Would gay people not survive evolution

[_Tarski]

Then they can't possibly be gay.

Umm, really?? LOL
I have a few questions about sheep, straight men in prison and sperm donor cups.
Not to mention men who "find out" they are gay while being married with children.

[_CaliforniaKid]

Disagree. While this may be true for many, I doubt that it can be said to be true of all gay men. You are essentially saying that the gay male isn't influenced by testosterone as is the heterosexual male.

I have to disagree with that.

I didn't say they were uninfluenced by testosterone. (Hell, even women are influenced by testosterone!)

Gay men's and straight women's brains aren't identical, but there are similarities. See here: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/17 ... gaybrain17

[_Daniel2]

By the way, this link from the APA has a lot of helpful information on the subject:

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx

Daniel2

[_Jersey Girl]

Disagree. While this may be true for many, I doubt that it can be said to be true of all gay men. You are essentially saying that the gay male isn't influenced by testosterone as is the heterosexual male.

I have to disagree with that.

I didn't say they were uninfluenced by testosterone. (Hell, even women are influenced by testosterone!)

Gay men's and straight women's brains aren't identical, but there are similarities. See here: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/17 ... gaybrain17

I will read the article, CK. I doubt that it says this is true across the board. Let me have a look!

[_Jersey Girl]

Yeah, see:

Vilain said his hunch was that the entire brain was not feminized because "gay men have a number of masculine traits that are not present in women." For example, he said, men regardless of sexual orientation tend to be interested in casual sex and are stimulated by sexually suggestive images.

This study is dated 2008 and involved just 90 people. Do you know of any more current studies?

[_Jersey Girl]

Here's a little wiki that addresses the influence of testosterone on the brain. It makes no mention of homosexuality, gay men sharing brain hemisphere similarities with women. Even so, still throwing this in:

[quote]Brain
As testosterone affects the entire body (often by enlarging; males have bigger hearts, lungs, liver, etc.), the brain is also affected by this "sexual" differentiation;[10] the enzyme aromatase converts testosterone into estradiol that is responsible for masculinization of the brain in male mice. In humans, masculinization of the fetal brain appears, by observation of gender preference in patients with congenital diseases of androgen formation or androgen receptor function, to be associated with functional androgen receptors.[35]
There are some differences between a male and female brain (possibly the result of different testosterone levels), one of them being size: the male human brain is, on average, larger.[36] In a Danish study from 2003, men were found to have a total myelinated fiber length of 176,000 km at the age of 20, whereas in women the total length was 149,000 km.[37]
A study conducted in 1996 found no immediate short term effects on mood or behavior from the administration of supraphysiologic doses of testosterone for 10 weeks on 43 healthy men.[16] Another study found a correlation between testosterone and risk tolerance in career choice among women.[38]
Literature suggests that attention, memory, and spatial ability are key cognitive functions affected by testosterone in humans. Preliminary evidence suggests that low testosterone levels may be a risk factor for cognitive decline and possibly for dementia of the Alzheimer’s type,[39][40] a key argument in life extension medicine for the use of testosterone in anti-aging therapies. Much of the literature, however, suggests a curvilinear or even quadratic relationship between spatial performance and circulating testosterone,[41] where both hypo- and hypersecretion (deficient- and excessive-secretion) of circulating androgens have negative effects on cognition and cognitively modulated aggressivity, as detailed above.[citation needed]
Contrary to what has been postulated in outdated studies and by certain sections of the media, aggressive behaviour is not typically seen in hypogonadal men who have their testosterone replaced adequately to the eugonadal/normal range.[citation needed] In fact, aggressive behaviour has been associated with hypogonadism and low testosterone levels and it would seem as though supraphysiological and low levels of testosterone and hypogonadism cause mood disorders and aggressive behaviour,[citation needed] with eugondal/normal testosterone levels being important for mental well-being. Testosterone depletion is a normal consequence of aging in men. One possible consequence of this could be an increased risk for the development of Alzheimer’s disease.[42][43]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testosterone

[_CaliforniaKid]

I will read the article, CK. I doubt that it says this is true across the board. Let me have a look!

I don't recall saying it was true across the board. In fact, I believe I said "tend to".

[_Jersey Girl]

I will read the article, CK. I doubt that it says this is true across the board. Let me have a look!

I don't recall saying it was true across the board. In fact, I believe I said "tend to".

Gay men's brains and culture resemble women's, and as a result they tend to be more nurturing and less aggressive than straight men.

[_The Dude]

I'm pretty sure we've discussed this before, Rambo.

A gene could exist that makes an individual more attracted to male partners. In men, this would tend to cause homosexuality. But in females, the same gene would increase reproductive sex and passage of the gene. Thus, the gene would be more or less stable in the population. Remember that GENES are selected by natural selection, not "gay" or "straight" PEOPLE.

[_Bond James Bond]

To rambo:

Does your friend understand evolution? Because if s/he doesn't they aren't allowed to discuss whether or not homosexuality will be eliminated by evolution. Have the meta-discussion man!