Scientists may be on the verge of discovering a physicalbasis for homosexuality, that can be passed down fromgeneration to generation. This discovery would be a majorbreakthrough for the civil rights of gay people, since theycould no longer be denied equal treatment under the law inthe U.S.
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Experiments with the DNA of fruit flies and sheep show that male homosexuality is genetic. Now Martin Hutchinson writes in BBC News that lesbianism may be due to hormones.
Lesbians are more than twice as likely to suffer from a hormone-related condition called polycystic ovarian syndrome. Symptoms include excess hair, acne, and obesity, as well as a greater risk of diabetes and fertility problems. One in ten women has the condition, which produces excess male sex hormones in the bloodstream. While not all women with the condition are lesbians, many more lesbians have the condition.
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A study of gay sheep shows that homosexuality is probably genetic. Rams that prefer male sexual partners have distinct differences in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. This region is usually twice as large in rams as in ewes, but in gay rams it’s almost identical in size to that in “straight” females. The hypothalamus regulates the release of sex hormones and controls many types of sexual behavior.
These differences are almost identical to those identified in gay men by neuroscientist Simon LeVay. His work is considered controversial because the brains he studied came from men who died of AIDS, so it wasn?t clear if the differences were due to homosexuality or the disease.
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