Huzzah, I'm strengthening the gene pool!

[yrmencyn]

Some scientists think they've developed a genetic theory of male homosexuality that, you know, makes sense.  You can read about it in an article published yesterday in Slate.  It's actually a pretty brief, lucid article,. but for those of you who are in a hurry, here's the gist:

It's not really homosexuality that's going on here, per se, so much as androphilia: an attraction to men.  So while its social outgrowth in the male gender is homosexuality, its outgrowth in females is, natch, heterosexuality.  The study authors found that aunts of gay men have more children than aunts of straight men.  In essence, according to these findings, gay men are a byproduct of a process that buffers against extinction by underbreeding.

That's the nutshell of a nutshell -- you should read the article.  But I think the social implications are fascinating, since the implication of the findings is that male homosexuality is not 'against nature', but is in fact part of a process that has a net effect of increased fecundity.  'Course the scary religious fanatics won't give a damn -- if we didn't need to understand population mechanics 2000-6000 years ago, we don't need to now! -- but maybe at least some people might go "Hunh.  OK then."

Comments

[cheerybeggar.livejournal.com]

Ah, yet another genetic theory of sexuality. I'll add this one to the "provide additional caregivers and providers to a family/village" theory and the "spectrum of agreeableness leading to submissiveness" theory. Of course, I find the latter patently absurd (as it's based on a culturally-narrow definition of homosexuality).

This new one does at least seem to explain things like the passage via the mother's side of the family, and is backed up by some interesting data. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if there's another one in a year or two.

[tiggerbone.livejournal.com]

Interesting article, although the possibility of society deciding to medicate homosexuality like sickle cell anemia quite frankly gives me the heebie jeebies.