There are roughly 100,000 genes in the human genome, and it has been suggested that 25,000 affect psychological and behavioural activity. The idea of just one gene is not plausible. Furthermore doubt is beginning to be cast on the idea of a direct linear effect between gene and behaviour. There are environmental mediating factors sometimes in the genes expression. Further in terms of most forms of sexual expression we are talking about a process of interaction. It therefore takes place in a matrix of assumptions and introjections arising out of a social iterative process. That's even before it comes to attention and gets conceptualized.
Chris Burford
London
At 10:42 10/02/99 -0500, Rakesh quoted:
>"It is worth a moment's reflection as to what sort of genetic system would
>be involved if it ever turned out that homosexuality is genetically
>determined. We would have to accomodate, within the same system of
>genotype/phenotype transformation, the Native American berdachs, the Celts,
>and the ancient Greeks, as well as the homophobic society of today's US.
>What sort of genetic basis could account for all of these patterns? If
>homosexuality were genetically determined, it would take a very complex
>genetic system indeed to be able to account for all these forms. On the
>other hand, we can say that with a great deal of confidence, although
>rather trivially, that if genes are involved, we all have the gay gene
>(since several societies are or have been almost completely homosexaul in
>the sense that virtually all of the males regularly engage in homosexual
>activities, all male members of the society must carry those genes)."
>
>John van der Meer, Reconstructing Biology. Wiley, 1996, p. 195