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It's all genetic?

  • 20-02-2014 4:10pm
    #1
    wonderfullife
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,924 ✭✭✭


    Interesting article on the BBC site. Quite long but worth a read.

    Case bottom line point being argued is: Being straight is determined primarily by genetics, ditto being gay.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26089486

    I would have thought there is more social construct to sexuality than merely "born this way" but how much is social and how much is genetic i've no clue.


Comments

  • #2
    Ten of Swords
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 24,380 CMod ✭✭✭✭Ten of Swords


    Thanks for posting that, good read. Jeremy Yoder's article, linked within that post, is very interesting.

    Moderator: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender, Vegan & Vegetarian

    Category Moderator: Social & Fun



  • #3
    DazMarz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,493 ✭✭✭DazMarz


    Whatever the arguments there are about the nature vs. nurture debate (ie. are people born gay or is it the result of their upbringing, surroundings and how they are raised that means they are gay), one thing is completely inescapable: it is not a choice. People no more choose being gay than they do the colour of their eyes, the colour of their skin or what their voice sounds like. Your sexuality is not a choice. Nor is anything to do with your sexuality about morals. It is all to do with aesthetics; it's just a question of who you fancy (to quote Trainspotting).

    Personally, I think there are combinations at play. Maybe I'm wrong, but I sincerely believe a lot of it IS predetermined. Born this way, perhaps. I also would think that, to some degree, that nurture has an effect too.

    Case in point; there is a guy from my town who is openly gay, has a boyfriend, etc. Then there is his brother; straight as an arrow. The gay guy ticks a lot of stereotype boxes (dresses flamboyantly, acts very camp, exaggerates a bit of a lisp, is a hairdresser, etc.). His straight brother equally ticks the "straight" stereotype boxes (works in construction, permanently dressed in dirty work clothes or jeans and hoodie when not in work, plays football, etc.).

    Where am I going with this? Well, they both grew up in the same house, with the same parents, with the same siblings, with an awful lot of things the same; schools, childhood friends, and so on. All other things being equal (which they, within reason, are), what made one brother gay and what made one brother straight? The only discernible difference between the two could be at the genetic level. Obviously, there could have been differences in upbringing behind closed doors (maybe the gay brother was doted on far more by his mother, maybe the father was tougher on him, god knows...), but with all the other constants, it's hard to see past the argument that one was born gay, one born straight.

    There will probably never be a conclusive answer to the age-old question regarding nature vs. nurture (and not just in regards to being gay either; is a person born evil or are they made? Are people naturally gifted and intelligent or does upbringing have a lot to bear? etc.). But if nothing else, I think it is very bad for people to assume that being gay is a choice. You do not choose who you fall in love with. You do not choose who you find attractive. The heart and the mind work in very mysterious and in many cases not-as-yet-understood ways.

    I am not trying to inflame a reaction here, but if people were given a choice about their sexuality, what would the outcome be? If only for an easier life, most people would probably choose to be straight. Let's be honest, it is the easy "choice" (if such a choice existed). But thankfully, in many parts of the world at least, it is becoming easier and easier to be gay/bi/lesbian/transgender/Australian. Soon, it will be a case that it will be no more an issue if someone is gay than if they are blond or brunette.

    When I was younger, when I first started to have those feelings, I was confused and terrified. The worst thing for a 15 year old guy was to be "different". To fancy guys and girls alike. You would wish anything to be "normal". You know in your heart and soul that you didn't choose it. It is part of what you are. You no more choose being gay or bi or lesbian than you choose what height you are.

    But it is not WHO you are. You're still you. You are still the same person you always were. But to quote Big Daddy, you just watch a different kind of porn. :P


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