Are Gay People Born This Way

Are Gay People “Born This Way?”

If you ask this question you will receive one of the two reactions: “Yes. People choose to be gay. They are making an immoral choice, which humanity should discourage.” Or “No. Sexual preference is biologically determined. Government should protect gay people from discrimination because homosexuality is an unalterable aspect of their identity.” Whether sexual preference is a quality we are born with (nature) or is caused by the environment we are raised in (nurture) has been deliberated by scientists, religious leaders, elected officials, and the general public. Proponents argue that sexual orientation, is determined by natural, inflexible biological factors such as genes or hormones, and therefore gay people
From twin and adoption studies, we know that sexual preference has a genetic component. A study published in The Journal Science showed that families with two homosexual brothers were very likely to have certain genetic markers on a region of the X chromosome. This led to vast headlines about the possibility and the existence of a “gay gene” and discussions about the ethics of aborting a “gay” fetus due to an extra X chromosome. There have also been headlines about an “alcoholism gene”, which makes people become alcoholics, and a “aggressive gene”, which makes people extremely aggressive. Genes can’t control behavior completely, though. Genes naturally cause the production of a string of amino acids, which in turn form proteins. The absence or existence of a protein can have an “negative” effect on things like mood or alcohol tolerance. Affecting something is not necessarily the same as having complete control over it. Environment, like genetics, plays an important and discrete role in how our behaviors develop. Like the “gay” gene, alcoholism runs in families not only because there is a genetic component to alcoholism, but also because people learn how to subsist with stress by watching how their older siblings and parents behave in stressful and difficult situations. If you come from a cultural lifestyle where alcohol consumption is prohibited, it will be difficult for you to become an alcoholic, no matter how alcohol is metabolized in your body. There are circumstances besides a “warrior gene” that contribute to aggression. Many children learn and grow to behave aggressively when they witness extreme aggression being rewarded. If you grew up in a family or as part of a culture where aggression was not well accepted, you would be less likely to be aggressive. You would learn, from an early age, how to control your aggressive