[(Cole)]

Originally posted by theppy

so they saying that you born gay?
i think the world makes you gay.

Sexuality, including homosexuality, is polyepigenetic. It's both epigenetic and polygenetic.

Polygenetics = Traits the involve more than one gene.
Epigenetics = Genes that are influenced by the environment.

Eye color is polygenetic. Hair color is epigenetic.

So no. The world does not "make you gay."

[PurrKaty]

Originally posted by Scandal & Media

So people that are against their child being gay will all of a sudden be pro abortion?

No, they'd probably just give it up for adoption...

[Alejandrо]

Originally posted by Retro Dance Freak

The people who say that can shut up anyway. Even if it's an environmental thing, it's not like we choose to be hated, bullied, and even killed over who we fall in love with.

The point just goes over their head no matter how much we repeat something along those lines.

[Rigalo]

Lmao there is no way y'all can tell me that experiences (Or lack thereof) can't help determine your sexuality. Like I know the fact that me and my dad don't have a strong relationship plays a role in why I am gay.

[Retro]

Originally posted by (Cole)

Sexuality, including homosexuality, is polyepigenetic. It's both epigenetic and polygenetic.

Polygenetics = Traits the involve more than one gene.
Epigenetics = Genes that are influenced by the environment.

Eye color is polygenetic. Hair color is epigenetic.

So no. The world does not "make you gay."

I don't believe that we actually know yet what the causes of sexuality are. I'm inclined to believe that it's more environmental, though. I mean, we live in a world where heterosexuality is praised and celebrated and shoved in your face from the moment you're born, and hey, what do you know? There's way more heterosexual people! (Yes, I realize the biologic function of reproduction affects this heavily as well.) I think that genetics plays an obvious role, but that heteronormativity may suppress the same-sex attraction in people who aren't strongly attracted to the same sex. We just don't know enough yet to make any definitive statements on the cause of sexuality.

[Super_freddie]

Omg this!

Sexual orientation is not generic...

[Harajuku]

[jagger88788]

Okay well it's not like animals have their sexuality influenced by the "enviornment". And almost all species of animals have bisexual behavior. What makes humans different?

[jagger88788]

Originally posted by Super_freddie

Omg this!

Sexual orientation is not generic...

Says who? Just because it's not evident right at birth doesn't mean it wasn't always there. Guys don't get facial hair till puberty. Girls don't get periods till puberty. Your sexual orientation doesn't become evident until puberty.

And explain how most gay/bi guys showed signs at an early age. I used to play with damn barbies.

[Ramcoro]

I think this us relatively a good thing.

Most people that are homophobic wouldn't get an abortion. Plus, they think It's a choice, so they wouldn't believe it.

I think that parents knowing this early will make them accept it better when the kid gets old enough to figure it out/ accept it.

[Retro]

Originally posted by jagger88788

Okay well it's not like animals have their sexuality influenced by the "enviornment". And almost all species of animals have bisexual behavior. What makes humans different?

You can't really compare human behavior with animal behavior because our minds and our social interactions are so much more complex. Animals don't have religious parents telling them their whole lives that homosexuality is an abomination, and they don't experience things like love and sexuality in the same ways that we do. They are basically programmed to reproduce, and those that stay in pairs usually do so for protection of their young. The human mind, being so much more complex, has grown past the simple needs to reproduce and protect offspring (though these are still important instinctual drives in us) and we have far different social environments.

Originally posted by jagger88788

And explain how most gay/bi guys showed signs at an early age. I used to play with damn barbies.

When I was young another kid and I used to fight over who got to play with the wedding dress at school, I apparently wanted to be a designer, and I loved the movies Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. But I don't know whether to blame that on genetic predisposition or my environment.

[Rigalo]

Originally posted by Retro Dance Freak

I don't believe that we actually know yet what the causes of sexuality are. I'm inclined to believe that it's more environmental, though. I mean, we live in a world where heterosexuality is praised and celebrated and shoved in your face from the moment you're born, and hey, what do you know? There's way more heterosexual people! (Yes, I realize the biologic function of reproduction affects this heavily as well.) I think that genetics plays an obvious role, but that heteronormativity may suppress the same-sex attraction in people who aren't strongly attracted to the same sex. We just don't know enough yet to make any definitive statements on the cause of sexuality.

100% agree.

[Midnight]

Originally posted by theppy

so they saying that you born gay?
i think the world makes you gay.

Uh uh, let me shut my door.

[theppy]

Originally posted by Retro Dance Freak

I don't believe that we actually know yet what the causes of sexuality are. I'm inclined to believe that it's more environmental, though. I mean, we live in a world where heterosexuality is praised and celebrated and shoved in your face from the moment you're born, and hey, what do you know? There's way more heterosexual people! (Yes, I realize the biologic function of reproduction affects this heavily as well.) I think that genetics plays an obvious role, but that heteronormativity may suppress the same-sex attraction in people who aren't strongly attracted to the same sex. We just don't know enough yet to make any definitive statements on the cause of sexuality.

And at the note and them making such a statements.

[Retro]

... I really need to organize my thought process more, don't I? Oh well, carry on!

[(Cole)]

Originally posted by Retro Dance Freak

I don't believe that we actually know yet what the causes of sexuality are. I'm inclined to believe that it's more environmental, though. I mean, we live in a world where heterosexuality is praised and celebrated and shoved in your face from the moment you're born, and hey, what do you know? There's way more heterosexual people! (Yes, I realize the biologic function of reproduction affects this heavily as well.) I think that genetics plays an obvious role, but that heteronormativity may suppress the same-sex attraction in people who aren't strongly attracted to the same sex. We just don't know enough yet to make any definitive statements on the cause of sexuality.

We do know that sexuality is polyepigenetic, but we don't know why.

And epigenetics is complex. It's not as simple as "you were the 'baby' of your mother, so she made you more feminine." Epigenetics includes things like the density of oxygen in the air regulates how much the gene for hemoglobin is expressed...

We know homosexuality is quote, "natural," as almost every mammal species has successful homosexual members. On top of that, we can look to the fact that homosexual animals are still reproductively capable.

Also, we have newer theories like the Birth Order Theory (as more children are born from one mother, the likelihood of them being gay increases each time) and also Twin Theory (in the case of twins, if one is gay, the likelihood of the other being gay increases dramatically).

There are also some genetic-controlled alterations between homosexual humans and heterosexual humans:
-Abnormal digit-length ratios.
-Reverse hair-growth patterns.
-Significantly more likely to be left-handed.
-Have longer penises
-Quicker ocular response to moving objects.

^Why is it that gay people are much more likely to have those traits? Dunno. But they are. Somewhere along the line, Natural Selection thought it'd be better for gay people to have abnormal digit ratios, apparently.

It's genetics. But it's complex genetics. As in, there's no such thing as a "gay gene," but instead, many, many, many "gay genes."

[Retro]

Originally posted by (Cole)

We do know that sexuality is polyepigenetic, but we don't know why.

And epigenetics is complex. It's not as simple as "you were the 'baby' of your mother, so she made you more feminine." Epigenetics includes things like the density of oxygen in the air regulates how much the gene for hemoglobin is expressed...

We know homosexuality is quote, "natural," as almost every mammal species has successful homosexual members. On top of that, we can look to the fact that homosexual animals are still reproductively capable.

Also, we have newer theories like the Birth Order Theory (as more children are born from one mother, the likelihood of them being gay increases each time) and also Twin Theory (in the case of twins, if one is gay, the likelihood of the other being gay increases dramatically).

There are also some genetic-controlled alterations between homosexual humans and heterosexual humans:
-Abnormal digit-length ratios.
-Reverse hair-growth patterns.
-Significantly more likely to be left-handed.
-Have longer penises
-Quicker ocular response to moving objects.

^Why is it that gay people are much more likely to have those traits? Dunno. But they are. Somewhere along the line, Natural Selection thought it'd be better for gay people to have abnormal digit ratios, apparently.

It's genetics. But it's complex genetics. As in, there's no such thing as a "gay gene," but instead, many, many, many "gay genes."

I know all this, I even use the digit ratios and hair grown patters to try to tell whether my crushes are gay.

My point is that, while all this has significant evidence and research backing it up, I don't want to explicitly say that sexuality is caused by any one set of things because we have next to no actual proof of anything. We can speculate that there are several genes that influence sexuality and we have numerous supported theories to explain it, but until there is actual discernible evidence I would personally rather say we don't know for sure what causes sexuality variance, because honestly, that's the truth. I will be excited to see actual proof when we find it, to finally definitively state "These are the things that contribute to sexuality."

[jagger88788]

Originally posted by Retro Dance Freak

You can't really compare human behavior with animal behavior because our minds and our social interactions are so much more complex. Animals don't have religious parents telling them their whole lives that homosexuality is an abomination, and they don't experience things like love and sexuality in the same ways that we do. They are basically programmed to reproduce, and those that stay in pairs usually do so for protection of their young. The human mind, being so much more complex, has grown past the simple needs to reproduce and protect offspring (though these are still important instinctual drives in us) and we have far different social environments.

When I was young another kid and I used to fight over who got to play with the wedding dress at school, I apparently wanted to be a designer, and I loved the movies Cinderella and The Little Mermaid. But I don't know whether to blame that on genetic predisposition or my environment.

Yeah, I see what you mean. But exactly. Animals don't have religion and things that force them to hide their sexuality. And yes as humans our main purpose is to reproduce. We are really not that different from animals. Humans just always think we're completely different things. We were made for the same reason.

[ThatsTheTea]

This is so wrong...

[Retro]

Originally posted by jagger88788

Yeah, I see what you mean. But exactly. Animals don't have religion and things that force them to hide their sexuality. And yes as humans our main purpose is to reproduce. We are really not that different from animals. Humans just always think we're completely different things. We were made for the same reason.

Yes, we were made to, in crude terms, do each other and make babies. But it's fairly obvious that our mental and social capabilities far exceed those of any animal; no other animals are capable of abstract thought and few other species are truly self-aware. These factors are going to have an inevitable effect on sexuality and gender.