Is Sexual Preference Genetic?
Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:13 am
I heard an interesting news podcast the other day that was talking about the increasing rate of people identifying as gay in Millenials, and even more so in Gen Z. In large part, they think this is because it has become so much more accepted (compared to how it used to be) to come out. When my son came out, he told my wife and other kid first, and said he was hesitant to tell me. My wife said, "Why? You know he's always said he wanted a gay kid?" And he said, "Yeah, he's going to make a big deal out of it and be goofy." (I still did that, by the way.)
So I think there's truth to that, right? I know that in the 80s if one of my friends came out, everyone would ostracize them and make their lives miserable. It had to be awful. In the 90s, as there was more acceptance, I'm sure it was still pretty awful. The kids I know that have come out in the last few years do it like it's no big deal- because it's not. So there has to be some element of this at play in the increasing numbers.
But the other factor they talked about is the increase in younger people thinking that sexual preference isn't just genetic. It's not necessarily that "you're born this way." But rather that there's also an element of choice-- sexual preference isn't necessarily binary and people can move on the fluid scale of sexual preference. I think there's probably a lot of truth to this also and that the answer is that there's both a genetic component and a non-genetic component.
But what was interesting in this podcast was there are some that are outright rejecting any genetic component because they find it offensive. There's a significant portion of young people that feel like it's discriminatory to say "You're born this way" because maybe they identify as gay/bi/straight now, but haven't always felt that way and maybe want to identify differently in the future. When older gay people tried to explain why it was important to stress the genetic component in the 80s and 90s (so that it could be used as a device to force straight people to acknowledge that it's wrong to discriminate against someone because they can't help the way they feel), to these kids- particularly Gen Z kids- that was ancient history that they: (1) didn't care about; and (2) were hostile to. And to them, it was like arguing some depression-era logic.
It was jarring hearing kids talk about how homophobic and small-minded it is to talk about being "born this way"-- because for me (and I assume a lot of people my age) that was really a rallying cry for gay acceptance in the 90s and 2000s. Hell, Madonna made a song about it! But as I thought about it and listened to what these kids were saying, I'm not sure that they're wrong. Is there a genetic component? Sure, maybe. But who cares. Who are we to place a negative value on someone else's sexual preference for any reason?
So I think there's truth to that, right? I know that in the 80s if one of my friends came out, everyone would ostracize them and make their lives miserable. It had to be awful. In the 90s, as there was more acceptance, I'm sure it was still pretty awful. The kids I know that have come out in the last few years do it like it's no big deal- because it's not. So there has to be some element of this at play in the increasing numbers.
But the other factor they talked about is the increase in younger people thinking that sexual preference isn't just genetic. It's not necessarily that "you're born this way." But rather that there's also an element of choice-- sexual preference isn't necessarily binary and people can move on the fluid scale of sexual preference. I think there's probably a lot of truth to this also and that the answer is that there's both a genetic component and a non-genetic component.
But what was interesting in this podcast was there are some that are outright rejecting any genetic component because they find it offensive. There's a significant portion of young people that feel like it's discriminatory to say "You're born this way" because maybe they identify as gay/bi/straight now, but haven't always felt that way and maybe want to identify differently in the future. When older gay people tried to explain why it was important to stress the genetic component in the 80s and 90s (so that it could be used as a device to force straight people to acknowledge that it's wrong to discriminate against someone because they can't help the way they feel), to these kids- particularly Gen Z kids- that was ancient history that they: (1) didn't care about; and (2) were hostile to. And to them, it was like arguing some depression-era logic.
It was jarring hearing kids talk about how homophobic and small-minded it is to talk about being "born this way"-- because for me (and I assume a lot of people my age) that was really a rallying cry for gay acceptance in the 90s and 2000s. Hell, Madonna made a song about it! But as I thought about it and listened to what these kids were saying, I'm not sure that they're wrong. Is there a genetic component? Sure, maybe. But who cares. Who are we to place a negative value on someone else's sexual preference for any reason?