Straight talk on homosexuality

When I talk with people about the moral issues of homosexuality,

I usually encounter one of two

responses: Homosexuals are born gay, they cannot change and

should be accepted for who they are; or, homosexuality is a sin

because the Bible, or the Qur’an, or Joseph Smith says

so.

Though both of these responses oversimplify a complex issue, the

first response is winning public opinion. So, I want to address the

first view: Are homosexuals born gay?

Despite the wide-held belief that homosexuals are “born

that way,” there is actually no proof that homosexuality is

biologically determined. Many researchers have attempted to find

the “gay gene” or prove that homosexuality is

inherited. They have failed.

Dean Hamer, who famously tried to link homosexuality to a strand

of DNA, concluded, “The pedigree failed to produce what we

originally hoped to find: simple Mendelian inheritance.” He

also cited that “homosexuality is not purely genetic …

environmental factors play a role.”

Simon LeVay, who conducted a well-known study on hypothalamic

differences between homosexuals’ and heterosexuals’

brains, has this to say: “I did not prove that homosexuality

is genetic, or find a genetic cause for being gay. I didn’t

show that gay men are born that way, the most common mistake people

make in interpreting my work.” All studies – on twins,

finger length, left-handedness, etc. – have come to similar

conclusions.

The scientific community knows that homosexual attraction is due

to a complex mixture of biological and environmental factors, as it

is with most, if not all, attractions and behaviors.

Perhaps the best way to think of it is look at football. Is

there a football gene that causes someone to be a football player?

Probably not. Rather, a football player possesses certain genes

associated with football (genes for height, quick reflexes),

combined with certain circumstances (parents who support football,

lives in a country where football is played). Playing football,

like all behaviors, is caused by a variety of factors.

So why are people so quick to believe that homosexuals are

“born gay?” This is linked to two things.

First, gay activists have aggressively promoted the idea that

homosexuality is something inherited, something that cannot be

changed. Gays have historically met harsh resistance in America.

But who can deny someone certain rights if that person is born that

way and cannot change it? That’s who they are.

Shouldn’t we accept them? For obvious reasons it has been

strategic and important for gays to lump their activism with

African-American rights and women’s rights (groups that are

biologically determined).

Secondly, gay activism has had ample help from the media. When

Hamer came out with his study in 1993, Newsweek and The Wall Street

Journal wrote cover stories on the discovery of a “gay

gene,” while National Public Radio trumpeted the same. And

other media – from Ann Landers to Time to It’s

Elementary – have promulgated similarly misleading messages.

This kind of distortion is typical of the mass media.

Since homosexuality is not fixed at birth, choice is an

important element and change is possible. Yet distorted facts have

caused two significant tragedies. First, it has denied a debate

about the morality of homosexuality because people who question the

moral purity of homosexuality are automatically (and unfairly)

labeled bigots (who, but a bigot, could think someone immoral for

being something they cannot change?).

Second, homosexuals who want to change are constantly told that

it is impossible and they should simply learn to “accept who

they are.” Not only does social pressure deny these

magnanimous people the right to choose, but official organizations

are systematically taking this right away too.

The American Psychiatrics Association, for example, has

officially declared reparative therapy for homosexuals

“unethical” – in spite of the thousands of

ex-gays who have successfully changed and lead happy, heterosexual

lives. This is as unjust as systematically coercing unwilling gays

to lead straight lives (who, as adults, should have the right to

live out homosexual lives if they choose).

We need to go beyond simplistic views about homosexuality if we

are to tackle the tough issues that surround it. We need to offer

hope and support to those people who want out of the gay lifestyle,

not a closed door or mind. Change, though extremely difficult (but

perhaps extremely rewarding), is possible. 

Jared Kenning, The Arbiter

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