Gay people not ‘born that way,’ sexual orientation not fixed – US study

RT

A cross-discipline study has challenged the belief that human sexuality and gender identity are determined by biology and remain fixed, saying that there is no scientific proof of this. The study cautioned against drastic medical treatment for transgender children.

The notion that sexual orientation is predetermined by biology is an important part of the current LGBT discourse. If a person has no choice over whether to be gay or not, society cannot demand that he or she be straight, so the argument goes.  

But regardless of its political worth, the “born this way” paradigm is not backed up by sufficient scientific data, according to a new paper published in the autumn issue of the New Atlantis, a journal focusing on political, societal and ethical ramifications of technological advances.

The study does not claim that being gay is a choice, merely that stating the opposite may be wrong.

The 144-page paper was written by Dr. Lawrence S. Mayer, an epidemiologist and biostatistician also trained in psychiatry, who is currently a scholar in residence at the Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and Dr. Paul R. McHugh, a renowned psychiatrist, researcher, and educator and former chief of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The paper’s three parts focus on sexual orientation, links between sexuality and mental health, and gender identity.

Drawing on studies in fields varying from neurobiology to social sciences, the authors wrote that “The understanding of sexual orientation as an innate, biologically fixed property of human beings – the idea that people are ‘born that way’ – is not supported by scientific evidence.”

The term ‘sexual orientation’ itself is ambiguous and is used to describe attraction, behavior or identity by different researchers. Sometimes it refers to things such as belonging to a certain community or having certain fantasies.

“It is important, then, that researchers are clear about which of these domains are being studied, and that we keep in mind the researchers’ specified definitions when we interpret their findings,” the paper said.

There are biological factors associated with sexual behavior, the paper acknowledges, but there are no compelling “causal biological explanations for human sexual orientation.” Differences in the brain structures of gay and straight individuals identified by researchers are not necessarily innate and may be the result of environmental or psychological factors.

“The strongest statement that science offers to explain sexual orientation is that some biological factors appear, to an unknown extent, to predispose some individuals to a non-heterosexual orientation,” the paper said.

LGBT individuals are statistically at greater risk of having mental health problems than the general population, the authors say. As a more dramatic example, “the rate of lifetime suicide attempts across all ages of transgender individuals is estimated at 41 percent, compared to under 5 percent in the overall US population.”

The usually accepted explanation for this is social stress from discrimination and stigma, but the study said that those factors may not solely explain the disparity and that more scientific research on the issue is necessary.

The paper added that the notion that gender identity is fixed and determined by biological factors is also not backed up by data.

“In reviewing the scientific literature, we find that almost nothing is well understood when we seek biological explanations for what causes some individuals to state that their gender does not match their biological sex,” the authors said.

They strongly advocate caution in resorting to drastic medical treatment such as sex-reassignment surgery for people identified or identifying as transgender. This is especially true in children, whose sexuality is mutable and for whom such treatments may do more harm than good, they warn.

“There is little scientific evidence for the therapeutic value of interventions that delay puberty or modify the secondary sex characteristics of adolescents, although some children may have improved psychological well-being if they are encouraged and supported in their cross-gender identification,” the paper said. “There is no evidence that all children who express gender-atypical thoughts or behavior should be encouraged to become transgender.”

“Sexual orientation and gender identity resist explanation by simple theories. There is a large gap between the certainty with which beliefs are held about these matters and what a sober assessment of the science reveals. In the face of this complexity and uncertainty, we need to be humble about what we know and do not know,” it said.

The authors noted that their paper touches upon controversial issues and insist that first and foremost it is about science and the need for additional evidence in the field. Mayer said many people who contributed to the report asked not to be identified so as to distance themselves from the potential backlash.

“Some feared an angry response from the more militant elements of the LGBT community; others feared an angry response from the more strident elements of religiously conservative communities,” he said. “Most bothersome, however, is that some feared reprisals from their own universities for engaging such controversial topics, regardless of the report’s content—a sad statement about academic freedom.”

The paper was specifically written for the general public to draw attention to mental health problems of the LGBT community, the authors said. McHugh is an opponent of sex reassignment surgery for transgender people, arguing that it often fails to improve their well-being and instead does the opposite in the long run.

https://www.rt.com/news/356848-study-sexual-orientation-fixed/

10 thoughts on “Gay people not ‘born that way,’ sexual orientation not fixed – US study

  1. From my experience homosexuality is usually accompanied by other perversions or abnormal relationships. My step-son for example has a few different perversions, one bordering on bestiality and the other…well I won’t trust him around children. A friend of mine is for the most part “normal” exceptvthat he chose to be with a man that is almost old enough to be his grandfather. He lost his father to suicide. I believe this may play a strong part in his confusion about men and normal affection for a father figure. I have no met any homosexuals who have not had some tragic event that most likely lead to their persuasion toward men.

  2. This is important, because it reveals that the media’s endless promotion of homosexuality is causing more people to adopt the practices by convincing them they were “born that way”, and should just accept it.

    The fact of the matter is that the majority of men will engage in the perversion if they’re in a society that permits, or condones it, so naturally, the Zionist media promotes it endlessly, because they want a population that considers themselves removed from masculine responsibilities, such as fighting off enemy invaders, for example.

    What can’t be over-looked is that gay males are usually “pretty”, and dykes are generally ugly. The pretty boys are introduced to homosexuality at a very young age when they’re molested by older guys (and most homosexuals report these types of experiences), and ugly girls resort to lesbianism because they don’t feel they can attract males.

    If society allows the practice, people will indulge in it, but I think it would be hard for any man to be “gay” in a room full of pretty girls (or if he might be thrown in jail for the perversion)

    1. Personally, I think homosexuality is disgusting, but then again, there are activities that some heterosexuals engage in that I find equally disgusting. Ultimately my commitment to freedom and the right of self-ownership prevents me from wanting any of it to be outlawed.

      At the same time, people have every right to express disapproval and/or disgust regarding the sexual acts of others. If enough people do that, the social pressure will tend to keep the faggots and other perverts in the closet without violating anyone’s rights.

      At present, my problem is much less with what faggots do in the bedroom than with their attempts to use the law to force acceptance of their lifestyle on others. “Hate speech” codes, anti-discrimination laws, suing people for not baking wedding cakes, and other such crap is all highly offensive.

      1. Yes, BMF, our culture has taught all of us that it’s disgusting, just as we wouldn’t eat bugs, cats, or many other things considered delicacies elsewhere in the world.

        This study proves that they can create homosexuals by changing our culture, which is exactly what the Zionists do constantly via the media. That’s why they’re constantly promoting homosexuality, and “gay rights”, which we know has nothing to do with rights, but is an attempt to further their cause of turning more American men, whose culture taught them to loath homosexuals, INTO homosexuals. This study proves that it can, and is being done, because all of these fags certainly weren’t born that way. It’s learned behavior, and the Zionists are teaching it to us.

        1. it’s the same Bernaysian conditioning that taught women to smoke cigarettes, when in our culture, the only women who smoked were prostitutes.

  3. All I can say is , I have loved women , and everything female since I was born
    Hell I sucked on titties all day long
    And still love them and can’t get enough
    And I won’t go there , but you know I’m not talking about that ,because I would if I could
    So I won’t
    Because I also respect women , but only the ones that deserve it
    Guess I make one hell of a lesbian trapped in this mans body and loving every minute of it

    Maybe these people just crave attention
    And can’t ever get enough of it

  4. So, when one of these “psyco-babble” artists says “they can’t help it, they’re born that way.” they can suck on it. (Oh, wait, they’d like that)
    How about “they can take a flying leap”!

    1. Be that as it may, cracker…up to the middle of last century, it was the Christians that kept this country moral. So what happened? I will tell you what happened. The World Wide Council of Churches was established in the late 40’s and pushed churches to incorporate and file for the 5013c tax exempt status. Churches did not want to incorporate because they would be subject to state rules and regulations…and not GOD. Besides, they were already tax exempt. So, the IRS stepped in and started harassing the church and it’s members so churches started incorporating. If you draw a moral graph from the inception of this country to the 1960’s…you will find it’s relatively straight. From the 60’s to now, immorality goes almost straight up.

      Just look at what happened in the 60’s alone…sex, drugs, and rock n roll…women’s liberation(which took the mother’s away from home and raising their children) the television programs started to get a bit risqué, the slaughter of vietnam as well as our own service men, seductive apparel, divorces, fanatical sex cults, satanism and witchcraft came into the mainstream…just to name a few.

      I don’t like people shoving their message down my throat either, but I’ve read the Holy Bible, and I can tell you for certain, churches are not teaching the truth from the Bible. Churches have become a business like any other business. They are told who they can hire and what they can teach by the government. You basically get the same message from almost every church…and the biggest message is, “give more money to the church.” And guess what…Jesus Christ did not shove His message down peoples throats. He taught only to those who wanted to hear.

      Society has been engineered by using human nature against humanity. Everyone is brainwashed, some more than others.

      1. “Jesus Christ did not shove His message down people’s throats. He taught only those who wanted to hear.”

        Too bad most are deaf. They have little time for salvation between wars.

        What it really boils down to is the insanely rich. These are our oppressors, our enemies, and they will continue raping us until we put a stop to it.

        Oh yes, they’ll put advertisements out portraying themselves as caring and benevolent, but don’t bend over to pick up that dime in their presence.

        We’ve all been had many times over. From “Tricky Dick” to the not so funny joke of George W. Bush, only to graduate to Obummer, and now we have the most insidious creature ever to seek office about to move into the White House. Do you think they’ll bring all the trinkets back they stole when they left the last time? You know damned well that “nigger” is gonna “clean house” when he leaves, so they’ll need to refurbish. What a racket! Selling presidential trinkets on the open market. Don’t think so? I beg to differ.

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