Interesting bit on 60 Minutes last night
 

Anybody catch 60 Minutes last night? They had a segment on the latest research into "causes" of same sex attraction/homosexuality. Some fascinating stuff. Here are some highlights:

1) Gay men are in fact more promiscuous than straight men in general. One researcher believes it is because while gay men are feminine in some ways, their views/appetites regarding casual sex mirror that of straight men. The difference lies in the fact that straight men are hitting on women (typically more conservative about sex) and gay men are hitting on other men. Imagine for example how much sex you would have if your wife/partner were as horny as you all the time. Interesting point.

2) Someone filmed interviews with gay and straight folks. They reduced this video to black and white where you could mainly see just the outlines of the interviewees. They then had folks view the video and guess whether the people were gay or straight. They could guess with surprising accuracy. This confirms my theory on "gaydar". I tell my wife that I can always pick them out of a crowd (she can't).

3) They did a related study looking at home video for gays. In most cases, they showed clear indicators of being gay from the time they were toddlers (feminine or masculine tendencies).

4) The old theory about "a domineering mother and wimpy father" leading to SSA has been thoroughly debunked. No surprise there.

5) Research shows that homosexuality runs in families to some degree, thus pointing to a genetic cause. Not that all members of a family are gay (obviously), but a clear statistical linkage between liklihood and family lines.

6) There are instances of identical twins where one twin is straight and another gay. This would seem to run counter to the previous point, but this will be explained later. Keep reading.

7) While causes are not completely understood, the current theory is that hormonal conditions in the womb play a strong role. They interviewed a researcher who could consistently make lab rats gay by injecting a hormone just after birth (birth for a rat corresponds to third trimester in humans). "What the hell is a gay rat?" you are probably wondering. The male gay rats would raise up the rump and lift the head (just like a female) when put in a cage with another male rat, thus indicating readiness for that "disgusting act" (that's a shout-out to Archea, who I am sure will respond to this thread). "Lesbian rats" (my term) showed no interest in sex with male rats. Straight rats went right to breeding within seconds after being put in the cage (horny little buggers).

8) A male with older brothers is more likely to be gay. With each older brother, the liklihood goes up by 1/3!!! (from a starting point of 2%). One theory is that hormonal conditions in the womb are altered by each succeeding pregnancy with a male child. Now, going back to the genetic cause issue, it appears that the genetic linkage may be manifested through the mother, resulting in a tendency for certain hormonal conditions in the womb.

9) The "older brothers make you more likely to be gay" thing only applies if you are right-handed. No such statistical linkage if you are left-handed. They have no idea why this is so. Bizarre, eh?

Anyway, I thought it was pretty interesting.

what about older sisters? (i.e. is it just a function of maternal age/paternal age, instead of being related to having older brothers)..

I've always found some fo deist thought to be attractive. This sort of information just feedsd that feeling.

Good question. No, older sisters do not make a difference. Only older brothers. The theory is that it has something to do with with the immune system. A male fetus in a female body is viewed as a foreign tissue by the immune system and the mother's body reacts to it differently.

What's up with the "gay voice"? I've wondered if this was a genetic thing or if it's a societal thing because so many homosexual men have that undeniably gay entonation. This probably comes off as grapevinian, but I ask it completely straight-faced and with good intentions. Have you seen anything in your psych studies Mike?



Will this concern anyone on the board or their spouses?! (Now that wasn't as serious.)

The most interesting part of that is the gay rats. It kind of pokes a hole (no pun intended) into the commonly held belief that homosexuality is a learned behavior.

Re: Interesting bit on 60 Minutes last night
 

I'm surprised that gay men ever leave the house.

[quote]If they do, you nkow why they do.

Firstly Rats and humans are two entirely different species … All sexually deviant behavior is, in part, learned. How many of the 'normal' male rats reciprocated when the injected male rat behaved like a female? I assume the males rats would’ve had to been taught how to act sexually with the so-called homosexual rat.

Furthermore such evidence only fortifies the idea that the behavior is an abnormality that was introduced by outside influences ... in this case the injection of hormones.

So therefore it must be a combination of many factors and not merely an issue of genetics or even predisposition.

Well, they seemed to know just what to do. By my untrained eye, that is. But now you mention it, I suppose they could have gone through some kind of mandatory "gay rat sex" training course.

"Yo, listen up Willard. When we put Ben in the cage, you follow him around until he lifts his tail. Then you take Mr. Willy and ...."