My opinion is that these identities are not a choice, and that these are the product of genetic pairing during the fertilization and cell division during gestation. Simply put - I believe there is a gay gene, or a bisexual gene, or a gene that holds the sexual qualities of an individual, and that this occurs once a zygote is formed and cell division starts to take place - not a choice made at some point after childbirth after the DNA is complete.
Science is tricky, because you have to somehow convince someone ignorant or just plain old stubborn that a scientific theory is much more plausible than their opinion. I had this whole comparison of this topic to that of the recent (and not so recent) MMR vaccine craziness going around but it got too long so I will save it for another post. Bottom line - ignorance of science is dangerous to society.
This brings us back to the topic at hand. There are people at all levels of our society that believe homosexuality is a choice, and that does not afford them the liberty to be protected by discrimination. If we continue to allow discrimination for homosexuals, then 10, 20, 50 years from now homosexuals will still be bullied, turned away, shunned, and regarded as lesser citizens under the law. This will happen because a lot of people still think homosexuality is a choice, much of it fueled by their religious beliefs, and they vote for political candidates that believe homosexuality is a choice, and there are a lot of rich people who believe the same thing, and they give the same political candidates a lot of money to keep their stance on opposing legislation protecting homosexuals from discrimination.
The science behind the "gay gene" is a theory. However, I believe there is a lot of logic - simple logic, behind the theory that far outweighs the opinion. This is what I had to say:
Sexual attraction is biological. For
heterosexuals, we are attracted to potential mates, whether we have that
intention or not. A woman's attraction to a man is increased the week prior to
her period, where she is most fertile. Men are similarly attracted to women
during this time. Pheromones are produced by an increase in estrogen that
occurs during this increased fertile phase that prompts a reaction from males.
Even the females breasts become larger to attract a mate during this time. A
study was conducted that concluded that exotic dancers that worked during their most
fertile period made much more money than those who weren't. Alternatively,
women are attracted to men that produce more testosterone than others. Perhaps
the answer to why "women only date assholes" is because they produce
more testosterone. You may have a preferable physical attraction
to someone but this is most likely due to lust and not due to the desire to
reproduce. You have more fun having sex with someone that has your preferable
physical qualities, but you don't necessarily want to have a child with them.
Now, you may eventually have a child with this person, but in biology, the
desire to mate is innate - you want to reproduce with the most optimal mate.
This is connected to Darwinism, as well. I'm assuming you have had multiple
girlfriends (or boyfriends, for heterosexual female readers). Have you ever
noticed that their natural scents are different; that you are attracted to one
of your partner's scents over another? It has been discovered that scent
attraction is related to genetic compatibility. The stronger the attraction to
someone based off of their natural scent the more compatible those two
heterosexual people's genes are - that is, they have less of a risk of passing
on genetic disorders or weaknesses to their offspring.
So, why am I bringing all of this up?
I'd suspect that just like heterosexual couples are attracted to each other
because of genetic factors, homosexual couples are attracted to each other for
the exact opposite reason - they do not have the desire to mate with whom they
desire is the most able partner. They don't receive scents that draw them to
the perfect or near perfect match. Their genetic makeup does not give them the
desire to be attracted to the opposite sex. Homosexuality occurs often in
nature. There are hundreds of species of animals that show homosexual
tendencies, and also don't feel the desire to mate. Would you say that these
animals also choose to be homosexual or heterosexual?
I conclude with this: DNA is a very
complicated part of our body. The development of it is even more complicated. A
strand of DNA consists of millions of base pairs which are molecules of
guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine (not important, but these molecule consist
of many hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen bonds, so even more elements). These are folded over each other
in different patterns that produce unique DNA structures. These structures of
base pairs are combined with protein to create genes, and ultimately
chromosomes. Humans have 23 paired chromosomes (46 chromosomes per cell) with a
total of about 3 billion base pairs of DNA, and anywhere from 20,000 - 25,000
genes. 22 of these paired chromosomes are autosomes - which carry most of the
hereditary information. The final chromosome is the allosome, or the sex
chromosome. This chromosome determines sex, and sexual traits. All 22 autosomes
are XX chromosomes. The allosome can either be an XX chromosome (female) or an
XY chromosome (male). The sperm carries an X and a Y chromosome, but only
provides one chromosome during cell division (there is a 51% chance of passing
the Y chromosome and 49% of passing the X). The 46 chromosomes are formed when
a sperm carrying 23 single chromosome fertilizes an ovum carrying the other 23
chromosomes, then these pair up. The 23rd chromosome is either X or Y, while
the 23rd chromosome of the female is always X (meaning we were all female until
the point of fertilization). So, with all the combinations of our genetic
material, and considering the sex determining chromosome has nearly 50 genes
and 58 million base pairs (male) to 800 genes and 155 million base pairs
(female), don't you think there could be a combination in there that produces a
gene that determines whether a male will be sexually attracted to another male,
and similarly female to male, or both, or neither?
Remember, Genes are not
predetermined, and no one gene is alike (unless you are twins) certainly I
don't have a gene in my body that is exactly like a gene in your body. These
genes develop during gestation, and are completely unique. I'd say it would be
most improbable, if not impossible for there to be a single human that was NOT
homosexual, bisexual, or asexual.
