A recent research revealed that there is no single ‘gay gene‘
Sex genes are baseless: A long-standing controversial notion claimed that a person’s sexual behaviour was the result of a single ‘gay gene’. But that notion has been challenged by a research that is making headlines.
There is no single ‘gay gene’
Loads of researches take place around the world in search of reasons for piled-up questions. In search of these answers, genetic research has proved one thing in unison over the years: Almost all human characteristics are a complex matrix of genes and environmental factors. A new study seconds this motion for human sexual orientation too.
Same-sex attraction is similar to any other human trait: it’s all about genetics and environmental factors
To summarize, we can say that all the concepts of sex genes are baseless.
Nature doesn’t need a cure
Published in Science this week, the study is the largest ever to take a dip into this controversial and deep topic of sexual orientation. A group of international scientists came together under one roof with 23andMe (a personal genomics firm). What makes it so massive is that this study features genetic profiles of more than 480,000 people from the US and the UK! This is approximately a 100 times more than any other study centered on genetics and same-sex attraction.
Ben Nale, director of genetic with Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, put forward his views, “This is a natural and normal part of variation in our species. That should also support the position that we shouldn’t try and develop gay cures. That’s not in anyone’s interest.”
Under this massive research, the team discovered five specific gene variants which were associated with human behaviour. But even when put together, these five variants explained less than even 1% of same-sex attraction. So, the concepts of sex genes are baseless are not adequate to find a person’s sexual orientation.
“It’s effectively impossible to predict an individual’s sexual behavior from their genome,” Neale said. “Genetics is less than half of this story for sexual behavior, but it’s still a very important contributing factor. These findings reinforce the importance of diversity as a key aspect of sexual behaviour.”
Nature and Nurture
LGBTQ groups all over the world see this (no single gay gene) research as even more proof that being gay or lesbian is a normal human trait. And that sexuality needs to be accepted and seen just like any other human behaviour would be.
According to the CPO of world’s largest LGBT advocacy group GLAAD, Zeke Stokes, “This new study provides even more evidence that that being gay or lesbian is a natural part of human life, a conclusion that has been drawn by researchers and scientists time and again. The identities of LGBTQ people are not up for debate. This new research also reconfirms the long-established understanding that there is no conclusive degree to which nature or nurture influence how a gay or lesbian person behaves.”
Sexuality on a scale
Lead researcher Andrea Gana revealed that this study also questions the reliability of Kinsey Scale. In fact, the study described it as an over-simplification of diversity in human sexual behaviour.
But, what is a Kinsey scale? It is a scale that is used in research for describing a person’s sexual orientation. Also termed the Heterosexual-Homosexual rating scale, it is based on a person’s response at a given time.
“We discovered that the Kinsey Scale, which really places individuals on a continuum from basically exclusively opposite-sex partners to exclusively same-sex partners, is really an oversimplification of the diversity of sexual behaviour in humans,” Ganna said. Clearly, human sexuality is way more complex to be put on a scale.
Indeed, we are a step closer to understanding human sexuality. But thanks to its complex nature, there are still many milestones to go.
