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quote:Originally posted by OphiolitePoint 1: It appears that homosexuality may be neither genetic, nor strictly due to upbringing. The environment within the womb appears to be the principal factor.This link discusses the role of hormones in pre-natal development and post-natal behaviour. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro98/202s98-paper2/Bodian2.html
quote:Our genes determine everything about us and have first say on everything which isn't controllable by our thought processes,
quote:What i would like to know is when why or how does something become inheritable through our genes.
quote:Also could being gay become or be already an inherited condition as its only usually when something becomes dominant that we notice its existence.
quote:Originally posted by ukmickyWhat i would like to know is when why or how does something become inheritable through our genes.Also could being gay become or be already an inherited condition as its only usually when something becomes dominant that we notice its existence.
quote:In case this hasn’t already become far too complicated, I wish to now introduce yet another important concept in this discussion, the process science refers to as neoteny. Neoteny refers to the tendency for the adult form of a species to retain juvenile characteristics. It comes from the Latin words neo, meaning "new," and teinein, meaning "to extend." Neoteny, then, means to extend newness, or extend youth, and, trust me, there are no creatures on earth more juvenile than human beings. Actually there are instances of other neotenous animals, like salamanders capable of sexually reproducing while still in the larval state; flightless birds resembling giant chicks; and domesticated dogs which have been bred from wolves to retain puppy like characteristics in order to live more safely among humans. But human beings are by far the most neotenous creatures on earth. Human beings, for instance, mature far slower than any other primate. Stephen Jay Gould say we are also born premature, especially in comparison to other primates. "If women gave birth when they ‘should,’" he writes, "after a gestation of about a year and a half—our babies would share standard precocial features with other primates."11 Humans are born still in embryo, retaining soft embryonic bones, including the "soft spot" on the skull; we retain flat faces and large heads throughout our lives, resembling newborn primates, rather than their adult forms with low brows and long faces; we also have a late eruption of teeth, a delicate skeleton and our spine remains connected to the base of our skulls, as it does in the fetal state of all primates, but in non humans moves to the top of the skull during fetal maturation.As neotenous creatures we are vastly inferior to all other primates with the exception of our intelligence. We remain nearly completely bald so that we can’t survive harsh temperatures without clothing, we are physically weak and awkward creatures that have difficulty climbing and lifting or own weight, and we don’t have opposable toes like our primate relatives. Clearly, the only advantage to being born premature and maintaining juvenile characteristics is our great brain size, resulting from our continued maturation outside the womb. If we weren’t born premature, both our heads and our brains would have to remain small. As Gould points out, "our brains continue to grow at rapid, fetal rates after birth."12 He points out, for instance, that the human brain is only 23% of its final size at birth, as compared to 65% in macaques and 40.5% in chimpanzees. Gorillas achieve 70% of their total brain size during their first year of life. Human beings don’t achieve this amount until their third year.
quote:Originally posted by HadrianThat would suggest that is an illness that needs a cure. What excites you excites you. It the human condition to be excited.
quote:BTW, I do realise that sodomy does not exactly correlate with homosexuality; but homosexuality was an idea invented in Victorian times, and prior to that time, the only basis in which a homosexual male (or in fact a heterosexual male) could be regarded as breaking the law was through committing sodomy.
quote:Originally posted by elegantlywastedPersonally, I feel that labels (gay, straigt, bi, whatever) are disgusting. We should be able to live in a society where we are free to love and have relations with whomever we chose (as long as it is consenting, with the exception of children). Although I don't believe that will ever happen in my lifetime, or even my childrens for that matter. Especially with the likes of Mr Bush in power.