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Study says younger bros. likely gay



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Funky Bear

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Here's what I found in a recent article


WASHINGTON -- Having several older brothers increases the likelihood of a man being gay, a finding researchers say adds weight to the idea that there is a biological basis for sexual orientation. ``It's likely to be a prenatal effect,'' said Anthony F. Bogaert of Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada, ``This and other studies suggest that there is probably a biological basis for'' homosexuality.

S. Marc Breedlove of Michigan State University said the finding ``absolutely'' confirms a physical basis.

``Anybody's first guess would have been that the older brothers were having an effect socially, but this data doesn't support that,'' Breedlove said in a telephone interview.

The only link between the brothers is the mother and so the effect has to be though the mother, especially since stepbrothers didn't have the effect, said Breedlove, who was not part of the research. Bogaert studied four groups of Canadian men, a total of 944 people, analyzing the number of brothers and sisters each had, whether or not they lived with those siblings and whether the siblings were related by blood or adopted.

He reports in a paper appearing in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that having several biological older brothers increased the chance of a man being gay.

It's an effect that can be detected with one older brother and becomes stronger with three or four or more, Bogaert said in a telephone interview.

But, he added, this needs to be looked at in context of the overall rate of homosexuality in men, which he suggested is about 3 percent. With several older brothers the rate may increase from 3 percent to 5 percent, he said, but that still means 95 percent of men with several older brothers are heterosexual.

The effect of birth order on male homosexuality has been reported previously but Bogaert's work is the first designed to rule out social or environmental effects.

Bogaert said he concluded the effect was biological by comparing men with biological brothers to those with brothers to whom they were not biologically related.

The increase in the likelihood of being gay was seen only in those whose brothers had the same mothers, whether they were raised together or not, he said.

Men raised with several older step- or adopted brothers do not have an increased chance of being gay.

``So what that means is that the environment a person is raised in really makes not much difference,'' he said.

What makes a difference, he said, is having older brothers who shared the same womb and gestational experience, suggesting the difference is because of ``some sort of prenatal factor.''

One possibility, he suggests, is a maternal immune response to succeeding male fetuses. The mother may react to a male fetus as foreign but not to a female fetus because the mother is also female.

It might be like the maternal immune response that can occur when a mother has Rh-negative blood but her fetus has Rh-positive blood. Without treatment, the mother can develop antibodies that may attack the fetus during future pregnancies.

Whether that's what is happening remains to be seen, but it is a provocative hypothesis, said a commentary by Breedlove, David A. Puts and Cynthia L. Jordan, all of Michigan State. The research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.


What are your thoughts on this?
 

Savior of Dawn

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-_- Idiots.

It doesn't say "If you're a younger brother, you will be gay." It says that if you have older brothers, you may be more likely to be gay.

Anyways, I read the Newscientist article on this.. Eh, probably the mix of a hormonal and social thing.
 

Thelonepickle

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You guys aren't that bright, are you?

It said that the chance was ELEVATED if you're a younger bro, but that there was still a rate of 95% of HETEROSEXUAL men. >_< Y'all need to READ.

"Well, I'm not gay, so this article is a lie." ._.

I'd like to see if they have anything to say about sisters. ._. Hmm. This study was interesting. o.o; I wonder how people with open minds will react to it.

XIII Heartless said:
I could care less if my brother was gay or not. As long as he doesn't bring other boyfriends over.

Other?
 

letsplaycroquet

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thelonepickle said:

LMFAO!!! I laughed my ass off at this. No joke.

But anyways, I have an older brother and two older sisters, and I turned out bi. So does that somewhat prove that article?
 

Xiao

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There are much more valuable and worthwhile topics that these people could be researching.

How stupid.
 

Phoenix

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These people research whatever the hell they want to research because they're taking their own time to do it. If you want something else researched, do so yourself. Knowledge for knowledge's sake.

I could care less if my brother was gay or not. As long as he doesn't bring other boyfriends over.

But you'd still be allowed to bring girlfriends?
 
E

Eclipse

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" It says that if you have older brothers, you may be more likely to be gay.

yup i know. but i'm not gay. so i'm one of the factors that push the odds the other way
 

Phoenix

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It's not pushing the odds the other way, Eclipse. In short, it's like saying there's a 5% chance of a man being gay, and a 7% chance for the younger brother to be gay. The odds sre still for being straight.
 
E

Eclipse

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It's not pushing the odds the other way, Eclipse. In short, it's like saying there's a 5% chance of a man being gay, and a 7% chance for the younger brother to be gay. The odds sre still for being straight.

oh yeah i guess you're right. Well i mean i'm on the side of the younger brothers that don't turn gay lol

maybe younger brothers turning gay has something to do with looking up to their older brother so much that they in fact become attracted to the gender. i have no clue lol
 

Thelonepickle

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oh yeah i guess you're right. Well i mean i'm on the side of the younger brothers that don't turn gay lol

maybe younger brothers turning gay has something to do with looking up to their older brother so much that they in fact become attracted to the gender. i have no clue lol

You're also on the side of people who aren't literate. That's not a good thing. And you didn't read the post.

It said that it doesn't matter how they're brought up. The environment doesn't matter. The big thing was that the boys share a mother. If there were five brothers, all from the same mom, even if they don't all live together, the YOUNGEST BOY would have a higher chance of being gay.

I seriously don't know why you're so upset, Xiao. This is a serious topic, and even if it wasn't, like Pho said, they can research whatever the heck they want to. You think THIS is ridiculous? SEEDLESS WATERMELON, ANYONE? Someone RESEARCHED THAT.

._. Or is that more important to you than a subject that ends up wrenching some families apart, so that Bi or Gay teens end up on the streets? This is a HUGE turning point. If they find out that your sexual orientation is determined by your... Biology..? Anyway, if they find that out, it'll be telling people that it's NOT. A CHOICE. >_<

Son: Father, I'm Gay. It's how I was born.
Father: No, you choose to be.
Son: -shows study-

Now, the father can either say: "Well, that's science. I have God, science means nothing," or he can actually admit that his son might not be "choosing" to be Gay so that he can be "different." >_<

._. So there.
 

Katattack

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The people who say "I'm not gay, lol" over and over again are the people who come off looking like they're in denial.

Anyway, like Pickle said, maybe this study will help people realize that it might not be a choice.

And acceptance would be nice.
 

Phoenix

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It never was a choice. Anybody with common sense would know this. I don't choose to be attracted to girls, so I'm not sure how anybody with half a brain would think someone would choose to be attracted to guys, knowing the hard life and stigma it awaits them.
 

MemoriesLast4ever

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after reading what all of you had said, I think that how they are brought up to be gay, is how they're being influenced from their friends/families/surroundings


welp, that's what i think.
 

Phoenix

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Please, do explain to me how do the surroundings turn off a hormone.
 

Thelonepickle

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"Wow, there's the mailman. I'm not going to kill him, because that's not how I'm being raised- Oh, darn it, now I'm gay."

.-. Does that make sense to you?

Pho's right. But even if it's scientifically proven that it's NOT a choice, I'm almost completely sure that nobody'll turn their head. They'll go and say, "No. You're wrong about Evolution, and you're wrong about this, and I have God, and he's going to condemn those people, and I know this, because being Gay is being DIFFERENT."

>_> Closed minds. They're so lame. Religion? Fine. Be religious. That's perfectly okay with me! But can't people consider for ONE second that their beliefs might not be "The Only Right Way?" If you start a conversation with any one of most people I know by saying: "Okay, you have God. I accept that. But let's say, Hypothetically," they'll cut you off.

They'll say: "No. God is up there, and there is no other way, so even though I want YOU to be able to say that, hypothetically, there's a God and that you believe in my God, I won't consider for a minute what you truly believe." And I hate that.

>_< CLOSED MINDS! -shakes fist-

Anyway, this study was completely worth researching. >.> So there.
 
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