well, it would be tough to pass it down the paternal side, now wouldn't it?

Quoted: Gotta disagree with some of you. Most fags are fags from birth. They act wierd from the start. The people who turned out gay in my school were not a shock to anyone. Now - there are some people who are bisexual or gay by choice. But that is a small percentage. I think women "gays" are more likely to be experimental and try it out. I have a gay uncle - and it something he struggles with all the time. Hes even Catholic. He would give his left nut to be straight. You cant deny who you are. He takes drugs(anti-depressents) and drinks like a fish because of his depression from being basically a hated fag. Sure, I guess one could abstain, but its easier said than done. Lets see one of you abstain for your whole life. Everyone needs love.

You are thinking in absolutes.

During my medical phase in life  I've known a few hermorphodites.  These people were genetic and split 50/50 on sexual partner preference.  These were people who's actual X/Y choromozones were in shift.  Their actually bodies changed gaining physical traits of the gender they were switching to, however I saw no rhyme or reason to their sexual partner sexual preference.   Maybe later, I don't know.  There are people though very rare that genuinely have phsiological gender issues.

Homosexuality as an absolute is almost impossible for me to put a finger on.  For example most couples not just flings I have known in life have had one male and one female characteristic partner though the same sex.  You see this more in lesbian relationships than males even.  

I can actually put more common traits not on phsyiology but behaviour and experience.  For example most gay men I have known have had a strange fixation with their mothers usually adoring them to the point of being almost sexual and rarely have a fixation on their father.  I admit I haven't met any that admitted to me personaly of being sexually assaulted by their father as a child but "Diddling" as they called it with other older boys was a common theme and most at an age considered child abuse though I got very few indications they saw it as such.  I have little doubt how one is raised and early childhood experiences has a major impact on tendencies.  You raise a boy as a girl you shouldn't be surprised if he acts like girl in many aspects and the inverse is true for girls.  

Ego plays a hell of a role in chosing the gay lifestyle.  For you see any guy can bed a girl but it takes a guy quite confident in their sexuality to feel he can have a guy.  I've known gay guys that claimed they could "Diddle" with any man they saw and they were dead serious about it.  Now that's ego.  You see this very much in people who are taken in their professions and appearence.  Vanity plays a role in the choice.  I'm not surprised in the least movie actors are such avid supporters of the gay lifestyle.  

As you can see much of my opinion is not based on what I have read but who I have known.  I lived in Houston for ten years which has the second highest gay population in the US second only to San Fran.  

You see I accepted freedom of choice long long ago when gays were still in the closet.  Not my thing but not a major turn off for me either. It was at one time but I out grew it.  The overt sexuality like kissing bothers me but then I don't care for hetrosexuals being overt about their sexuality either.  

You see to tolerate or accept the gay lifestyle first you must be very confident and comfortable in your sexual preference and choice.  Once you are, you don't feel threatened by others.  Maybe one day I can not feel sorry for their choice and them as people but I doubt it in my lfietime.  The social stignma isn't going away overnight and IMHO studies like this one, flaming fairies, and cram it down your throat political correctness hurts that acceptance and doesn't help it.

I'm not a flaming homophobe and I don't claim it but live it.  Some of the best employees I have ever had have been gay.  I wouldn't be stupid enough to put them in outside sales though.

Tj

Quoted: Many mainstream people in academia (as opposed to the lunatic fringe) believe that there is both a genetic and "learned" component.

In my experience, this is absolutely true.  Working in the Bay Area, and particularly in San Fran, I've worked with and associated with a LOT of gay and lesbian people.

Some of them were born homosexual, and knew their inclination from the time they were children.  Many tried to act otherwise, dating people of the opposite gender to fit in, but were always gay.

Others were molested as children, and the trauma of that "flipped a switch" in them that "reset" their sexual orientation.  Many of these people specifically are attracted to the type of person who molested them, or to people who are the extreme opposite of the person who molested them.

It's also very clear that the vast majority of men are either totally straight or totally gay, with very few in the middle (a deep bell curve), while with women, the curve is much flatter.

As far as the genetics go, it makes sense.  We know that both animals and humans evolve, and we also know that part of that occurs through genetic mutation over time.  That is normal and healthy to the human race overall, if not always to the individual.

Many children with birth defects never reproduce, yet new children with those same birth defects are born every day, so simply not reproducing the trait sexually doesn't mean that it will disappear entirely, at least not fast enough for us to notice it.

Why is it so hard to believe that homosexuality is a (recessive) genetic trait, or perhaps a genetic defect?  Why is it easier to accept that birth marks, bad skin, big feet, or cleft pallets are genetic?  Why is it easier to accept that some people are born *smart*, and some are born *not so bright*, and some have an amazing gift in one particular area but are failures in others?

StonerStudent made a great point: if you believe that homosexuality is just a choice in behavior, then you believe that YOU have the capability to be a homosexual yourself.  I know I don't; I'm attracted to women, and have always been, and there's nothing I could do about that.  I didn't choose to be attracted to women, I just am.  A gay person similarly doesn't choose his or her attraction, it's just there.  Granted, in some, it was a result of early childhood trauma, but by the onset of puberty, the attraction is what it is.

No one is saying that you have to embrace homosexuality as "normal", anymore than you'd embrace cancer or MS as "normal."  But understand it for what it is.

-Troy

Quoted: I dunno...I don't think a mom makes her son gay, but I do wonder how it happens.

How would you explain other genetic "birth defects"?  How do those happen?

And, BTW, while the gene in question may be the female gene in this case, as baldness may be part of the male gene, don't look at CAUSE as "blame."  If your kid has red hair, flat feet, or droopy eyes, you (or your mate) may be the genetic "cause", but there is no *blame* to be associated with those things.

-Troy