Will They Make Us Extinct?
Research into the genetics of sexual orientation is controversial. Religious leaders who believe that sexual orientation is a choice argue that such research is an attempt to legitimize homosexuality; others worry that a detailed knowledge of the genetics underlying homosexuality will open the door to genetic engineering that prevents it.
But Bocklandt doesn’t think these concerns should prevent scientists from asking the basic question of whether homosexuality has an underlying genetic component to it or not.
“I have no doubt that at some point we’ll be able to manipulate all sorts of aspects of our personality and physical appearance,” Bocklandt said. “I think if there’s ever a time when we can make these changes for sexual orientation, then we will also be able to do it for intelligence or musical skills or certain physical characteristics — but whether or not these things are allowed to happen is something that society as a whole has to decide. It’s not a scientific question.” (source)
With all the issues we are facing with marriage and now adoption (16 states are looking at outlawing adoption for same-sex couples), I have to believe that, if they do eventually isolate the sequencing that makes someone a homosexual, we will be no more.
It’s a sobering thought to ponder that if I were being examined after conception and they found my genetic makeup to be homosexual, I would have been aborted. But then again, I guess I wouldn’t know about the life that was taken from me, would I?
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Long ago, in a physiological psychology class, I learned that the hypothalamus might play a role in whether or not a person was predisposed to homosexuality. I couldn’t remember much of what was taught in that class, so I Googled it. I found a pretty good paper [pdf]that discusses the subject, but the site where I found it was a little surprising. It’s a Presbyterian Church in South Africa, and if you follow this link you will find a LOT of papers concerning homosexuality and how it relates to psychology and biology. I have only read the first paper, Biological Basis of Homosexuality but I intend to read the rest.
I certainly hope you are right Fritz.
I always bring this up during any debate about homosexuality and genetics...
I am an identical twin. I am gay. My twin is straight. Same DNA. We were once a single zygote that split in two. Something made me turn out gay. And, there are other differences between us.
I was born with a purple birthmark on the back of my neck. My dad has the same birthmark. So, obviously I inherited it from him. However, my twin doesn't have the birthmark. For some reason, he didn't inherit it -- or did he?
My brother's son has the birthmark. That means that my brother does carry the gene(s) that results in the birthmark. He passed it on to his son even though it he doesn't appear to have it.
Isn't it possible that homosexuality is similar to this birthmark? Something made the birthmark gene(s) express themselves in me and not my brother. Perhaps the gay genes expressed themselves in me the same way. Or, perhaps there was something that repressed them in my brother -- depending on how you want to look at it.
I believe we'll eventually discover that there is a gay gene or genes that can't simply be extracted from the human race. Since gay people appear in every human population, it must be something closely related to what makes us human. A slight variation in the womb or the environment during early development switches it on.