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Oprah: Multiple Gay Siblings
- Thread starter twista
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I am from the reverse family--5 brothers, 1 sister and I am the only one who turned out queer. There aren't too many homosexuals running around in my family--maybe they're all in denial. Going from one spot to another, from aunts to uncles to cousins to nieces and nephews. So far the only homosexuals are me and my niece. There have been a few who have played on both sides of the road; but, they all returned to heterosexual living--male/female. Well, except for Uncle Andy--he got thrown into the penitentiary and died before his release date, so his last outing was with a man (I mean when he was still on the outside, not talking about what may or may not have occured in the prison).
Heredity? I am inclined to believe it to be so, however, it has yet to be revealed if it is a dominant or recessive gene.
I think it more supports the fact that Oprah was presenting a statistical anomaly in the hopes of luring in viewers.
Well, there is a huge theory out there now about homosexuality being caused my a certain gene that the father carries, and that as he gets older and as he has more male children, the gene weakens and that's what causes men to be gay. So if the one straight boy was also the straight boy, it could help to prove that theory if nothing else. My uncle is gay, he has 3 older brothers. My brother is gay, he has 2 older brothers. My great uncle was also gay, and he had one older brother. So who knows!
I wouldn't call it a statistical anomaly. I think Oprah was trying to use a family as an illustrative example of higher frequencies of homosexuality in families with several brothers.
Recent research (2006-07) has shown a higher frequency of homosexuality with younger male siblings as the number of older brothers in a family increases.
A snippet about the study, printed in the Boston Globe 15 Aug 2005:
- And now, a large-scale, five-year genetic study of gay brothers is underway in North America. The study received $2.5 million from the National Institutes of Health, which is unusual. Government funders tend to steer clear of sexual orientation research, aware that even small grants are apt to be met with outrage from conservative congressmen looking to make the most of their C-Span face time. Relying on a robust sample of 1,000 gay-brother pairs and the latest advancements in genetic screening, this study promises to bring some clarity to the murky area of what role genes may play in homosexuality.
- This accumulating biological evidence, combined with the prospect of more on the horizon, is having an effect. Last month, the Rev. Rob Schenck, a prominent Washington, D.C., evangelical leader, told a large gathering of young evangelicals that he believes homosexuality is not a choice but rather a predisposition, something "deeply rooted" in people. Schenck told me that his conversion came about after he'd spoken extensively with genetic researchers and psychologists. He argues that evangelicals should continue to oppose homosexual behavior, but that "many evangelicals are living in a sort of state of denial about the advance of this conversation." His message: "If it's inevitable that this scientific evidence is coming, we have to be prepared with a loving response. If we don't have one, we won't have any credibility."
B_Think_Kink
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Intresting.... Brandon is gay he has no older siblings, his parents were 21 and 23 at the time of his birth. He has many younger siblings that are too young to identify as gay or not. So maybe sometimes it's a random thing?
Well, it could also be that his fathers "gene" was already weakened at the time he was born. Did Brandon's father have any brothers? I dunno.
I'm not saying Brandon is this way, but there is also the question of men who DO in fact choose to be gay. I think there are several men out there who do it for more emotional reasons, not because they are actually that way. I remember that in my high school, it was the latest trend to be bisexual... since then, almost all of the bisexual people that I went to school with and still talk to consider themselves straight. They said it was just a "phase". So there are a lot of other factors to consider.
Just found this... it takes on a different idea, of mothers being what causes the sexuality of males. New Study Seen to Support 'Born Gay' Theory -- 06/27/2006
I'm not saying Brandon is this way, but there is also the question of men who DO in fact choose to be gay. I think there are several men out there who do it for more emotional reasons, not because they are actually that way. I remember that in my high school, it was the latest trend to be bisexual... since then, almost all of the bisexual people that I went to school with and still talk to consider themselves straight. They said it was just a "phase". So there are a lot of other factors to consider.
Just found this... it takes on a different idea, of mothers being what causes the sexuality of males. New Study Seen to Support 'Born Gay' Theory -- 06/27/2006
I just can't wait till the researchers make up their danged minds about what makes one person gay, and another straight. Another question this brings to mind is what makes a person bisexual?
I've never been too worried. I have friends who are gay. I have other friends who are straight. Personally I find myself looking at both women and men equally. Sex with either is Sex no matter what, so long as there's an orgasm, preferably for both parties, involved.
I've never been too worried. I have friends who are gay. I have other friends who are straight. Personally I find myself looking at both women and men equally. Sex with either is Sex no matter what, so long as there's an orgasm, preferably for both parties, involved.
As the second of 5 boys I have successfully slaughtered this theory!:smile:
Of course I played it heterosexual for a time--it seemed to be the way to go; however,the emotions and desires for women just did not exist.
Male Bonding etc
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One example does not a "slaughter" make. Every rule has its exceptions. I find the theory interesting and look forward to more research possibly clarifying this issue.
By saying a "weaker" gene, doesn't this theory just feed into a concept that gay men are somehow genetically "inferior"... Am not buying it.
I am the strongest- physically, emotionally and healthwise (which no one in my family will dispute) - of three brothers.
My oldest brother won't commit to being homosexual (although when pressed to explain his assertion that homosexuality is a choice, he'll say, "Because I KNOW"). He prefers to be a cross-dressing, three times married, alcoholic functioning heterosexual.... He did tell me he is thrilled with his latest gf, who likes to swing... I asked if he now gets a little man on man action, he winked and said, "OH YEH!" (Finally, he has permission).
My middle brother is the closest we had to heterosexual. He died at 37, wiith a wife and two kids. He had a miserable time communicating with women, and was fast-becoming the raging abuser my fatrher was. Ironically, he managed to "talk" with his wife because she was a friend of MINE.
Am not a big fan of theories... I believe there is a definite mixture of biological and social reasons that one becomes gay... am a product of both, I believe... can remember attraction to men from as early as 4 or 5, but could "function" with a woman, even marrying one from age 19-22. But the sexuality was perfunctory... just going through the motions... not something innately needed.
No, it doesn't mean that at all. Are people with Down Syndrome inferior? No. They're just different than people that don't have Down Syndrome. People with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome. So does that mean they are superior? No, they aren't that either. Just different. Exactly how does a weaker gene make anyone inferior?
It's probably just in the context of the word "weaker" that stuck in my craw.
Just sounded like "If you get the proper, stronger gene, then you are rewarded by being straight."
But, hearing your response, I realize that is not what you meant at... Thanks for clarifying.
Just sounded like "If you get the proper, stronger gene, then you are rewarded by being straight."
But, hearing your response, I realize that is not what you meant at... Thanks for clarifying.
Fecundity seemed to smile favorably on all my family...
Including my parents, their siblings, and all my first cousins and nephews, there are/were a total of 48. Of those, 19 are male. Of those 48, I'm the only gay one (I'm not counting my fragile x nephew as either gay or straight, he's not that high-functioning). I had one great-aunt who never married (my mother's father's sister), but was whisperingly rumored to have had both male and female lovers.
So, I would seem to invalidate all the above theories.
Including my parents, their siblings, and all my first cousins and nephews, there are/were a total of 48. Of those, 19 are male. Of those 48, I'm the only gay one (I'm not counting my fragile x nephew as either gay or straight, he's not that high-functioning). I had one great-aunt who never married (my mother's father's sister), but was whisperingly rumored to have had both male and female lovers.
So, I would seem to invalidate all the above theories.
madame_zora
Sexy Member
In all forms of sciences, correlations are NOT rules! this drives me completely nuts, please stop listing anecdotal "evidence" as disqualifying correlations!
A CORRELATION means that over a HUGE sample size, there will be higher numbers of incidents of the subject being researched in said group than in the random population. Although I have not read this particular study, I have read enough that I believe in time it probably will be determined that heredity is at least a component of being gay, among others.
But please, from now on when you read these things, remember that they are talking about society as a whole, NOT your family, yourself, your cousin, or your mother's brother's sister's cousin. Oprah used a family that represented the statistical norm revealed through one study- in NO WAY does that insinuate that ALL families will be the same, that's insane to even imagine.
A CORRELATION means that over a HUGE sample size, there will be higher numbers of incidents of the subject being researched in said group than in the random population. Although I have not read this particular study, I have read enough that I believe in time it probably will be determined that heredity is at least a component of being gay, among others.
But please, from now on when you read these things, remember that they are talking about society as a whole, NOT your family, yourself, your cousin, or your mother's brother's sister's cousin. Oprah used a family that represented the statistical norm revealed through one study- in NO WAY does that insinuate that ALL families will be the same, that's insane to even imagine.
I know or know of a number of gay people who have at least one gay or lesbian sibling. My brother is closeted as he has other emotional problems to hide beind (It's his crutch, no one expects him to have a girl friend becuase of his other problems). I know of one family of five children where the 4th has just come out.
Novaboy
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B_Hickboy
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I was the last I checked.
What confuses so many are those two humorless marriages I went through. Now, it could be argued that Tweedle Shriek and Tweedle Scream were beneficial in the long run as it did bring about 3 children. However--I'm a queer. Deep down I always knew it, I just didn't know what homosexuality was--oddly we never discussed that sort of possibility at home, so marriage it was. I do not consider myself bisexual either, since sex with the women always involved mental images in my brain of men.
I have about 25 known living blood relatives and I am the only queer one and all the dead ones were married. So the theory does not hold up for me. I do know families where there seemed to be quite a few gay members but they didn't comprise more than 5-10% of the family so it was about the same as in the general population. I suppose some instances stick out and get noticed for shock appeal.
