Comments

1. jayhuck says:
   June 16, 2008 at 10:52 pm

   FYI – I’m NOT disputing the research that is out there on gender atypicality
2. jayhuck says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:11 pm

   I did like this quote from the New Scientist on the new study out from the Karolinska Institute – which can be found on the Multiple Factors thread on this site:

   “Brain scans have provided the most compelling evidence yet that being gay or straight is a biologically fixed trait.

   The scans reveal that in gay people, key structures of the brain governing emotion, mood, anxiety and aggressiveness resemble those in straight people of the opposite sex.

   The differences are likely to have been forged in the womb or in early infancy, says Ivanka Savic, who conducted the study at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

   “This is the most robust measure so far of cerebral differences between homosexual and heterosexual subjects,” she says.”
3. Evan says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:19 pm

   Jayhuck,

   That exactly what I was arguing!!

   The scans reveal that in gay people, key structures of the brain governing emotion, mood, anxiety and aggressiveness resemble those in straight people of the opposite sex.

   If the brain structures that govern emotions in gays are similar to those of the opposite sex then they view the same sex in a similar manner the opposite sex does. Which means they feel similarly as much emotional ‘otherness’ to the same sex as straights do to the opposite sex. :p
4. jayhuck says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:22 pm

   I thought you were trying to push Daryl Bem’s view, which is different and with not nearly as much emphasis on the biological/genetic. My apologies!!!! This study adds to the growing body of evidence that homosexuality is largely a biologically “fixed trait”
5. jayhuck says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:25 pm

   Daryl Bem, as I understand his study, was trying to further the idea that the Environment played a larger role in determining orientation, which stands in contrast to the findings of this current study – I culled this from The Box Turtle Bulletin:

   “But until now, the question has remained as to what came first, the orientation or the brain development.

   To get round this, Savic and her colleague, Per Lindström, chose to measure brain parameters likely to have been fixed at birth.”
6. Ann says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:31 pm

   I believe that Bem’s idea that we are attracted to the unknown is simply one of many theories of attraction and orientation – it is NOT fact

   Jayhuck,

   I don’t know who Bem is (sorry) and just thought this (the unknown) was common knowledge. When the mind is stimulated with curiosity and of that which we do not know or cannot relate to, desire is stirred as well, often sexual.
7. Ann says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:33 pm

   I’m all ears

   Evan,

   and
8. jayhuck says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:38 pm

   I’m not sure about that Ann – I’m not usually attracted to things I can’t relate to or don’t understand – for me I have to be able to relate and understand on some level in order for there to be some attraction – I think it really all depends on what we mean when we talk about what is unknown or known, or what we mean be being able to relate to or even what we mean when we say – lots of unknown and problems with definitions – not sure we’re all on the same page with all these either – I’m a little lost
9. jayhuck says:
   June 16, 2008 at 11:45 pm

   I’m starting to think maybe I should just go to bed – I apparently can’t form complete sentences anymore
10. Ann says:
    June 17, 2008 at 12:09 am

    I sometimes think it would be great to know WHY I am attracted to these things and then other times I think its best that that remain a mystery

    Jayhuck,

    You never have to worry about chiming in on any post I am involved with – I always value your input.

    I have often looked back and wondered what it was about certain individuals that held my captivation compared to the kind of person I am attracted to now. I can pinpoint many similarities but also many differences. The one thing that remains consistant is the element of curiousity for that which I do not know – no matter how insignificant it is.
11. jayhuck says:
    June 17, 2008 at 12:12 am

    I agree with you Ann – I don’t think, now, that what you and I are talking about, or what you and Evan are talking about, is what Evan and I were talking about earlier – I’m off to bed
12. Ann says:
    June 17, 2008 at 12:15 am

    I’m not sure about that Ann – I’m not usually attracted to things I can’t relate to or don’t understand

    Jayhuck,

    I am glad you quesitoned this –

    I mean attraction usually begins because of physical attraction, however, it cannot be sustained unless an interest is formed – that only happens if you are curious about the individual and want to know more about them. This can sustain the attraction for a lifetime.

    p.s. – I totally understand the attraction to geeks, especially if they are Jewish!
13. Ann says:
    June 17, 2008 at 12:19 am

    Jayhuck,

    me too – good night

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