shegeek72
2007-04-05 03:13:30 UTC
http://www.floridabaptistwitness.com/7125.article
What if you could know that your unborn baby boy is likely to be
sexually attracted to other boys? Beyond that, what if hormonal
treatments could change the baby's orientation to heterosexual? Would
you do it? Some scientists believe that such developments are just
around the corner.
For some time now, scientists have been looking for a genetic or
hormonal cause of sexual orientation. Thus far, no "gay gene" has been
found -- at least not in terms of incontrovertible and accepted
science. Yet, it is now claimed that a growing body of evidence
indicates that biological factors may at least contribute to sexual
orientation.
The most interesting research along these lines relates to the study
of sheep. Scientists at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station are
conducting research into the sexual orientation of sheep through
"sexual partner preference testing." As William Saletan at Slate.com
explains:
A bare majority of rams turn out to be heterosexual. One in five
swings both ways. About 15 percent are asexual, and 7 percent to 10
percent are gay.
Why so many gay rams? Is it too much socializing with ewes? Same-sex
play with other lambs? Domestication? Nope. Those theories have been
debunked. Gay rams don't act girly. They're just as gay in the wild.
And a crucial part of their brains--the "sexually dimorphic nucleus"--
looks more like a ewe's than like a straight ram's. Gay men have a
similar brain resemblance to women. Charles Roselli, the project's
lead scientist, says such research "strongly suggests that sexual
preference is biologically determined in animals, and possibly in
humans."
What makes the sheep "sexual partner preference testing" research so
interesting is that the same scientists who are documenting the rather
surprising sexual behaviors of male sheep think they can also change
the sexual orientation of the animals. In other words, finding a
biological causation for homosexuality may also lead to the discovery
of a "cure" for the same phenomenon.
[...]
Tyler Gray addresses these issues in the current issue of Radar
magazine. In "Is Your Baby Gay?," Gray sets out a fascinating
scenario. A woman is told that her unborn baby boy is gay. This woman
and her husband consider themselves to be liberal and tolerant of
homosexuality. But this is not about homosexuality now; it is about
their baby boy. The woman is then told that a hormone patch on her
abdomen will "reverse the sexual orientation inscribed in his
chromosomes." The Sunday Times [London] predicts that such a patch
should be available for use on humans within the decade. Will she use
it?
[...]
If that happens, how many parents -- even among those who consider
themselves most liberal -- would choose a gay child? How many parents,
armed with this diagnosis, would use the patch and change the
orientation?
--
Tara's Transgender Resources
http://tarafoundation.org
What if you could know that your unborn baby boy is likely to be
sexually attracted to other boys? Beyond that, what if hormonal
treatments could change the baby's orientation to heterosexual? Would
you do it? Some scientists believe that such developments are just
around the corner.
For some time now, scientists have been looking for a genetic or
hormonal cause of sexual orientation. Thus far, no "gay gene" has been
found -- at least not in terms of incontrovertible and accepted
science. Yet, it is now claimed that a growing body of evidence
indicates that biological factors may at least contribute to sexual
orientation.
The most interesting research along these lines relates to the study
of sheep. Scientists at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station are
conducting research into the sexual orientation of sheep through
"sexual partner preference testing." As William Saletan at Slate.com
explains:
A bare majority of rams turn out to be heterosexual. One in five
swings both ways. About 15 percent are asexual, and 7 percent to 10
percent are gay.
Why so many gay rams? Is it too much socializing with ewes? Same-sex
play with other lambs? Domestication? Nope. Those theories have been
debunked. Gay rams don't act girly. They're just as gay in the wild.
And a crucial part of their brains--the "sexually dimorphic nucleus"--
looks more like a ewe's than like a straight ram's. Gay men have a
similar brain resemblance to women. Charles Roselli, the project's
lead scientist, says such research "strongly suggests that sexual
preference is biologically determined in animals, and possibly in
humans."
What makes the sheep "sexual partner preference testing" research so
interesting is that the same scientists who are documenting the rather
surprising sexual behaviors of male sheep think they can also change
the sexual orientation of the animals. In other words, finding a
biological causation for homosexuality may also lead to the discovery
of a "cure" for the same phenomenon.
[...]
Tyler Gray addresses these issues in the current issue of Radar
magazine. In "Is Your Baby Gay?," Gray sets out a fascinating
scenario. A woman is told that her unborn baby boy is gay. This woman
and her husband consider themselves to be liberal and tolerant of
homosexuality. But this is not about homosexuality now; it is about
their baby boy. The woman is then told that a hormone patch on her
abdomen will "reverse the sexual orientation inscribed in his
chromosomes." The Sunday Times [London] predicts that such a patch
should be available for use on humans within the decade. Will she use
it?
[...]
If that happens, how many parents -- even among those who consider
themselves most liberal -- would choose a gay child? How many parents,
armed with this diagnosis, would use the patch and change the
orientation?
--
Tara's Transgender Resources
http://tarafoundation.org