  24. /I apologize if I offended anyone, it was not my intent, but I don't think that any person, thing, or group, is above being audited./ I offer auditing services...40 bucks an hour. true blue Asian outsourcing...eh i mean true brown Asian outsourcing. guaranteed free of gay genes. sue me.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous5:21 pm

    Wait, what? If I really love men, it may have some meaning for my sons' sexual orientation? Huh. Not that it would trouble me, just that it's an interesting idea.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous8:09 am

    Politically correct... eh, whatever.

    It is what it is and "they" will never figure it out.

    I'm hooked on your blog over here... where have you been all my blife?

    ReplyDelete
  27. ZIGGI
    Exactly! Nature finds a way doesn't it?

    CITIZEN MONDO
    Apparently it does to some degree anyway...the notion is interesting but the research is obviously in it's infancy.

    I thought that it was interesting how hard Mother Nature fights to prevent Males from being formed in the first place HA!

    CATSCRATCH DIVA
    I've been waiting to find interesting people like you to discuss all of this 'stuff'!

    ANGEL
    Atleast we are starting to ask WHY?
    We prolly won't like the answers that we get either...knowing the way that Humans like to put themselves up on a pedastal.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous1:45 pm

    I honestly just wonder if it's possible that people are born gay, bisexual.....

    What I mean is this.. is in deep within us somewhere that we may be attracted to someone of the same sex and then one day it just comes out?

    Just curious.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Evolution is all about random variety, and non-random selection. Straight people keep creating queer babies, but that hasn't stopped straight people surviving.

    I wonder if Brokeback Mountain might be right, and the human race is kept alive by cocksucking cowboys who go home to their wives for a coupla months a year? I sure would like to see some Intelligent Design scientists get a grant to explore that hypothesis.

    ReplyDelete

Danke fĆ¼r das Kommentieren/Gracias por comentar/Merci du commentaire/Š’Ń‹ Š“Š»Ń ŠŗŠ¾Š¼Š¼ŠµŠ½Ń‚Š°Ń€Šøя/Thank You for commenting/Ī£Ī±Ļ‚ ĪµĻ…Ļ‡Ī±ĻĪ¹ĻƒĻ„ĻŽ Ī³Ī¹Ī± Ļ„Īæ ĻƒĻ‡ĪæĪ»Ī¹Ī±ĻƒĪ¼ĻŒ/Grazie per commentare/Tak for kommentaren...

click yer cursor matey...

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...