If science isolated the "gay gene" would there be a major backlash from the gay community?
 

Science identifies the gay gene, and eventually parents are offered the choice of whether or not to remove it from children that have it, thus basically wiping out most of the future's gay population.

What do you think would happen?

On one hand, let's say you're about to be a new parent and the doctor comes to you and says your son/daughter has the gay gene and will in all likelyhood be gay... but they can remove it. I would think most parents would want it removed, no? I'm sure a lot of people would also welcome the technology that would give them such a choice.

Thoughts?

I would think gays would see this as science viewing gayness as a disease, and try to stop it from being available. Gay scientists might then try to isolate the "christian" gene. Payback is a bitch. :D

I would never have it removed.

Yeah. I think the community would see it as a belittlement to them and portray them as fuck ups, even if it is technically true.

You are not born gay, so it would have nothing to do with genes.

Ya ya whatever Edison. Just go with the hypothetical, k? thx.

Meta is an idiot but research suggests that most likely some people are born gay while some 'turn' gay due to environment / upbringing.

I think to a certain aspect, I could see where some people would see that. I do think in certain cases, there are people that have gay sex, and are in gay relationship out of choice. I also believe there are people who are born gay, and have been for as long as they can believe.

Example, myself, I have been gay for as long as I can possibly remember. I remember being a young child and finding males attractive, and I only shut up about saying that when I had learned that it lead me to getting made fun of. I then quit saying it and did not come out until I was 20.

In other cases, I find that people do it out of boredom, or I am not sure really. I was just talking to this chick at a bar last night, and something came up about her being a lesbian. Her friends were telling me she is in a lesbian relationship. She said "no, I am not, my girlfriend just broke up with me, and besides, I am not even a lesbian".

Some people are just confused and/or want attention, and you will always have those types running around. :2 cents:

gay gene I wouldn't mind, but if they have a Christian gene, that shit's gotta go!


Spanx!
Jack

I have no idea how it will ever be possible to actually remove a gene from a life
that has formed. The gene would be in every single cell in the life wouldn't it?

Sounds like the first attempt at removal will produce nothing but a deformed mass
of useless life. We will then debate whether or not we should kill that "thing".

That would rock. Then we could get rid of the gay shit on tv.

Aren't "Diesel" jeans the gay jeans?


.

Assume it becomes possible. Woman is in early stages of pregnancy, doctors can, with a simple procedure, not remove but 'deactivate' said gene.

What do you see the fallout being?

I remain skeptical that the science necessary to neutralize homosexuality will ever be developed

I believe there is some kind of a gay gene. Somewhere encoded in our DNA is certain things, such as being overweight or having Alzheimer's.

Even if we could detect and remove such a "gay gene" it would not mean the end of the gay community. I'm guessing that not every parent would choose to do this kind of screening, and some wouldn't do anything about it even if they knew their kid was going to be gay... Let's face it, being gay isn't the worst thing in the world is pretty much accepted.

True, but I'm betting many would.

My question is, what would be the fallout of having such technology and such a "service" available to the public? I'm envisioning mass protests and even voilence from the gay community, am I off base?

Even if it would only irradicate 50% of all future gays and leave only the ones going that route by choice, I don't see it going over well with a lot of people. But a veritable ton of others would support it. Wouldn't they?

They have isolated the "gay gene" in fruit flies... many years ago, google it, it's pretty interesting :P

That's a hard one to answer. I don't think I could answer that until faced with the problem directly.

While I have ZERO problems with homosexuality, I do feel that it is important for the survival of the human race for males and females to mate and reproduce. To know my child will be gay... whew, not easy to answer.

If it could be removed, it would be hailed as a cure depending on your stance regarding gays.

I think the fallout would actually come more from the Christians than the gay community. Whenever there is talk of any kind of genetic manipulation the Christian conservatives get up in arms saying that we shouldn't be messing with God's work. If there were a gay gene that could be deactivated I think those same people would see it as a non-proven technology and that we shouldn't be messing with it.

I doubt it will be removing a gene it will just lead to a test for pregnant women that can tell them their child will be gay and they won't be getting any grandchildren. Cue abortion.

Interesting theory. While I agree that what you're saying could and likely would occur, I also think there are a good number of religious types who would hypocritically forgo their stance on genetic manipulation and instead leap at the chance to have the world's gay population reduced.

But you're right, I hadn't thought of the extreme religious right, many of whom would be vehemently against the technology itself rather than supporting the outcome of it. Imagine, an issue bringing them and gays together in common protest. ha!

i am concerned about a gay chemical weapon gas that nations in the future would use on their enemies and turn them queer.

I often wonder if there are more bi-sexual or lesbian women then men, there reason why i wonder is that i think that IF social conditions can make a person gay then all the sexy advertising featuring half naked women could affect many women into trying lesbianism.
Lots of women i've spoken to said that they would go with another woman, many more in fact than girls who point blank refused to entertain the idea. (then again they might just be saying that because they know that two girls together turns men on and just like to tease)

Based on previous actions by groups toward clinics that perform procedures that
the group doesn't like; I predict that Gay Christians will bomb the clinic and kill
people to prove how humane they are as opposed to the people inside the clinic.

:1orglaugh

People who believe in God are always ready to kill for some reason.

i think you can't do that, fucking docs

I hope that my daughter's grow up to be lesbians.

It is possible that some religious groups would welcome the technology, but I think the number would be very small. Most religious people I know believe that being gay is a choice. They don't think you are born that way, they think you give in to temptation and choose to become that way and that you can choose to not be that way if you want.

why would you want to get rid of gay people? They are mother natures method of population control, since they wont have kids. Mother nature is crafty like that, you see. She had to make these guys love cock, because we went and started curing diseases and stuff that can kill you, thus balooning Earths population. Gotta purge this place somehow.

Yes, they don't think you are born gay NOW, but after the discovery of a gay gene and the ability to neutralize it, that in itself would prove that in at least a % of gay people it in fact would no longer be about choice. If science proved it unequivocally such religious folk would have no choice but to adjust their beliefs.

Personally I think the number would be higher than you think. I know one or two hardline Christians who absolutely despise gays and I'm sure would love nothing more than to see such a breakthrough occur.


Next question: if it became accepted practice (kind of like abortion is, yet it's still being protested constantly), after say 20 or 30 years of gay gene neutralization procedures going on, what do you see the long term impact on humanity being? Let's say there's a 50% drop in the world's gay population... problems in future? Do we as a species suffer for "messing with God's work" or would the world be better off?

If there is a gay gene it won't take long until they require genetic screening to join the catholic church choirs.

That would be bad...hollywood movies would suck even more and don't even get me started on fashion.

The human body is an absolute marvel. The primary motivation of the species is and really must remain to procreate. I think people being sexually attracted to only the same sex is simply nature's way of ending a bloodline. Let's face it, evolution is a constant process and clearly not variants of the genepool produce positive results. What better way to weed out unwanted traits than to eliminate the ability to reproduce?

It's flawless, don't fuck with it.

It would likely result in a large increase the number of abortions.......

which would simultaneously please the progressives because there would be more abortions and horrify them because it would mean less gay people......

while at the same time it would confuse the heck out of Christians who would not know whether it was better to have an abortion or have a gay child........

All in all it should provide lots of quality entertainment for those of us who don't give a flying fuck about about gays or abortion. :1orglaugh

I don't have kids yet, but if I do if they turn out to be gay it wouldn't bother me in the least. At least I wouldn't have to worry about teenage pregnancy.

I just want my kids to be happy and healthy. Sexual orientation is their choice, just like religion or politicical affiliation / ideals. You can try to steer your kids in the direction you would like to see them grow into, but there ae no guarantees. If you push them too hard one way they'll just rebel against you.

I don't think there is a gay gene, but just to roll with the hypothetical, I would try to foster or adopt the kids that would be cast away because of it.

That would just create a new gay mecca, and you KNOW it would be fabulous!

I think it would take at least a couple generations for it to become clear that there was a gay gene and it is now neutralized. When there were suddenly a couple of generations without any gay people then, logically, people should realize it wasn't/isn't a choice, but instead something you are born into. However, I still think the hard-line Christians will think it is a choice and will think this is all a conspiracy. I have a friend who is as far right religious as you can be. I asked him if he believed in aliens and he said no, God assures him we are his only children. So I asked what would happen if suddenly aliens landed and proved that wrong. He said he would believe God created them and brought them to us for a reason. There was no swaying him. So logically we should see shift in their beliefs, but logic isn't in the equation for many of these people.

Still, like you said, there are many religious gay haters who would be glad to see them gone no matter how it happened.

As for your second question, I think the long term effect is mostly going to be an increase in population. I have read that around 5-8% of the population is gay. While some of those people have still had kids, most of them have not. That percentage of the population would now be procreating just like everyone else so logically we might see an overall increase in world population.

We would also see a decline in quality interior decorating and fabulous clothing designs (bad jokes) :)

The fact that there is a "gay gene" indicates that being gay is natural and not, as critics of the gay rights movement claim, a choice. As for gay DNA screening, I think such a practice will be viewed the same way as sex selection screening is viewed (most advanced societies frown upon such a sexist practice).

The human X and Y chromosomes (the two “sex” chromosomes) have been completely sequenced and neither the map for the X nor the Y chromosome contains any “gay gene.”

Sadly, our compassion for one another means that science has developed things that keep the weak and sick alive and ready to procreate. As you can imagine, this doesn't bode will for the health of the species. When medicine came to be, is when evolution began tracking backwards, as far as I'm concerned. If the weak and sick don't die, and even procreate, how is the human species not toast?

As far as I know, we are the only species that allows the weak and dying to continue to live and procreate, which would explain our ailments :2 cents:

All fabulousness would be removed from the world if they nuked the gay gene.

The world would be lost. Gays start trends and the world picks up on them three to four years later. Ghettos would never be revitalized. Women wouldn't know how to dress. Fancy houses would be bland. You'd have less designer drugs. I could go on and on.

Weapons of Ass Destruction?


ROFL!
Jack

"Brave New World" Aldous Huxley

How about the Bi-sexual gene? And the married-men-who-fuck-gays gene? The real world is much less black and white as most think it is. Better to leave the gay gene alone I guess, as removing it could eventually lead to more rape cases..

:thumbsup

I should have been dead at 17 and even as recently as 60 years ago I probably would have been.

Produces a similar situation to the bone-idle workshy parasites on state benefits for life who will breed and produce children that don't work who will breed and produce another set of children that don't work. They are a drain on society just paying for a basic lifestyle.

Now apart from the fact that i'm not bone-idle and workshy and have done shitty jobs purely because I don't believe it's right to be a sponger i'm still a drain on society for being on what I think is the 6th most expensive drug in the world and unless something cheaper comes along i'm on it forever.

If I have children there is a high chance they would need it too in an ever more expensive triangle that never would have needed paying for in the past as i'd have been dead before the children side of things even came along.

Pharmaceutical companies love this idea. None of them wants to actually eliminate things like AIDS or cancer - they all want to be selling the most effective treatment for diseases instead.

There was recently introduced a prenatal screening test for what i've got which to me would now mean I could have a defective baby aborted but there are far to many anti-abortion nuts who seem to think eugenics is a bad thing that would carry on and happily burden themselves and everyone around them by having a baby that is definitely going to be unhealthy :Oh crap

So it's universally agreed then that gays are the only people with taste and a sense of style?

Interesting.


Thanks. I see it was written in 1931, well before the concept of genetics was concieved. Still it's quite a work of sci-fi for it's time. I haven't read it but looked up and read the detailed plot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World and backstory. Sure enough, it comes as no surprise that it's been banned in the past in several countries.

Good suggest though. It's close to the subject matter at hand but doesn't quite hit the mark entirely of what I'm angling at here.



Does anyone think that such a removal or deactivation of the supposedly mythical "gay gene" could be a world-ending move in the long run? "World-enders" are typically thought of as some natural or randomly occuring disaster like a giant meteor hitting the Earth or our polar ice caps melting and drowning the world, etc. But could something that is developed in human science also end up being a world-ender event?

Were it true in this case it would mean gays, although not able to procreate, are vital to the continued long term survival and well-being of the human race. Ridiculous? Possible? Utter nonsense and downright scandalous?

Think on it carefully (if you can) before answering.

The "gay gene" may be naturally disfavored anyway.. since most gay people do not reproduce.

Maybe in a small closed society they would add value for having the spare time not eaten up by children to care for others.

However, as the human race is so numerous and widespread i'm pretty sure you could randomly get rid of 90% of the worlds population tomorrow without that leading to extinction - unless you just shot the 90% and left them to rot in the street and spread disease which killed off the remaing 10%.

i'd prefer they would concentrate on curing cancer, hepatits, hiv and other diseases like that.

without gay people this world would become very grey and boring

Heterosexual partners have gay children and gay people (who have previously had heterosexual sex) have straight children, so I would think there are some hypotheses being thrown out in this thread that are dead from the start. :2 cents:

I agree in principle with that, but I'm also quite certain that scientific research in areas other than those you mentioned will always be going on as well.


Which hypotheses?