[lbo-talk] Re: Instinct

[Miles Jackson]

Arash wrote:
>>No, the gay-bashers will just redefine homosexuality as a genetic 
>>abnormality and advocate gene therapy to "correct" this genetic 
>>disorder.  (I'm not kidding.)  
> 
> 
> Good luck trying to figure out a gene therapy for homosexuality.  We're a
> long way from figuring out all the genes that could contribute to
> homosexuality let alone a gene therapy that would alter behavior.  That's
> even if homosexuality is rooted in genetics and not some other biological
> factor like exposure to hormones in the womb.  But taking a look at the
> compelling case for homosexuality's biological roots, such as with
> concordance in twin studies, does illustrate the particular stupidity and
> cruelty involved in these Christian right social reprogramming attempts.

No, you don't get it.  It doesn't matter if it's possible to "figure out 
a gene therapy"; anti-gay bigots will simply use any claim about the 
biological roots of homosexuality to reinforce their preexisting belief 
that homosexuality is an aberration.  --And just as genetic flaws like 
myopia can be "corrected" with contacts or glasses, the genetic flaw of 
homosexuality will be corrected (with a little help from God).  Don't 
you see that it doesn't matter whether or not you or I think this 
perspective is stupid?  It's important to recognize that within the 
gay-bashers' culture, "curing" gays is not cruel, it's the work of God, 
and saying that homosexuality is biological won't change that ideology.

Also, the concordance in twin studies does not provide a "compelling 
case for homosexuality's biological roots"; in fact, it demonstrates 
that sexual orientation is not genetically determined.  Yes, the 
concordance rate for gay/lesbian sexual orientation is higher for 
monozygotic twins than it is for dizygotic twins; that suggests a 
genetic influence.  However, the concordance rate for monozygotic 
twins--genetic clones!--is only around 50%.  This means that I can be a 
genetic clone of a gay man, and I am just as likely to be straight as I 
am to be gay.

I gotta preach it again: this whole "root" or "underneath" metaphor for 
biology has been contradicted time and time again by research on human 
behavior patterns, including sexuality.  Sexuality is a product of a 
complex interplay of genetic, biological, psychological, social, and 
cultural factors (did I leave anything out)?  There's no "root" here to 
discover, just the strands that make up the patterns in the behavioral 
fabric.

Miles