‘Gay Gene’ Does Not Exist, Sweeping New Study of 26,000 Finds

A massive new study of 26,000 genetic profiles belonging to people in the United States and United Kingdom—and who reported having at least one same-sex sexual encounter—debunks the theory that a single “gay gene” determines whether individuals are inclined to engage in same-sex behavior, according to a paper by researchers at  MIT, Harvard, University of Amsterdam, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and other institutions, and published in the journal Science.  The extensive research study did find, however, that some complex genetic factors were correlated statistically with same sex behavior, including a sequence of genes related to the sense of smell, and another related to male pattern baldness, according to a Washington Post summary of the study.  But none of those genetic factors could statistically predict same sex behavior, though the study did find that genetic variation had more influence on male homosexual behavior than on female behavior, according to a CBS News report. In fact, the five genetic variants "represent very, very, very small effects," according to Benjamin Neale, one of the study’s multiple authors. "This reflects voices from the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+) community arguing that a range of sexualities exist," wrote Oxford University professor Melinda Mills, who authored a commentray on the study, as quoted by CBS News. “Sexuality is dynamic, with the ability to express and realize sexual preferences, and is thus also shaped and regulated by cultural, political, social, legal and religious structures." The genetic data was acquired from the U.K. Biobank project, and the ancestry DNA research site 23andMe.   The study focused only on people who reported same sex behavior, rather than on self-described sexual identity, Neale stressed. But the genetic effects that the study did uncover were so small that predicting whether any individual person would engage in same-sex behavior based on his or her genetic profile remains “effectively an impossibility.” Photo By G.dallorto / Wikimedia Commons