YouTubers Alex and his alter ego Xander want to know why feeling good often means being “bad.” So they’re going to use science, sketch comedy and a little skin to get at the core of taboo topics and pleasures. Introducing the new Queerty column, The Science of Sin.
Aspiring GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson thinks homosexuality is a choice (before he changed his mind). John Enslen, an Alabama judge, wrote in a Facebook post that “Homosexual marriage is on the wrong side of morality. Unlike skin color, homosexuality is not an immutable physical character trait disconnected with our moral agency.”
Come on, dudes, we can all at least agree that homosexuality is hardwired biologically, right? After all, that’s the scientific consensus–much like the fact that global warming is caused by humans.
Let’s review the facts.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
To give the antigay wing nuts the benefit of the doubt, it can be hard to understand from an evolutionary, biological context why homosexual men exist (other than to create great outfits and run Apple). If gay men aren’t driven to procreational sex, how are gay genes passed on from generation to generation?
The Myth
At the turn of the 20th century, researchers like Sigmund Freud believed absent fathers made boys gay. They thought that since many gay men reported distant relationships with their dads, homosexuality arose because these men had not been properly “masculinized” by their aloof fathers.
But experts now believe it wasn’t the fatherly distance that caused homosexuality – but rather the homosexuality that caused the distance. In other words, the father withdrew from the homosexual child–if he was even around at all.
Today we know for a fact that homosexuality endures and even flourishes in every culture and throughout the animal kingdom. This means that being gay likely is the result of some biological and evolutionary mechanisms.
Here are the leading hypotheses as to why we have homos…
1. A lot of older brothers
Multiple studies have confirmed that the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he is to be gay. That might be because a mother’s body develops antibodies to male hormones the more boys she has. The antibodies then influence the development of any future sons, making them homosexual. Why would this happen? Maybe because the less heterosexual men that are born, the better chance a society has of avoiding overpopulation.
2. Fertile Females
Studies show that compared to families with no gay men, some families with a lot of gay men have women that give birth to many more babies. This leads scientists to think that perhaps the genes that make these women extra fertile make men … extra gay. So even though some men might be taken out of the gene pool, their sisters (and mothers and cousins) more than make up for them.
3. Kin Selection
Finally, in the hypothesis we like the best, studies on cultures that still live tribally show that having gay men around add to a family’s fitness. The idea is that gay genes stick around because having homosexual, non-reproducing members of a family are crucial for survival. Gay uncles without children of their own can help take care of their nephews and nieces along with the elderly. This added support ensures their kin will grow healthy and strong and pass on their genes by having children of their own.
There’s still a lot we don’t know about the biology of homosexuality (or sexuality for that matter). But it seems there are probably many different pathways to becoming gay. Woohoo!
Wanna learn more? Click the video to see Alex and Xander grapple with the existence of gay men…
Giancarlo85
Interesting theories and certainly there is substantial evidence showing sexuality is hardwired and not something you choose.
Xzamilio
He’s hot. I watched the video… “He’s hot” is the the only thing I came away from this video thinking. Nothing new at all. Did I mention he’s hot?
David
Christian Fundamentalists generally all say we are born sinners. Christian Fundamentalists also claim that being gay is a choice since no gay gene has been identified (yet).
So I have to ask, “Did I miss the discovery of the sin gene?”
AtticusBennett
I sat in on an “ex-gay” “support-meeting” years ago and all the boys insisted that they were gay because of absentee fathers. i pointed out exactly what these guys know – it’s the other way around. you’re not gay because your dad ignored you. your homophobic dad ignored you because he could tell you were gay.
Paul Nadolski
I am the firstborn in my family, and have no brothers (older or otherwise)…but I do have a distant, deceased great-uncle that we all believe was gay (he lived in a 1BR apt with another guy for years, in a small town…do the math). However, I am proud to be a gay uncle to the sweetest little girl ever (7 mos old) and look forward to spoiling her for years to come! If I’m gay to be the bestest uncle ever to my niece, then that’s a great reason to be gay IMO.
Xzamilio
My uncle is now an ex-gay, and I’M the out one lol. But, that man’s life has been a cornucopia of mental torture and anguish, so him denouncing his sexuality is the least of his worries, even though it’s an excuse… as it usually is. Blame your problems on your sexual orientation even though those problems are irrespective of it. He’s also becoming super religious in his older years, as my grandmother has a strong hold on him. I can’t with religious ignorance.
onthemark
I NEVER thought I’d say this but I’m curious what “jason smeds” will say about this!
MarionPaige
in how many cultures have men who have had sex with men NOT also have had sex with women? Again, in the whole scheme of things, “gay identity” doesn’t even register as a thing. Gay Identity is like House Music, they were both basically invented in the 1980’s.
Giancarlo85
@MarionPaige: There was gay identity in the US spanning back to the 1920s and also in Paris, France. Know your history please.
scotshot
@MarionPaige: Uh no, Miss Thing I don’t think you register. Thanks for the most ludicrous statement I’ve seen today – and that includes what I’ve seen regarding Kansas politics. Get real.
polarisfashion
I don’t totally agree with the theory about gay people not reproducing. I have met several gay people that have children or have expressed the desire to have children. When I was younger I would have said no to kids but now that I’m older, I’m on the fence. I think I may have missed out on something by not having a kid. If I ever meet the right man who does want to start a family, I might say yes. We could adopt, which would fall in line with the theory. But we could also have the option of a surrogate so we can pass our genes on. Maybe the theory is true for some people but certainly not everyone.
Billy Budd
There are hundreds of species of animals where homosexuality is common and frequent. I vote for hypothesis #3.
Kev
@MarionPaige Girl please.
jeffsmith60
Every culture around the world, from the earliest records, show the presence of gays and lesbians. Every single culture. With the exception of the descendants of Abraham, every culture accepted gays and lesbians in one form or another. In some cultures, they were even revered. Same-sex intimacy was an accepted custom, particularly in the military. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that there was even a term for same-sex relations. Same-sex attraction is too widespread for it to be random, especially since the percentage of populations who practice same-sex intimacy exclusively is approximately the same. We are hard-wired for this intimacy. If you want to look at this from a religious standpoint, God made an awful lot of gay people. Theologically, there may well be a reason for this that we are not yet privy to.
Ditamo
@Xzamilio: There were 2 of them. Double the hotness!!!
jwtraveler
@Ditamo: Yeah. They’re both cute.
blackberry finn
@MarionPaige: The idea of the exclusive “homosexual” goes back in writing to at least the Marquis de Sade (re. Comte de Bressac) in France and to 18th century Japan, to give 2 examples. That doesn’t mean that the concept didn’t exist before, only that it wasn’t seen as worthy of writing down by the aristocrats and monks, i.e., the few who knew how to write
Xzamilio
@Ditamo: I wish it was 2 of them. But it was the same guy. You could even tell in the video, at some points the split screen would overlap.
Xzamilio
The video on bisexuality though… loved it.
Bauhaus
The second son phenomenon may have some credence. I’m a second son. Many gay/bi men I’ve spoken to are second sons. Many of our most famous world historical gays are second sons. Fascinating.
Charlie in Charge
Kin Selection over here – Grandfather was either gay or bi and lived with his partner from all through the 70s and 80s.
heyitsme
1. A lot of older brothers
Multiple studies have confirmed that the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he is to be gay. That might be because a mother’s body develops antibodies to male hormones the more boys she has. The antibodies then influence the development of any future sons, making them homosexual. Why would this happen? Maybe because the less heterosexual men that are born, the better chance a society has of avoiding overpopulation.
Of course, statistically seen it IS more likey to be gay if you are a younger child. If you are a younger child, then that means that your parents had multiple children, so the likelyhood of one of them being gay increases, and if your parents had more than one child, then it’s more likely to be one of the younger ones than the eldest. This is really a no-brainer.
Kangol
I clicked on this article just because it showed an Asian American man, and this site is woefully neglectful in posting articles about or that might be especially relevant to men of color, especially Asian Americans. You can do better, Queerty. You really can!
Detroit_Theorist
@queerty
My theory of gay existence (not noted above, and should include lesbians also):
I think there’s a bigger picture being missed. Mother Nature has always had the upper hand in the evolution of mankind. I think kin selection is a piece of the puzzle… But it’s non-selection. Has anyone looked at the trends of the gay population and how they’ve changed over the years? If there’s an increase in the gay population, a segment of society that doesn’t reproduce (or is significantly decreased)… Could one contend that maybe gays are mother natures way of population control? We have created vaccines and such to combat illness and prolonged everyone’s life span. Maybe Mother Nature has set in place a population segment that doesn’t reproduce in order to limit overpopulation in the world? A balance in the world that cannot be changed with a vaccine. When the human race finds ways to keep populating and increasing life spans, Mother Nature is bound to sneak in the back door and change things in order to restore order.
This is a theory I’ve been working on for a bit and truly believe the gay race (a non/limited reproducing race) is a race created to restore order to the damage of the earth. I believe this theory touches on the topic in the article about the fertile woman… Eventually Mother Nature decided to limit the woman’s ability to produce offspring (that would normally reproduce) in order to control their family’s population.
Again, even the “a lot of older brothers” section of article… We are talking about a fertile woman who has given birth to a few children and eventually Mother Nature said it was time for the family’s population to be controlled with a non-reproducing child.
ganross
Population control: Myth. Any gene designed to limit the reproduction of a specific individual will lead to a lessening of the frequency of that gene in a population until the gene is extinct. The exception is where the gene also functions to aid the extreme reproduction of genetically identical individuals (like ants / bees) through a kin that retains reproductive capacity.
Older brothers: Oldest brothers have tend to have a higher performance expectation by parents and a corresponding social compliance rate. Gay eldest brother’s simply get married and reproduce more often than younger brothers.
Kin selection: only functions where kin are significantly genetically similar. It would be far more genetically efficient for a man to have his own children (even a gay man) than aid in the success of a brother’s offspring.
What needs to be remembered is that the vast bulk of gay men have female partners and children. The vast bulk of gay men live in countries that do not have financial support for the aged, and as a consequence it a life and death issue for one’s old age to have children (and support a religion that compels the young to care for the aged, and where possible makes marriage unbreakable once entered into). Gay men have as many children as straight men in these societies.
exclusive homosexuality is directly related in frequency to the certainty of financial security in old age (follows the introduction of pension systems in societies with long term stability and long term reliable banking systems)
Human genes are largely unaltered since homo sapiens first appeared. The evolution of any genetic reason for homosexuality is related to the structure of pre-historic hominid societies, rather than out own.