They say no one is born gay but

There is no single gene responsible for a person being gay or a lesbian.

The Born Gay’ Myth

This means they can still claim it is effectively an immutable trait once established. By Sara Reardon. In geneticist Dean Hamer of the U. But Hamer, now retired, disagrees. Science says: No one is born gay. The research has limitations: almost all of the participants were from the U.

Still, researchers welcome the data. Actually, it is more accurate to say, “The available science is inconsistent with the claim that people are born gay.” I made the deliberate overstatement to dramatize a point: We are being conned with ideology masquerading as science.

Now a new study claims to dispel the notion that a single gene or handful of genes make a person prone to same-sex behavior. No matter why those genes are still around, we do know that being gay is partly genetic and partly determined before a baby is even born.

When the researchers looked at the overall genetic similarity of individuals who had had a same-sex experience, genetics seemed to account for between 8 and 25 percent of the behavior. So although it is true no one is born gay or an alcoholic, environmental factors can trigger it and once triggered, it is a seemingly permanent disposition.

His study, which analyzed the genomes of 40 pairs of gay brothers, looked exclusively at people who identified as homosexual. Yet some researchers question whether the analysis, which looked at genes associated with sexual activity rather than attraction, can draw any real conclusions about sexual orientation.

Again, just like alcoholism, those who develop it will struggle with it for a lifetime. Few aspects of human biology are as complex—or politically fraught—as sexual orientation. Two of these genetic markers sit close to genes linked to sex hormones and to smell—both factors that may play a role in sexual attraction.

Other studies have linked sexual orientation with environmental factors such as hormone exposure before birth and having older brothers. But taken together, these five markers explained less than 1 percent of the differences in sexual activity among people in the study.

In the new study, a team led by Brendan Zietsch of the University of Queensland, Australia, mined several massive genome data banks, including that of 23andMe and the UK Biobank 23andMe did not fund the research. This tells us that sexual orientation isn’t a learned behavior or a choice.

The rest was presumably a result of environmental or other biological influences. That’s the first thing you need to know about the largest genetic investigation of sexuality ever, which was published. The study will not be the last word on the vexing question of what causes homosexuality, however.

The analysis, which examined the genomes of nearly half a million men and women, found that although genetics are certainly involved in who people choose to have sex with, there are no specific genetic predictors. We are being consistently told that science says “being gay” is an inborn immutable trait of an individual that is.

By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. A massive study of half a million people finds no single gene behind sexual orientation, adding more evidence that there is no “gay gene”.

He sees the new paper as an analysis of risky behavior or openness to experience, noting that participants who engaged in at least one same-sex experience were also more likely to report having smoked marijuana and having more sexual partners overall. They asked more thanparticipants whether they had ever had sex with someone of the same sex, and also questions about sexual fantasies and the degree to which they identified as gay or straight.

Controversial results released in suggested a genetic link between bisexuality and risk-takingbut many researchers found flaws in the methodology. If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. The researchers found five single points in the genome that seemed to be common among people who had had at least one same-sex experience.

Despite the associations, the authors say that the genetic similarities still cannot show whether a given individual is gay. The handful of genetic studies conducted in the past few decades have looked at only a few hundred individuals at most—and almost exclusively men.

The findings were published August 30,in Science.