The "gay gene" (non)argument

There are people who uses statistical reports from the US of identical gay twins to justify the existence of gay genes.

But I am also familiar of research reports from the US which are funded by corporations and private agencies which have their own agendas to fulfilled in the first place by sponsoring those "research reports" and later use the "statistics" to sway public opinion.

People can see whatever they want in clouds, sometimes statistic figures are just arbitrary numbers that have different value and meaning to whoever sees them.

There are people who imply that "gay genes" causes the larger brain cavity in gay people which is observed by fMRI(functional magnetic resonance imaging scans).

But there are also fMRI scans of London cab drivers who have larger hippocampus than people who are not cab drivers. Their enhanced hippocampus is caused by daily usage of their brain mapping system to navigate through the very complex and tricky London street network.

Every neurologist knows the fact that the brain is "plastic", the neural pathways in the brain are not fixed and can change over time.

So by this example, the argument that genes alone can determine the final brain neural network design does not hold much ground.

By saying that there is a very, very specific gay gene which function is to discriminate between the gender is similar to saying that there is also an Oreo cookie gene that causes one to like Oreo cookies. Then a person would also like japanese sweets and sushi. So are there such specific gene functions that would cause a group of people living in Mexico to develop a culture that also likes japanese sweets and sushi? But we don't observe such occurences do we?

There are so numerous objects that a person would prefer in his life, is it anyway possible for a gene to store all of this preferences?

My work has stated that it is way more possible for a gene to encode the preference of objects that poses the least threat to a person's identity, rather than the preference of japanese sweets or Oreo cookies.

I would not be able to imagine one day when scientists make headlines by announcing that they have found the preference for the "Nabisco brand Oreo cookies that sells for $2 a box" gene in the chromosome.

The environment is the main factor that influences brain development and intelligence. My first blog post mentioned that the boy developed a liking for another similar gender person because he needed a non-threatening figure as a distracting comfort.

A person would become gay because of the circumstances of a present life. The brain is very plastic and it will adapt itself for whatever ways of self-preservation to the identity of a person whenever necessary. Even intelligence is not fixed by genes, the brain has to be developed by a rich and stimulating environment in order to develop a complex neural network that gives the mind a good priming ability for intelligence. Second-hand smoke has been proven to affect the fetal development and dull mental function of young children, which affects the development of the neural network that affects brain functions that determines the environmental adaptability of the mind.

I would believe in brain plasticity rather than the vague hypothesis of "gay genes". Referring to the contents of my first and second blog posts, I strongly believe that it is the needs and circumstances of a person in his present life which determines gay behaviour, rather than some vague latent functions of some mysterious recursive or non-recursive "gay genes" brought forth by his ancestors.

Hypothetically, I would rather believe in the malfunctions of mental or body functions that causes one to be gay, rather than Intelligent Design taking huge time and effort in order to create a specialized gene to cater to a very specific function of gender preference, while ignoring the preserving and creation of other more crucial genome functions. Discriminating between the degrees of threats would more likely fit the efficient and intelligent bill of Intelligent Design.

Is this a case of extreme blame-shifting of gay activists gone dysfunctionally awry?

There are many people in this world who would rather hold on to their own greedy selfish ego and continue to practise finger-pointing blame-shifting to remain blind and helpless rather than realise their own stubborness to see the bigger picture to grow up and adapt. Sometimes guts is the one missing ingredient.

So remember the next time someone claims of "gay genes", tell them that the "preference" for the "Nabisco brand Oreo cookies that sells for $2 a box" gene also exists. If that is not enough to impress them, further do so by declaring that the "preference" for the "Nabisco brand Oreo cookies that sells for $2 a box" gene in your body has been overtaken and evolved to the "preference" for the "Nabisco brand Oreo cookies that sells for only $1.50 a box" CONSUMERISM gene.

(Warning! Do not buy the Oreo cookies in Singapore which contain partially hydrogenated oils. These are transfats that can cause heart disease and stroke and even dying in sleep.)