sobo said:
first of all i dont believe a single x chromo "knows" whther there are only 1 or 2 em. (thats why i thought in my other post you made the x chromo responsible for 'liking men' and not for 'homosexuality'..) so it cant "know" which sex the "same sex" is and which sex would therefore be to prefer. Unless you give me some more detail on how the second x chromo could turn the "male homosexual desire" into a "female homosexual desire" im not gonna believe the chromosome theory.
Genetics 101 - DNA acts as a "template" on which chemicals (mostly proteins) form up. these proteins are responsible for everything in your body, from the regulation of your heartbeat, to the digestion of your food, to sexual arousal.
When we talk about a gene "coding for" a specific protein, it means that this protein is formed up on the surface of that particular gene. This is what a gene is - basically a mould for making body chemicals. As an example, if someone is missing the gene which codes for blood clotting factor 8, they will be haemophiliac.
These protiens are used for many things - structure (as in muscle, tendons, skin etc) or as signalling like the p53 protein that tells cells to kill themselves if they have a dangerous mutation, (cancer can be caused by this protein not working properly, which in turn is often caused by the DNA which codes for the p53 protein being damaged itself)
Within a female's cells, the second X chromosome (basically, whichever one is slower) knows that it is the second one, because the first chromosome actively produces a special marker protein. Think of it as two people who can do the job, and the first one to get going shouts "mine" - the other one hears this, and goes to sleep, forming the "barr's body". There are many cancers and defects caused by thos process failing, and both X chromosomes remaining active.
Now - the X chromosome is responsible for most of the seuxal behaviour that men and women have in common - we use the same signals (of course) - dilated pupils, raised heartrate, flushing of the cheeks and genitals... this behaviour is all represented on the X chromosome. (think about it, it couldn't be any otrher way - if it was on the Y chromosome, women would be incapable of seduction!)
Psychologically, human attraction is based on similarity. people are attracted to similar people (or rather, how they perceive themselves to be). This is another function of our genetics - the most chance of producing viable offspring happens when there is very little difference between the parents. just looking at couples confirms this - they tend to be of similar outlook, size, etc.
What I have said up to here is established, scientifically tested FACT, what comes next is theory. (but not MY theory - it has been published in scientific journals and subject to peer review)
The specific DNA sequence which *may* code for homosexual behaviour (and it doesn't matter whether it's male-male or female-female) causes slightly different brain chemistry, and makes the attraction to "similarity" stronger. Whereas *everyone* is looking for a mate that is like themselves, homosexuals are simply looking for a mate that is *MORE* like themselves.
Whereas myself and mughi are similar hieght, hair colour, eye colour and general facial shape (as are more than 80% of couples), our friends David and David are more similar - hell they even have the same name!
incidentally, the stuff about human attraction has been established for many, many years, but only recently have we understood why - the human body is *very* sensitive to genetic mutations, and people who are "similar" tend to have the same genetic mix. it's safer for having kids, and at a very low level our brains know this.
sobo said:
education: stuff like being taught bein gay is ok, surroundings like getting no women like eg. men in prison who "become gay"
Okay, one thing - men do not become gay in prison. men are raped and assaulted, and adopt a psychological reaction which is specifically to survive. Gay men can have an active sex life and enjoy it - prison rape victims who give in to avoid being killed are usually never capable of a normal sexual life ever again.
You just can't compare victims of horrible violations and rape to people living in the outside world.
sobo said:
defiant reactions after disappointing relation to the other sex... a number of small events leads to making the same sex more interesting, also with curiosity maybe (in cases) with this change in mood and attitude comes a change in hormones imo.
I know of a couple of people who have moved from one side of the fence to the other (and in one case, back again). It's hardly surprising - when you understand that it's all down to our genes expressed in brain chemistry, obviously someone who is only a little bit gay is also a little bit straight. People's lives are complicated, and some people will exist in the middle, never really sure of which they like best.
*BUT* just as there are people who are never in any doubt that they are straight, there are people who never doubt for a second that they are gay. The gay man doesn't look at a woman and think "pwhoooar, no wait, I'm gay" - he never has that reaction in the first place. he's too busy looking past the busty blonde to the guy with the six pack behind her.
many tests have been done on this - you can measure sexual response by things that the person isn't even aware of - electrical charge across the skin, slight pespiration, pupils dilating, the works.
the sexual response that gay men have is not a concious decision that has to be thought about or learned, it's an absolutley biological reaction.
ask yourself - do you ever get a spontaneous hard on? see a woman bending over a desk and her top hangs open, showing you her breasts... and there's s sudden swelling in your pants? you don't think about it, it just happens.... but not for a gay guy. he could watch a lap dance, and get not a twitch downstairs... but see some hunk working out in the gym, and almost cream himself when the biceps are bulging.
sobo said:
if testosteron makes females attractive to one and oestrogen males attractive to one, homosexuality could be explained by a bad ratio of the two. ... changing the hormone ratio could help if i was a bit right about the stuff above, like giving a gay man testosterone could make him interested in woman again
This theory was widely held in the fifties, and many gay men were subjected to experiments to "cure" them. It simply doesn't work that way.
if you bang a straight woman full of testosterone, you get a muscly woman with facial hair, who STILL likes men. if you rattle a straight guy full of oestrogen, you get a guy with liver and pancreatic cancer and shrunken testicles... who still likes Women.
Hormone balance plays no role *whatsoever* in sexuality, and this has been confirmed in thousands of studies. Gay men have a perfectly normal and healthy testosrterone/estrogen balance.
sobo said:
A nicer tone would help to lead a more proper conversation with an obvious amateur in biology. You dont want to sound the intolerant and elitist supremacist you are NOT.
Agreed. hopefully this is a lot more reasoned and less intolerant. I have spent many years studying this material so that I can deate and argue from a position of knowledge, rather than simply having "opinions" like Ice.
Please, do us all a favour. don't take my word for this, read about it, starting the "Genome" and "The Red Queen" by Matt Ridley, two *excellent* introduction books to human genetics.
Go make your own minds up first. Maybe you should not by all means try and mark me as a bad person, because that won't work 
![:\](/images/smilies/submitted/smark/ohwell.gif "Oh Well :\")
ok so a bit shorter this time.) that the word "marriage" is what most people seem to have the hang up about and that (mostly
Or even that it was a concept outwith religion before it was hijacked by religion. Even if it wasnt, marriage is now for couples some of whom choose to perform the ritual in a church/mosque/synagogue/forest/whatever with a preist/immam/rabbi/preistess/whoever running it, but not all
