2. HOMOSEXUALITY www.afrol.com www.cuny.edu www.ldsmag.com www.topnews.com www.sheepleblog.net www.orgs.kvcc.edu

3. “[T]he noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail.” Erotikos (Dialogue on Love) www.ibiblio.org

4. Choose to be gay? Or Born that way?

5. homosexuality as a mental illness Electroshock therapy Brain surgery Hormone injections Castration Health professionals believed it could be cured… www.ecuadorciencia.org www.budgetstockphoto.com

6. Sigmund Freud had a theory… dominant motherpassive/indifferent father homosexual son Freud http://blog.syracuse.com www.centreforattachment.com

7. Theory outdated! 2 things wrong with this theory… …it doesn’t explain : lesbian s heterosexuals in the same situation www.wesleyjsmith.com

8. Began looking to science to give us the answers… “The environment a child grows up in has nothing to do with what makes most gay men gay. Two of the most convincing studies have proved conclusively that sexual orientation in men has a genetic cause.” M. Abrams http://feminocracy.files.wordpress.com

9. The two studies: 1 st Study Exploration of environmental affects on individuals with genital deformities 2 nd Study Examination of twins http://img.dailymail.co.uk http://carbolicsmoke.com

10. 1 st Study Performed by William Reiner He studied a group of males who were born with genital deformities and as a result surgically constructed and raised to be female. He found that these individuals were attracted to females despite their upbringing, and believed that if society and environment had a role; at least one of these man- turned-woman should have been attracted to men but there was: “no documented case of that happening.”

11. 2 nd Study Performed by Michael Baily Examined twins and discovered the following: Identical Twins one gay 50% chance the other one was gay Fraternal Twins one gay 20% chance the other one was gay -grew up in same environment so clearly DNA has an affect

12. If identical twins have the same DNA then why only 50% ?

13. Geneticist Sven Bocklandt believes methylation is key. turns off certain sections of genetic code (often determines which genes will turn on – one from mom or one from dad?-) Therefore, although both twins inherit the same DNA, Methylation could turn off the “gay gene” in the one. Methyl group added to DNA, in result: reducing gene expression

14. Another geneticist, Dean Hamer published a study claiming to prove genetically that people are born gay. After interviewing/examining 76 pairs of gay brothers: -he pinpointed a stretch of chromosome where the gene that causes homosexuality resides -inherited maternally (compared the X chromosomes to find a shared genetic marker) -this marker is referred to as Xq28 However,

15. To this date we still haven’t found the exact base pairs that might cause homosexuality in males. Some researchers say this is partly because society refuses to fund sex research. www.fmp-8.cit.nig.gov

16. FACT: Genes involved in sexual orientation produce receptors in one’s brain that absorb hormones released by the developing baby’s testicles. Another theory: In gay men: -receptors less sensitive (or even blocked)- = lower levels of testosterone = brain develops some female characteristics such as male attraction It happens in the womb! www.photobucket.com

17. More in the 21 st CENTURY: Conflicted views remain, but homosexuality is more publicly integrated http://pnsexplosion.com www.captial2.captial.edu http://boifromtroy.com www.sofia-life.comwww.aboutsaopaulo.com