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daussaulit
Forgetful

Registered: 08/06/02
Posts: 2,894
Loc: Earth
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Having brothers linked to being gay
#5816578 - 07/03/06 04:19 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Content...id=991479973472
Quote:
Having older brothers increases the chances that male babies will be born gay, a new Canadian study on sexual orientation says.
And the more older brothers a boy has, the greater the chance homosexuality will be determined in the womb, according to research out of St. Catharines' Brock University.
"There is probably some change in the mother and within the womb itself as each male fetus ends up being gestated," says Anthony Bogaert, a professor in Brock's community health sciences department.
"What we think is happening...is a mother's immune system actually changes in response to being exposed to (male fetuses)."
In groundbreaking research a decade ago, Bogaert showed a definite link between the number of older brothers a male had and the chance that he would be gay.
What was not known at the time was whether the so-called "fraternal birth order effect" was a result of biological or social and psychological factors.
While evidence suggested the phenomenon was based more on nature than nurture, Bogaert says it was unclear whether growing up surrounded by older brothers had any psychological impact on sexual orientation.
This study gives "pretty strong support" to the theory of a prenatal effect, Bogaert says.
"Something occurs during gestation in the womb that is probably accounting for why, on average, gay men have more older brothers."
Bogaert suggests that a mother's immune system might react against specific male proteins associated with the fetal development of her first baby boy. And with each subsequent male pregnancy, he thinks that immune response may become more pronounced.
"Ultimately, the immune antibodies (may) cross the placental barrier and go into the (baby's) brain and affect certain structures of the brain and alter it so that it no longer goes in a typical heterosexual direction."
For the study, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, Bogaert looked at some 1,000 heterosexual and homosexual men who had brothers.
He hypothesized that if the fraternal birth order effect was based on the psychological consequences of being raised with older brothers, then it would be the same whether the older male siblings were genetically related or not.
What he found, however, was that the effect was only manifest in genetically related brothers, and that having stepbrothers or adopted siblings did not alter sexual orientation. Indeed the effect was even seen in genetically related brothers who were not raised together.
Thus, Bogaert suggests, homosexuality can be linked to male birth order and is most likely hard-wired into a baby's brain before he is born.
"It suggests that it's not living with — or having a family environment that's associated with — older brothers that's causing the effect," he says. "And because it's a biological older brother effect, then we can make the conclusion that it's likely some sort of prenatal biological phenomenon as opposed to something reared within the family."
Psychologist Ray Blanchard of Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says the Brock study helps bolster an already robust body of science that says homosexuality has a biological basis.
"I don't think there's a lot of controversy left among scientists," says Blanchard.
The study, however, is sure to rile others, especially the growing group of "reparative therapists" who try to alter homosexual preferences.
"You have these large organizations who are devoted to `curing' gay men and lesbian women," he says.
"The reparative therapy industry is very invested in wanting homosexuality to not be a biological trait."
Still, Blanchard admits that there is no "absolute smoking gun" proof of a biological basis for sexual orientation.
"I think all the data point in that direction, but even I wouldn't claim that it's been proven at the level of other things that we accept as medically for sure."
Bogaert stresses that having older brothers will by no means ensure that younger male siblings will be gay.
He says well over 90 per cent of males with older brothers will still be heterosexual across the entire population.
But among men who are gay, between one in seven to one in four can trace their sexual orientation back to the older brother effect.
"And the effect increases with each older brother within a family," Bogaert says. "So the effect becomes stronger for two (older) brothers versus one. It becomes stronger for three older brothers versus two older brothers and so on."
Bogaert agrees the study can provide further scientific ammunition against those who would argue, often on religious grounds, that homosexuality is some kind of abhorrent, wilful choice.
"This adds a not insubstantial piece to the puzzle that suggests that there is a biological basis to sexual orientation," he says.
"It may end up not giving too much support to people who believe that this was an amoral choice."
I've got a friend with an older brother and he's gay.
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iateshaggy
i haxor 360s


Registered: 05/20/05
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: daussaulit]
#5816627 - 07/03/06 04:30 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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when we were kids we called my little brother gay and we would hit him and call it gay bashing. i wonder if that has anything to do with it?
-------------------- You are a filipina sex goddess who wants to fuck me until I fall asleep, so then you can tickle my balls and see if the legend of my diamond filled nutsuck is true. I am a white man from costa rica, who smells like lime jello.
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Vvellum
Stranger

Registered: 05/24/04
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: iateshaggy]
#5819491 - 07/04/06 11:00 AM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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Is your little brother gay?
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iateshaggy
i haxor 360s


Registered: 05/20/05
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: Vvellum]
#5821625 - 07/04/06 10:14 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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no, we just liked beating on him and calling out gay-bashing. our parents told us if we kept it up he would become gay and we'd regret it.
-------------------- You are a filipina sex goddess who wants to fuck me until I fall asleep, so then you can tickle my balls and see if the legend of my diamond filled nutsuck is true. I am a white man from costa rica, who smells like lime jello.
I can flash/jtag/repair 360's, pm for details.
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DNKYD
Turtle!

Registered: 09/23/04
Posts: 12,326
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: daussaulit]
#5823282 - 07/05/06 11:42 AM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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I've got 3 older brothers and a younger brother and none of us are gay. Although we do have only one sister and she turned out to be a lesbian. Weird.....
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kotik
fuckingsuperhero


Registered: 06/29/04
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: DNKYD]
#5826913 - 07/06/06 08:24 AM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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in all fairness, everyone is gay. some people are just WAY gayer than others.
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Catalysis
EtherealEngineer

Registered: 04/23/02
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: daussaulit]
#5829079 - 07/06/06 07:30 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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Woah, hold on. Did you see the part where the lead scientist claimed that this proves a genetic, "hard-wired" link to homosexuality?!! What the fuck? I dont see how this proves it in any way, shape, or form. If the connection is even true, I would say it is more likely a psychological factor than genetic. If nothing else, the psychological cause is most certainly a possibility. This ridiculous claim and obvious bias leads me to question the entire study, although I wouldn't be surprised if there really is some type of link.
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Mushie_Man
Fuck Up

Registered: 05/21/04
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Loc: UK
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: Catalysis]
#5831273 - 07/07/06 12:02 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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Ah, so thats how EMOS are made.
-------------------- Ecstacy got me standing next to you Getting sentimental as fuck spillin' guts to you We just met But I think I'm in love with you But you're on it too So you tell me you love me too Wake up in the morning like "yo, what the fuck we do?"
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phalloidin

Registered: 07/03/04
Posts: 865
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: Catalysis]
#5831845 - 07/07/06 02:00 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
Catalysis said: Woah, hold on. Did you see the part where the lead scientist claimed that this proves a genetic, "hard-wired" link to homosexuality?!! What the fuck? I dont see how this proves it in any way, shape, or form. If the connection is even true, I would say it is more likely a psychological factor than genetic. If nothing else, the psychological cause is most certainly a possibility. This ridiculous claim and obvious bias leads me to question the entire study, although I wouldn't be surprised if there really is some type of link.
I don't think he said it proves anything, only suggests that homosexuality may be hardwired in the brain during fetal development. I don't see him mentioning that it is genetic either. I would guess it most likely it has to do with gene expression and not with the persons genetic makeup. As I gathered from the article, there is perhaps a "heterosexual" protein expressed by the fetus sometime during development. Probably some sort of signaling hormone that tells other cells to express genes in such a way that the brain develops with a heterosexual preference. The mother may produce antibodies to these hormones that inhibits the signaling and the brain doesn't develop this heterosexual preference.
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mikeownow
Humungus fungus

Registered: 09/01/05
Posts: 2,856
Loc: WA,USA
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Re: Having brothers linked to being gay [Re: phalloidin]
#5831857 - 07/07/06 02:03 PM (17 years, 6 months ago) |
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This girl I know went out with a guy named brian and now shes a lesbian.
-------------------- No statements made in any post or message by myself should be construed to mean that I am now, or have ever been, participating in or considering participation in any activities in violation of any local, state, or federal laws. All posts are works of fiction.
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