Why do men like being gay

These results haven't been replicated in some ethnic groups - but that doesn't mean they are wrong with regards to the Italian population in Camperio-Ciani's study. A minority of gay people disagree, maintaining that sexuality is a social construct , external , and they have made a conscious, proud choice , external to take same-sex partners.

Scientists don't know the answer to this Darwinian puzzle, but there are several theories. There are two or more ways this might happen. [Why Are There Gay Women?] But how might the "gay man gene" make females more reproductively successful? It is true that some gay men think at first that they are bisexual, but this is largely due to the cultural taboo against being gay.

No matter why those genes are still around, we do know that being gay is partly genetic and partly determined before a baby is even born. But scientific opinion is with Macklemore. The evolution of lesbianism is relatively understudied - it may work in a similar way or be completely different.

Andrea Camperio-Ciani, at the University of Padova in Italy, found that maternal female relatives of gay men have more children than maternal female relatives of straight men. Since the early s, researchers have shown that homosexuality is more common in brothers and relatives on the same maternal line, and a genetic factor is taken to be the cause.

Also relevant - although in no way proof - is research identifying physical differences in the brains of adult straight and gay people, and a dizzying array of homosexual behaviour in animals. But since gay and lesbian people have fewer children than straight people, a problem arises.

The allele - or group of genes - that sometimes codes for homosexual orientation may at other times have a strong reproductive benefit. Editor’s note (2/8/): This article was lightly edited for clarity. But how does it fit with Darwin's theory of evolution? In the last two decades, dozens of scientific papers have been published on the biological origins of homosexuality - another announcement was made last week.

The fa'afafine of Samoa dislike being called "gay" or "homosexual". It's possible that different mechanisms may be at work in different people. Therefore, the theory goes, a low "dose" of these alleles enhances the carrier's chances of reproductive success. This tells us that sexual orientation isn’t a learned behavior or a choice.

A new study by Camperio Ciani and his team addresses the question for the first time. Every now and then a family member receives a larger dose that affects his or her sexual orientation, but the allele still has an overall reproductive advantage. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's hit song Same Love, which has become an unofficial anthem of the pro-gay marriage campaign in the US, reflects how many gay people feel about their sexuality.

It is a legitimate sexual orientation. For example, an allele which makes the bearer attracted to men has an obvious reproductive advantage to women. The review-paper authors do rule out one explanation for homosexuality, however: That tolerance for gay people encourages more people to become gay.

Another way a "gay allele" might be able to compensate for a reproductive deficit is by having the converse effect in the opposite sex. Recently articles have emerged that concern me. Most of the theories relate to research on male homosexuality. They talk about “minority stress” and an epidemic of loneliness among gay men, despite recent gains in equality and acceptance in pop culture.

This would compensate for gay people's lack of reproduction and ensure the continuation of the trait, as non-gay carriers of the gene pass it down. It mocks those who "think it's a decision, and you can be cured with some treatment and religion - man-made rewiring of a predisposition".

It's becoming scientific orthodoxy. One possibility is that the allele confers a psychological trait that makes straight men more attractive to women, or straight women more attractive to men. Though scientists have long suspected some sort of genetic link, Rice says studies attempting to explain why people are gay have been few and far between.

If it appears in a man's genetic code it will code for same-sex attraction, but so long as this happens rarely the allele still has a net evolutionary benefit. There is some evidence for this second theory. The implication is that there is an unknown mechanism in the X chromosome of men's genetic code which helps women in the family have more babies, but can lead to homosexuality in men.