The Biology of Sexual Orientation

One of the things I am rather passionate about is civil liberties -- those rights and accords to which all American citizens are supposed to granted inalienably, but which in practice has been an ongoing struggle to maintain.

At times, this position has placed me in some rather nasty fights and on sides in arguments that I'd much rather have not been on -- but there is the principle of the matter, and that's why I keep fighting it.

Sometimes, when defining certain subjects, one gets hit from direction one isn't expecting, and ends up having not merely to defend a civil right itself, but that the person in question is deserving of that right.

In the case of Same Sex Marriage, for some strange reason, there's a huge need for those opposed to it to maintain that since being gay is a lifestyle, it is not worthy of protection as a class and undeserving of the civil right.

When the initially obvious truth of the fact that Civil rights actually protect lifestyles more than inborn states is utterly ignored (which is all too often outside of a court of law), the argument turns to the whole insult of calling it a lifestyle.

The first flaw there is that no one has ever been able to describe, to me, what that "gay lifestyle" is, and how it applies universally to all gays (in order for it to be a lifestyle, it does sorta need to be applicable to a majority of a given group. Otherwise its just a basic stereotype that is individualized).

The second flaw, though is the whole born gay argument. And this one has given me the greatest trouble, lol.  Since the majority of those I'm arguing with were educated in he 80's or earlier, when the current body of science based on 1960 or earlier information, half the battle is providing them with a quick, easy, and truthful reference point for the studies that have been done *since* EoH was published 20 years ago.

And that's a LOT of studies. In fact, the most significant advances have been made in the last 10 years. And, now, joy of joys, I've come across a source that's going to sorta hurt a lot of people's arguments:

Link to The Biology of Sexual Orientation

Its Simon LeVay's personal website. The page linked to is probably the best overview of the field I have *ever* seen.

He even pulled up the Berglund studies I can never find the stupid citations for, LOL

Although I don't expect some of the folks with whom I'm arguing to *ever* acknowledge it (its too fundamental to their worldview) It just might make those who are more intelligent aware of the best info available.

As a resource, its all but unimpeachable. The creationists (who generally are opposed to the scientific method anyway) aren't going to buy it, but then, they don't go for consensus anyway (they want a theocracy -- consensus is antipathic to their cause).

Its terrible, as I'll now be wielding it like a baton as a strong weapon in my cause, but its also wonderful because it is so thorough that I even learned several things.

and I adore learning new things, lol