The Science Of Sexual Orientation - biological not learned

Liberated Christians
Cyber Swing/Polyamory Resource Center
Promoting Intimacy and Other-Centered Sexuality

The Science Of Sexual Orientation
CBS 60 Minutes Report 3/12/06
Makes it clear that sexual orientation is biological.

They talked to top researchers around the world and many studies being done that show sexual orientation is established probably in the womb yet the exact cause is still not known. It can't be all genetic since they interviewed some identical twins where from childhood it was clear one was more feminine and turned out to be gay when older vs the other very straight. Both were raised in same environment. Many other examples showed how a child is raised has nothing to do with his ultimate sexual orientation.

Best evidence is that it is caused by hormones in the womb. One researcher was able to make straight rats gay like using rather obvious characteristic by injecting them with testosterone at birth.

A surprising finding that has been verified in many independent studies is that the more older male brothers a child has the more likely later children will be gay. A first-born son has about a 2 percent chance of being gay, and the numbers rise from there. Each older brother increases the chances by a third that the next child will be gay - but only if the child is right handed. One theory is that in the womb, the male fetus has male components that is foreign to the women's body and therefore antibodies are produced. There are some proteins encoded on his Y chromosome that her body has never seen before and that her immune system would be expected to regard as invaders, With each child more antibodies and more likely a male fetus will have more feminine characterizes which results in being gay in later life. But since its tied to left or right handedness other parts of the brain are involved not just hormones.

The exact reasons for being gay is still a mystery, but there are now clues. No similar patterns have been found for lesbians, that is still a total mystery.

What is clear, is that from about 18 months on they way children move, talk, and their interests are clearly related to whether they will be gay or straight when they mature. Also clear is sexual orientation is biological, not any choice (unless one is bisexual) or how someone is raised. This also shows why the terrible Christian Change them ministries that to so much harm for those created as God made them (Gay) have been such failures. You simply can not change something as intrinsic as natural sexual orientation. Short term you can guilt people into repression of their sexuality, but like trying to keep teenagers celibate it is unnatural and can only be repressed for as short period of time with unneeded guilt. Of course these Christians are totally ignorant biblically since understood in the culture and the original language there is absolutely nothing wrong with being gay in the first place.

Complete transcript at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/09/60minutes/main1385230.shtml