When you discover your adult child’s same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria, something has gone wrong. Most parents know that, but the search for why can be a long and painful one. I have never met a mother that did not go on this search in order to apprehend the abnormal gender development of her child. Dad’s do also, however, I have found they are fewer in number.
Genetics
The premise that there is a “gay gene” has been perpetuated for over 20 years. As a result of this claim, genetic researchers have been on a hunt for the gene(s) that are responsible. In all those years there are no credible scientists that will conclude that there is a gay gene.
The primary target for research has been twins. In 2000, Bailey and colleagues studied 4,500 identical twins (one egg, fertilized by one sperm that splits into two embryos) in Australia. The result was that homosexuality was shared by 30% of male and female twins. The percentage is not enough to conclude there is a gene that will absolutely predetermine that both individuals will be homosexual. The small percentage does not account for the possibility of the relational influence on gender development.
Other studies conducted in 2001 by Bearman and Brückner and in 2015 by Lawrence S. Mayer and Paul R. McHugh also conclude there is no gay gene that will predetermine homosexuality.
So why is it assumed in many communities that there is a gay gene? It is because having a gay gene infers that God made it and that attempting to change an individual’s gender orientation is counter to the fundamental makeup of the individual.
As stated by gay activist and history professor John D’Emilio, “What’s most amazing to me about the ‘born gay’ phenomenon is that the scientific evidence for it is thin as a reed, yet it doesn’t matter. It’s an idea with such social utility that one doesn’t need much evidence in order to make it attractive and credible.”
Resign
It is time for family members to resign looking for research or information attempting to prove there is a gay gene as causation for homosexuality. What does this leave you to research? In another post I will offer other possibilities worth considering.