Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

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Could also be incomplete penetrance. i.e. not everyone who have a genetic susceptibility for cancer gets cancer.

And along those lines, homosexuality is most likely due to some gene x environment interaction, not unlike just about everything else about us.

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OOT - I thought the above statement was the general understanding of sexual preference. No?

Side-note: I just looked at the 2000 Census Bureau, and it says that 1.6% of the US population identifies themselves as gay / bisexual, from which you can reasonably infer that assuming some level of accuracy (and that everyone who is actually gay / bisexual identifies him or herself as such) that something like 2 out of 100 people are gay?

Does that seem low to you? About right?

-Al

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

I was watching my daughter's choir concert a few weeks back and noticed one of the boys. Kid is 9 or 10. Seemed a bit peculiar. Then it struck me that this kid is gay. I know not all gays act in the stereotypical "gay" way, but this kid had all the mannerisms down and he wasn't doing it on purpose, it was just the way he was. I'll bet money this kid turns out to be gay. So I'm betting on it being genetic/hereditary.

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

My vote is biological.
Most of the evidence I've seen points towards a genetic component coupled with hormones released in the womb during pregnancy.

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

I know two people who act in this effeminate way and I would swear to God they were gay except that I know them personally and they are not.

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

If it is, then serial killers and pedophiles are also this way because of genes.

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

Serial killers, pedophiles, and homosexuals.

"Ok class, can someone tell me which of these are not like the other two?"

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

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Serial killers, pedophiles, and homosexuals.

"Ok class, can someone tell me which of these are not like the other two?"

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It's not a ridiculous statement though. Studies have been done.

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

Actually, after I posted it, I COULDN'T tell which of these was not like the other.

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

Dibitter has the right answer as to how it could be hereditary: recessive gene or genes, and possibly the genes confer some sort of evolutinary advantage to monozygotic individuals. I think at this point the scientific answer is "insufficient evidence". I believe that there have been some twin studies done: If being gay is totally genetic, both identical twins would always be gay.

IIRC, there was a fairly high conordence rate, but it wasn't 100%. Also, if both twins were raised by the same parents, it's hard to determine whether the fact that both twins are gay is due to heredity or upbringing. It is possible to look at both fraternal and identical twins. If the concordence rate is higher in identical twins, that's an indication that genetics are a factor. As with many things in human behavior, it's likely that it's a combination of genetics and environment: There may be a gene or genes that crate a predisposition to be gay, but social factors may trigger it. A lot of gay people say they knew they were different from a very early age. However, it's hard to say whether this is real, or a rationalization for a choice which carries qutie a bit of social stigma.

Okay, here's a question for the christian right types. If it can be determined through genetic testing that there is a 80% probability that an unborn child will be gay, should that child be aborted?

Re: Is Being Gay Hereditary/Genetic?
 

No fate but the one we make.