Do you think sexual orientation runs in families?

[NewWaveChick1981]

I do. After digesting all the research I've read over the years, after all the psychology classes I've ever had, and after comparing this information to my own personal observations, I believe sexual orientation is biologically based and cannot be changed. A person does not choose his or her orientation---it just is. People can alter their behaviors, but they cannot change their orientations just as they cannot change their personalities.

That being said, I think heredity plays a big role in sexual orientation. For example: I know two brothers who are both gay. Two gay men I know (not related to each other) have siblings that are bi. I knew a woman in college who was a lesbian, and she had a lesbian sister. In my own family, it runs like this:

*I am the oldest sibling, and I am bi (I'm a 3 on the Kinsey scale).
*My sister is the middle child, and she is 100% straight. She says she has never had any inclination to experiment with same-sex relations.
*My brother is the youngest, and he is 100% gay. He says he has never had any inclination to experiment with heterosexual relations.

I think this is a fascinating subject and would welcome your honest input. :)

[VenusRising]

1. Out of 5 kids

3 boys and 2 girls, 2 of my uncles were gay.

I always thought it was interesting that 2 of the boys were gay but neither of the girls.

:shrug:

[NewWaveChick1981]

2. Very interesting...

It could be, too, that the women didn't admit to having a "different" orientation or were possibly confused or in denial. You never know....:)

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. I'm not sure.

I don't know anything about the actual percentages, but it seems to me that it might be more likely that someone would be honest about their sexuality in a family where someone has already come out.

[NewWaveChick1981]

4. True.

:hi:

[City of Mills]

5. It's very possible...

My sister and I are both hetero, but both very close to asexual - very little interest in sex. We've both gone through 'gay' accusations, as it must be difficult to understand those who do not seem overty sexual.

[smirkymonkey]

16. Hmmm... same w/ my Sister and I. She is married, I am single.

I used to be kind of promiscuous, but it just kind of dropped off. However, it comes back when I find someone I am really attracted to, but they are few and far between. I see men that I THINK are attractive, but not many men that really turn me on, if that makes any sense.

I am also on anti-depressant medication, so that might have something to do with it and I have been celibate for years, although I could easily change that in a minute if I wanted to.

I think people have a harder time with people who aren't very sexual than they do with people who are homosexual. I also am kind of a loner, and don't really feel a need to be "paired up" unless I found someone who I pretty much couldn't live without. Once you get to a certain age, people think you need to be "coupled" and if you're not, they think there is something wrong with you.

[TZ]

6. Oh this is pretty much scientifcally accepted

there are several very famous studies including several sets of identical twins separtated at birth who both end up being gay.
There have also been studies that show differing levels of hormones between straight and gay individuals as well.
Like most behavior though, there is likely environmental influences as well. But yes, homosexuality has a strong genetic component.

[tjwmason]

13. Exactly.

It doesn't have to be an either/or discussion in terms of nature/nurture - it is most likely that there are a number of influences from both of these quarters.

Anyway however it's spun all I know is that I'm gay and that I never made any decision to be so - factors beyond my control made me so.

[Kali]

7. don't have time to look it up right now, but back in college

I recall that someone was conducting identical twin studies and that the trend was definitely biology.

(for those who think it would be an evolutionary dead end, you clearly don't understand how genetics, inheritance, and complex behavior combine to result in reproductive success.)

[rug]

8. Not more than a generation or two.

[Bullwinkle925]

9. Yes, I do . . .

I think everything about us is genetically imprinted. I've always scoffed at people who think *homosexuality is a lifestyle choice* - for GOD'S SAKE - I challenge anyone to tell me the exact point in time when they made that *decision* for themselves. It's absurd.

[cwydro]

10. My sister and I

are both gay.

My best friend in high school was gay, but her twin was not. Her younger sis was however. An ex of mine is gay (lol obviously), but her twin was not.

My mom always talks about an old aunt who never married and I have looked at her pictures and I am thinking, yep.

Who knows?

One set of twins was identical, the other not. For what that is worth. I do think it runs in families. Certainly a biological thing.

[supernova]

11. Possibly

Logically speaking, if we say that sexual orientation is inherited, just like any other trait, then it would stand to reason that sex orientation runs in families.

But I try not to think about it too hard, coming from the South, where your reputation lives and dies by "who your people are." :crazy: And you know what I'm talking about. ;-)

edit for clarification: For those nonSoutherners, it's more of a game of if "you are related to Jed, then your personality and interests must be similar to or just like Jed's. It's more of a way to try to figure you out before the person knows you really well. A kind of family-based stereotyping, if you will. That's the crazy-making part for me, because I am very different from either my sister or my brother.

[triguy46]

12. We're all aligned north south, none are east west.

[baby_mouse]

14. I'm gay and so's my brother.

So, if you take me as a representative, although very small example, there is evidence for it...

[UncleSepp]

15. Dunno, but I think gender variation does

One of my great-grandmothers and both my grandmothers were masculine to very masculine, as was my (motorcycle-riding, whiskey-drinking, cigar-chomping) great-aunt. There have been several women in my family going back to the late 1800s even who were known to have said that if they could have been men instead, they would have been. As far as sexuality goes, well - there are more than a few gay people in the family going back several generations, too, so maybe.

[racaulk]

17. I absolutely believe that it does.

I've had many gay friends over the years that have gay siblings. Some examples off of the top of my head with my gay friends:

My friend James is one of 8 children and has a gay brother.
My friend Jeff is one of 6 children and has a gay brother.
My friend Brian is one of 2 children and has a lesbian sister.
My friend Keith is one of 5 children (all boys) and has a gay brother.
My bisexual friend Victor has two sisters, and one of them is a lesbian.

And the most extreme case...

My friend Chris is one of 5 boys, and 4 of them are gay.

And I could name many other examples. I've seen this way to often for me not to believe that there is a biological basis for their orientation.

[Kixel]

18. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought so-but

My little cousin recently came out to me. He's pretty sure his brother is as well-which surprised me, but I have learned to always trust a gay person's gay-dar (that and he caught him watching gay male porn on two different instances-I'd think he's gotta be bi at least?).

My friend Jay is gay, I have yet to meet his brother but he refers to him as a white, gay, Bill Cosby. I think I have to meet him to wrap my head around that description.

I was talking to a couple when out with some friends at a local gay club and a woman introduced me to her lesbian daughter and told me that her mother was gay as well.

I didn't really even think about putting all these together until I read this thread. Huh. I know gay folks who don't have any family members who are gay (that they are aware of). I don't think I'd make an conclusions based on that, but its interesting.