Sunday, 21 September 2008

• totally gay ... er, bogus.

  i was flipping through usatoday when i came across this:
  
  If your gaydar's on the fritz, the Los Angeles Times lays out  some possible "sexual orientation correlates."  We're talking about clues to the biological roots of homosexuality, not stereotypical characteristics, such as a love for all things Judy Garland. For men, try counting the number of older brothers they have (the more they have, the greater the chance they're gay, which might be related to "anti-boy" antibodies in their mother's womb, research suggests). For men and women, look at which hand they write with (straight men and women are more likely to be right-handed, which could be related to testosterone exposure in the womb).
  
  this is what scientists are getting paid for nowadays?! (and for that matter, this is what journalists are getting paid to write?)
  
  i find it ridiculous to publish research that is borderline absurd. for example, the LAT story discusses penis size in gay vs. straight men. apparently, gay men will have a longer/wider penis when compared to a straight men. they go into a scientific analysis, finishing it off with how the GOT the data.
  
  apparently, the researcher just asked for the men to measure themselves at home. they even point out the obvious: men may have exaggerated the results, to make themselves sound *ahem* more than they are.
  
  it just seems that a lot of the research was reaching at overly-flamboyant straws. i'm sure that people are looking for "a way to explain away the gay", but it's not that simple.
  
  yes, i believe that people don't choose to be gay. i think that it's something they are born with, and destined to be. but i don't think that half-assed results that only "explain" why/how of a portion of the gay population is correct.
  
  i am proud to be friends with quite a few members of the LGBT community. in fact, my uncle and his partner have been together for 20 years, and exemplify what a relationship should be, regardless of orientation. they are one of the couples alex and i aspire to be like one day.
  
  it's often been said that left-handed people are more creative, artistic and colorful. it doesn't take a scientist to use this generalization and apply it to the stereotypical over-the-top nature of how a gay person is pictured in society.
  
  and the older brother thing? puh-lease. i won't even go into how overly-contrived this is.
  
  what are your thoughts? do you think this research could be on to something, or is just totally bogus?
  
  *repost from june 16, 2008
  

  • 11:02 AM
  • 550 Views
  • 14 eProps
  • 11 Comments