Same-sex sexual behaviour presents a paradox: it’s influenced by genes, but how and why do these genes continue to be passed down the generations? One theory is they have reproductive benefits too.
We propose same-sex attraction evolved to allow greater social integration and stronger same-sex social bonds.
SHUTTERSTOCK
Scientists don’t ask how some people evolved to be tall. In the same way, asking how homosexuality evolved is the wrong question. We need to ask how human sexuality evolved in all its forms.
No, a DNA swab can’t tell you if you’re gay, or likely to be obese, or depressed. And it can be damaging to believe so.
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Genetic apps claim to reveal fundamental insights about your health, well-being, and even intellect. But it’s not just spurious science - believing these traits are genetic can have harmful consequences.
The biology of same-sex attraction seems to involve a host of genes.
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The largest study of its kind - comparing the genetic sequences of almost half a million people - has revealed many different parts of our genetic code that seem to influence same-sex sexual behaviour.
A wide diversity of sexuality is normal – and fun.
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Mate choice is one of the most highly selected traits in any animal. Just ask a fruitfly, which devotes a large share of its genes to choosing and attracting a mate.
Young gay teens forced into conversion “therapy” may suffer mental health issues.
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The history of “cures” for homosexuality reveals how discredited conversion therapies for gay and transgender children can irreparably harm young minds.
If sexual orientation is not static, where does that leave ‘Born This Way?’
Steve Baker
Current conversion therapies can’t effectively switch someone’s sexual orientation. But there could be a time down the road when neuroscience can do what they can’t. Where does that leave gay rights?
Rather than there being a single ‘gay gene’, there may be many which contribute to sexual preference.
Sasha Kargaltsev/Flickr
The claim that homosexual men share a “gay gene” created a furore in the 1990s. But new research two decades on supports this claim – and adds another candidate gene. To an evolutionary geneticist, the…