Essential to humanity

Dr. James O’Keefe gave a TEDx talk about homosexuality. For a while I debated whether to write a post about the talk because O’Keefe tends to generalize what gay people are like. So while he says things I like to hear I doubt they bring much weight to the discussion. Then again, science of homosexuality is still young and sometimes we must start with the generalizations.

O’Keefe starts with the story of his son coming out to him. He then ponders a paradox. Homosexuality doesn’t make sense in evolution. Gay people tend to not have many kids. The trait should have died out in a few generations. Yet, a small but persistent part of the population has been gay throughout history. What advantage is there of having a homosexual population?

It may not be about the survival of the fittest individual, but of the fittest family. From the genetic point of view it may be just as good for a gay man to help the family raise two children than to raise one himself.

Gays tend to score higher in intelligence, cooperation, and compassion, and lower in hostility. There is strength in diversity. Gay men tend to be a catalyst to emotionally connect people together.

A “male loving” gene in a female tends to mean lots of kids. That same gene in a male means a higher chance of being gay. This balances a large family with an extra adult who tends to promote togetherness and thus improve chances of survival for the whole family.

His son’s ability for emotional connection has been a big advantage for his family. They are stronger and happier because his son is gay.

We are essential to humanity.

Strained peas

When I get busy interesting articles accumulate in browser tabs. Here is an effort to clean out the backlog.

Bishop Gene Robinson visited Jon Stewart to discuss his new book God Believes in Love. Robinson says lots of people -- including Fundie youth -- recognize our love and are looking for a way forward. He wrote the book as a Biblical support of gay marriage.

And Stewart takes a look at the Supremes accepting the two gay marriage cases. Along the way he touches on the vile stuff that Scalia said recently.



Speaking of Scalia and his nasty statement…

A New York Times editorial said:

[Princeton student Duncan] Hosie [who had asked Scalia the question] wondered why Scalia couldn't make his points without offensive implications about gays and the lives they live. But what if those slurs were the point? That's a depressing possibility to contemplate as Scalia and his colleagues prepare to rule on cases involving same-sex marriage.

But progressive court watchers aren't perturbed by Scalia's antics. His vote isn't in play anyway. The ones to watch are Kennedy and Roberts. Lawyers on both sides of the case will be tailoring their arguments towards these two men.



If you have time, here is a series of 35 cartoons on gay marriage. My favorite is #7. The ones at the end of the list appear to be from when New York approved gay marriage more than a year ago.



Scientists have a new hypothesis on why some people are gay. It has something to do with "epi-marks" that influence how genes do their work. These thingies are not supposed to be inherited, but in the case of gay people they are. I'll let you go read the original if you want to know more. Though Timothy Kincaid is going to stick to his hypothesis of Gerber Strained Peas. Go ahead, prove him wrong.

You aren't giving me any grandchildren

Now that science has generally agreed that sexual orientation is determined by the time of birth lots of scientists have been exploring what mix of hormones in the womb might be the trigger. It isn't all that big of a step to begin to wonder how a mother might guarantee her baby will grow up to be straight and give her grandchildren.

There is a condition, abbreviated CAH, that might lead to an intersex condition (genitals of both male and female). A steroid known as dex might reduce the impact of CAH (I won't make any claims to the accuracy of my summary, if you really want details, please follow the links). Thus the conjecture is that dex might heighten the feminine traits of a fetus and the girls thus born won't become lesbians. This particular line of research has all kinds of ethical issues, even if the lesbian component is ignored. I'll leave that for others to explore. I'll also set aside the irony of denying that homosexuality has a biological component while researching ways to biologically prevent it.

But this is a good opportunity to look whether preventing homosexuality is a good idea. Some of the reasons why a parent might want to make sure their child is straight.

* Spare a child the unhappiness of being persecuted for being gay.
* Guarantee the highest probability of having grandchildren.
* Have a child more like themselves for a more complete connection with that child.
* Avoid sin.

And behind all that is the desire that the little girl should grow up to be properly subjugated to a man so he can keep her barefoot and pregnant.

Alice Dreger of Psychology Today provides the rebuttal:

* The drug dex is highly risky even for the things it has been approved to treat.
* Homosexuality should not be seen as a problem to be cured. The solution to persecution is to change society to make gays more accepted.
* Forcing people to conform to the most conservative social norms is anti-democracy.
* Children are inherently unpredictable. Someone who only wants a child who is a straight boy with blue eyes and a high IQ is not ready to be a parent. Being a parent isn't about living your life through your child's success.
* Puppies make wonderful grandchildren. There's also less trauma in leaving them in a kennel.

More short notes

I'm way behind on my reading, so here are a few things that came across my radar today. Perhaps I'll comment on the news of the last 3 weeks as I catch up.

Obama decided to forego the $80M of public financing for the fall campaign. He says it isn't because he doesn't believe in clean financing (he does) or because he can raise more than that on his own (likely he can), but because the public financing system is broken, rigged to help lobbyists and special interest groups give unlimited funds to McCain.

The debate of the cause of homosexuality is shifting away from saying it is caused by genetics to exploring how the hormones of the womb interact with the fetus. And that implies that it may be possible to "correct" those hormones so that no baby is born gay. Offended? Sorry, you won't be in the room when the decision is made. Parents already screen for and abort the "wrong" gender. You think parents won't screen for the "wrong" orientation?

Why is it some Fundies are so rigid about the definition of marriage and God's supposed view of gays, yet they find all kinds of wiggle room when discussion torture? That puts them somewhere between hypocrite and heathen.

A laugh: Jon Stewart and the start of gay marriages in California. It is all in about the first 10 minutes.

Advertising with a twist: Mayonnaise so good it is like having a deli in your kitchen. And this is a New York deli.

Watch your irony meter on this one: Why I'm voting Republican.