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“This study knocks another nail into the coffin of the ‘chosen lifestyle’ theory of homosexuality,” says Simon LeVay, the neuroscientist and writer who, in 1991, claimed to have found that a specific brain region, within the hypothalamus, is smaller in gay men. “The most pleasing aspect is that the confirmation comes from a team that was in the past somewhat sceptical and critical of the earlier findings,” says Andrea Camperio Ciani of the University of Padua in Italy. Other researchers who have looked at the biological origins of sexual orientation have welcomed the latest findings, saying they help resolve contradictory results from earlier, smaller studies. Even if he has hit on individual genes, they will likely only have at most a small effect on their own, as has also been seen in studies of the genetic basis for intelligence, for example. Whatever the results, Sanders stresses that complex traits such as sexual orientation depend on multiple factors, both environmental and genetic. “Through this study, we have the potential to narrow down to fewer genes,” says Sanders. Sanders says he has already completed the work for that next step: he has compared SNPs in those specific regions in gay and straight men to see if there are obvious differences in the gene variants, and is now preparing the results for publication. Both regions contain many genes, and the next step will be to home in on which ones might be contributing to sexual orientation. But this doesn’t mean the study found two “gay genes”. Only five SNPs stood out and of these, the ones most commonly shared were from the Xq28 and 8q12 regions on the X chromosome and chromosome 8 respectively. Therefore, any SNPs consistently found in the same genetic locations across the group would most likely be associated with sexual orientation. All other traits, such as hair colour, height and intelligence, varied by different degrees between each brothers in a pair and between all sets of brothers. The only trait unequivocally shared by all 818 men was being gay.
Gay code#
This term describes someone who is questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity.įind more LGBTQ information and resources by visiting our resource center or by giving us a call at team combed through the samples, looking at the locations of genetic markers called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) – differences of a single letter in the genetic code – and measuring the extent to which each of the SNPs were shared by the men in the study. Sometimes, when the Q is seen at the end of LGBT, it can also mean questioning. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBTQ people to describe themselves however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBTQ community. Some people may use queer, or genderqueer, to describe their gender identity and/or gender expression.
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Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limiting and/or fraught with cultural connotations they feel don’t apply to them. QUEERĪn adjective used by some people whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual. But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures. Many transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms- including transgender. TRANSGENDERĪn umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual in fact, they need not have had any sexual experience at all to identify as bisexual. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime. BISEXUALĪ person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of another gender. Sometimes lesbian is the preferred term for women. The adjective used to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex.
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Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay or as gay women. A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women.