Another news piece here. This one is quite controversial. Well, as you readers already know, I'm not one to hide from heated topics. Last week, I missed the 60 Minutes segment on the Science of Sexual Orientation.
Whether you believe the causes of homosexuality are biological, choice, or a combination of these or other factors, this tidbit comes from CBS News online. The article discusses how researchers are attempting to answer what makes a person gay. From the online article, it appears the segment applies a case vignette with the use of twins. It focused specifically on a set of 9-yr-old male, fraternal twins. More details found here.
We're undoubtedly back to the nature vs nurture debate. Can it be a combination of factors? I admit that I may be overgeneralizing the story, as well as the whole entire topic itself.
I knew a set of female identical twins in college, where one is gay and the other is straight. I got to know them when I took a personality psychology class. Later, I read about two adult identical twin males in California. Again, one was straight, while the other was gay. From this, it led me to believe that cultural context and/or environment may heavily influence the outcome.
Here is a blurb from the online article. "What it proves is it's not completely genetic. They have the same genes," says Michael Bailey, a psychology professor at Northwestern University and a leading researcher in the field of sexual orientation. What I found interesting is that the article mentions (studies?) other factors such as hormones, birth order, and handedness may influence sexual orientation.
The article also cites, "Bailey says he doesn't think nurture is a plausible explanation."
I'm sorry that I missed the news segment. It will be interesting what future studies will present. Let the truth come out.
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