Homosexuality

when I started writing this morning, I began with the intention of proving that Homosexuality was related to the genes. But the more I read, the more I find that there is no such proof. Scientists have not been able to link Homosexuality with a specific gene. Here are some interesting stuff I found.

What the leading scientists say ....

American Psychological Association

"[M]any scientists share the view that sexual orientation is shaped for most people at an early age through complex interactions of biological, psychological and social factors."

The American Psychological Association's pamphlet, "Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality."

"Gay Brain" Researcher Simon LeVay

"At this point, the most widely held opinion [on causation of homosexuality] is that multiple factors play a role."

LeVay, Simon (1996). Queer Science, MIT Press.

Dennis McFadden, University of Texas neuroscientist

"Any human behavior is going to be the result of complex intermingling of genetics and environment. It would be astonishing if it were not true for homosexuality."

"Scientists Challenge Notion that Homosexuality's a Matter of Choice," The Charlotte Observer, August 9, 1998.

Sociologist Steven Goldberg

"I know of no one in the field who argues that homosexuality can be explained without reference to environmental factors."

Goldberg, Steven (1994). When Wish Replaces Thought: Why So Much of What You Believe is False. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books.

The following is a comment from Dean Hamer, whose research in 1993 started the whole thing about the gay gene

"Gay gene" researcher Dean Hamer was asked by Scientific American if homosexuality was rooted solely in biology. He replied:

"Absolutely not. From twin studies, we already know that half or more of the variability in sexual orientation is not inherited. Our studies try to pinpoint the genetic factors...not negate the psychosocial factors."

"New Evidence of a 'Gay Gene'," by Anastasia Toufexis, Time, November 13, 1995, vol. 146, Issue 20, p. 95.

This is the summary from chapter 9. My Genes Made Me Do It! - A Scientific Look at Sexual Orientation.
" We can confidently predict half a dozen linkages will be “discovered” between genes and behavior eachyear. But the important lesson is this: any linkages probably affect only a small proportion of people to a veryminor extent. The scientific community realizes that “our genes do not make us do it”. Hamer has always believedthat. To give him the last word: “There will never be a test that will say for certain whether a child will be gay.We know that for certain.”18 This means as clearly as anyone could state, that no-one is born gay. Proponents of the view that homosexuality has psychological and sociological explanations have no difficulty with the possibility of genetic linkages to homosexuality. Any genetic link to a physical characteristic that might heighten a person’s sense of gender nonconformity (the strongest known predictor of later homosexuality), could be held to be a contributing factor to later homosexuality. In a boy these might be, for example, genes related to slightness of build, lack of physical co-ordination (making a boy poor at sports), sensitivity. In a girl they might be factors like atypical physical strength, height, or weight. Links? Yes, butweak and indirect.

http://www.mygenes.co.nz/

TWIN STUDIES

Jones & Yarhouse (2000) re-calculated the pairwise concordance from the original data in Bailey’s paper. They find for identical twins (male or female) that if one has SSA the chances of the second one or co-twin having SSA are 11% for either gender - only 1 time in 9. Here is how the final (pairwise) concordances look:





In other words, it is the overwhelming norm that if one identical twin has SSA, the other usually doesn’t. Since identical twins have identical genes the conclusion is inescapable – we are mostly not born gay, and genes are not much responsible. This is not just a test for the influence of genes, but a test for the influence of any common factors before birth, common womb environment, for example. The effect shown in the figure includes all common factors before birth. Born gay? No. http://www.mygenes.co.nz/WilsonRahman.htm


You can find interesting links here if you want to read more scientific stuff relating to homosexuality

The Qur'an and Homosexuality

There are five references in the Qur'an which have been cited as referring to gay and lesbian behavior. Some obviously deal with effeminate men and "masculine women." The two main references to homosexual behavior are:

"We also sent Lut : He said to his people : "Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women: ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds." Qur'an 7:80-81

"What! Of all creatures do ye come unto the males, and leave the wives your Lord created for you? Nay, but ye are forward folk." Qur'an 26:165

Both references relate to gay sexual activities; lesbian practices are not mentioned in the Qur'an.

Make what you want to make of this, I am no religious scholar, but it seems pretty clear cut to me. (WINK)

The Hadith and homosexuality

(1) The Prophet (saws) said: (1) "Kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets if be done to him." (Tirmidhi, a sahih (authentic) hadith)

(2) "May Allah curse him who does that Lot's people did." (Ibn Hibban, sahih (authentic))

(3) "Lesbianism by women is adultery between them." (Tabarani, sahih)"

Taken from the Reliance of the Traveller, transltaed by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, p 664-665.

And in different schools of islam . . .

The Hanafite school (currently seen mainly in South and Eastern Asia) teaches that no physical punishment is warranted.

The Hanabalites, (widely followed in the Arab world) teach that severe punishment is warranted.

The Sha'fi school of thought (also seen in the Arab world AND IN MALDIVES ) requires a minimum of 4 adult male witnesses before a person can be found guilty of a homosexual act.

If you want more on Qur'anic verses on this issue

Homosexuality and Athena

Sorry dudes and dudettes, I am unfortunately not homosexual nor bisexual. But, I do have friends who are if that counts.

I have nothing against or for homosexuals. For me they are just people like you and me. hmm maybe not you. but yeah you know what I mean. I don't see how people can take a moral high ground and point their fingers. Nobody is pure, everybody has their own things. Why worry about Homosexuals when you have your own stuff to deal with? I say let them be, let each us of be. Respect each other. If its not something you want to associate yourself with, them by all means go away, but don't you start chating the evils of homosexuality. They are not harming anyone.

LIVE AND LET LIVE ...