The Gene that Dare Not Speak its Name
Way back in The Disease that Dare Not Speak its Name, I blogged about the disease theory of (male) homosexuality. GeekPress has linked a recent Globe article about the state of research into the elusive gay gene, indicating that environmental factors in the womb may be the answer.
August 24th, 2005 at 12:49 am
Interesting article. I’d agree with the theory that there’s something an anomaly in the mother’s X chrom. that’s stopping the activation of the father’s Y chrom. Interestingly enough, according to Islamic teachings, the birth of an effeminate offspring is associated with the mother conceiving while she is menstrating, and other factors. It would be interesting to research how many affected children there are whose mom’s fall under that category.
August 24th, 2005 at 12:58 am
Actually, I should state, that that is just one of the factors. And so, in Islamic teachings, being ‘gay” is believed to be something you are born as, and not the nurture point of view. But of course, even Islamic moderates wouldn’t allow for homosexual activities to be religiously acceptable, they just believe that its one of the many “inner demons” one may be born with, and may have to struggle with.
August 25th, 2005 at 10:26 pm
I’m sorry your second comment was trapped in the spam filter for a while.
The Islamic approach to homosexual activities sounds similar to that of other religions, although I think the hardest part for secular people to understand is why homosexual activity should be discouraged in the first place–regardless of whether the tendency in inborn.
I didn’t think it was possible to conceive during menstruation, although I’ve heard it is possible to appear to menstruate after conception–in which case I image prenatal conditions wouldn’t be at their best.