Sunday, April 20, 2008

What Will Tomorrow Bring: The Gay Gene

Brace yourself now, I'm about to say something not-so-PC. Let me just say I'm not judging, I'm not criticizing, nor am I condoning.


Okay, here goes. We will someday find scientific proof that there is a gay gene. Actually, we'll probably find more than one. We will further discover that these genes appear in the DNA of more than just the members of the Ten Percent Club who actually experience the same-sex desire. We'll discover that it's a spectrum, not a lightswitch. We'll discover that some people work harder to push themselves toward one end or the other. But most powerfully, we'll discover that environmental factors such as upbringing, role models, social experiences, sexual experiences all influence whether (or how many) gay genes gets expressed. By this, I mean someone could have a fairly "strong" set of gay genes but legitimately never experience the associated desires because nothing in that person's past has "opened the door" for the genes to step out.

One day, when medicine has stepped into the 21st century (more about that soon), this will be science, not conjecture.

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