Thursday, November 24, 2016

The Gay Gene Debate

As science continues to become more and more advanced, the more it shows itself in people. For example, we have come to a point to where there is indication of genes being responsible for alcoholism, drug addiction, and mental illness. This information is breaking down myths and barriers within our society that once primarily used "Satan" as the explanation of these behavioral problems. One group of people that have been the target of a lot of religious hatred is the LBGTQ community. With science, however, people are starting to realize that interactions of genes could explain why homosexuality occurs.

In a particular study to investigate this, 456 men were selected out of 146 families with 2 or more gay brothers. A pattern was observed on chromosomes 7 and 8 (inherited from either parent) and 10 (inherited from the mother) that occurred in 60% of gay males in the study. It's important to note that they expected a 50% chance of this happening, but it clearly higher than that. The study included that more studies should be conducted to verify these results, but it's promising data nonetheless (WebMD, 2005). 

Another interesting study by Dr. Tuck C Ngun and the University of California were able to measure genetic modifications that occurred after birth in gay and straight men and created an algorithmic test that could predict their sexual orientation with an accuracy of 70%. He studied 37 male twins where one was straight and the other was gay, while he observed 10 gay male twins to do the study, He applied certain genetic research, like detecting the Xq28 marker on the X chromosome, a marker associated with homosexuality (Tatchell, 2015). Being able to detect someone's sexual orientation 7 out of 10 times with something as complex as sexual attraction through a DNA blood test is making big strides on this issue.

Image result for Gay gene


This test came out a little over a year ago and can only get better at this point. Our understanding of homosexuality and genetics are correlating more effectively and it begs the question, why are people in denial of this? Even if these genetic modification occurred after birth, it doesn't mean that they chose to be gay. The modifications could have been predetermined. In any case, It is unfair to persecute them for something out of their control. Most people have very little control of who they are attracted to, gay or straight. Science is dispelling the homophobic undertones of society with these studies one step at a time and one day, perhaps homophobia can be defeated and science emerge victorious.


References

Tatchell, P. (2015, October). The latest 'gay gene' study gives no comfort to homophobes. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/11922975/The-latest-gay-gene-study-gives-no-comfort-to-homophobes.html

WebMD. (2005). Is There a 'Gay Gene'? Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20050128/is-there-gay-gene?page=2

1 comment:

  1. The results of this experiment will hopefully be very helpful in teaching others how people who are LGBTQ+ do not choose to be that way, and is out of their control. This is similar to how people have different eye colors, hair colors, blood types, and other traits that make up their phenotype which is determined by an uncontrollable genotype. Nobody would discriminate against blue-eyed or dark-haired people, so why should they discriminate against somebody who is LGBTQ+? However, this study could also prove to be detrimental, as somebody who has an autoimmune disease due to their genotype can receive treatment, so those who are against LGBTQ+ groups could argue that "treatment" (such as harmful conversion therapy) can be used for them as well to "treat" their phenotype.

    ReplyDelete