"There is no argument anymore"

MYTH

There is not enough evidence to show that homosexuality
is biological in origin and not ultimately a personal choice

TRUTH

A unique Swedish study links sexual orientation and brain function.  Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it determined that straight men and gay women have a greater right sided activity, and gay men and straight women showed equal activation in both.  The structure studied, which is larger in women than in men, connects the left and right temporal cortexes.

Previous experiments that have found differences in the brains of gay and straight people were sexual in nature.  For the first time a study shows differences in functions not linked to sex or attraction, suggesting it has nothing to do with sexual behaviour and that there is a basic biological link between sexual orientation and brain function.

This research has emerged from an era of prejudice and fear and neurobiological research related to sexual orientation is only just gathering steam.  The evidence shows that humans have a vast array of brain differences in relation to sexual orientation, not just gender.  These mechanisms are set in the womb or during infancy as a result of genetic or hormonal factors.

The days are numbered when anti-gay groups can, with a smear of confidence, offer the opinion that homosexuality is a choice.  According to Dr. Qazi Rahman, a lecturer in cognitive biology at the University of London, “There is no argument anymore - if you are gay, you are born gay”.

Not news to us, of course.

Sources:

• "Sexual orientation and its basis in brain structure and function", D F. Swaab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, July 2008
• "The Return of the 'Gay Brain'", Neal McKenna, GAY Pages, March 2010