Here is an article I wrote long ago----

On Homosexuality:

“….when it turns out that people who already believe that homosexuality has a biological basis tend to be more pro-gay than people who don't believe that it has a biological basis!”

Cited above is a quote from one of the forums I had visited to understand this topic. I have watched my views change over a period of time from believing homosexuality to be a human frivolity to accepting it as a natural occurrence of sexual preference for some individuals. I attribute this change to an active effort of informing myself about this topic to get over my own prejudices. At this stage, I am inclined to believe that homosexuality, at some level, has a biological basis. But I keep wondering as do many biologists, if homosexuality is genetic, how does it propagate? Since the sexual act does not lead to procreation, how is the trait inherited? I recently watched the film ‘Kinsey’ on Alfred Kinsey’s life and research. The ‘Kinsey scale’ measures sexual orientation from 0 to 6, 0 being completely heterosexual and 6 being completely homosexual and the rest lying in between. I have been wondering if the bisexuals are the ‘carriers’ of this supposed “gene” that confers complete homosexual orientation over time? I think that just as the opposite sex is the natural choice for a typical heterosexual, so would be the case of choosing the same sex partner for a typical homosexual. In other words, just as a typical homosexual may feel repulsed by the idea of the same sex partner, I would think, a typical homosexual would also feel similarly repulsed. I don’t see why one’s repulsion should be validated and the other’s not. Why is one individual’s choice biologically (not evolutionarily) driven and not the other’s?

An interesting take on homosexuality comes from Joan Roughgarden (author of Evolution’s Rainbow) who says “gayness is a necessary side effect of getting along” (Jonah Lehrer. Seed. 2006. Vol.2. No. 5, 52-57). With a list of over 450 vertebrate species displaying homosexual behavior, she argues “In our culture, we assume that there is a straight-gay binary, and that you are either one or the other. But If you look at the vertebrates, that just isn’t the case……... that in 50 years, the gay-straight dichotomy will dissolve.” Homosexuality in humans has existed historically in many cultures. Maybe not so much discussed, maybe not so much so apparently, yet it has been there. I think, because this form of sexual activity does not have the required effort and energy inputs in terms of associated parenthood, it promotes multiple and short term partnerships. At societal levels, this is a cause of concern since it disturbs the long-held ‘family as the societal unit’ framework. I would think, divorces and single parenthoods should be as much a cause of concern as homosexuality in such a scenario. It is the implications of homosexuality gaining popularity as a viable sexual choice that holds a threat over the majority. I would think that if such be the case, proof of biological basis of homosexuality would be a welcome thought, since that would confirm that you are born a homosexual (just like you are born a heterosexual) and not made into one.