What are some theories from scientists and which theory do you think is the one closest to the truth?
Nothing plausible or explainable was ever proposed. So far, the best answer is that "it just happens."
Actually, I forget where it was but there was one interesting explanation that explained why the trait never simply died off due to lack of reproduction. The gay trait is tied to another trait that's only expressed when the gay trait isn't active. The trait it's tied to causes the gay carrier to be more promiscuous than your average heterosexual human, a beneficial trait in terms of passing down genes.
That's an interesting theory It is something that is puzzled over lots. There's the obvious conflict of nature v nurture, which mamy of the people my dad works with seem to agree that it is a combination of both, although mostly nature. Put simply, that is how I would probably imagine it to be. The reality is that it is probably far more complex than this. When factors such as people who choose to be gay (i have heard of such a group, honestly, there's a website methinks) get involved, then it becomes much harder to examine. It causes us to wonder about the extent of certain nurture factors' effects on one's sexual identity. So yeah, tricky one. It is bound to start some debates. Personally, I would say more nature than nurture.
Someone is gay because they are someone. Someone who is the very same as everyone. Someone who is GOD given and a part of the whole circle and spectrum of life here on Earth. Someone who is a part of nature where there are no straight lines. Someone who's sexuality, like everyone else's, is quite naturally on a sliding scale that dictates their behaviour when choosing a partner or simply hooking up with a view to a sexual liaison/encounter. (!) CHRIS
Thats an interesting theory. I'd believe it... I mean the world is definitely over populated in many places...
If you want a scientific answer read "Born Gay" I don't remember the author. It looks at all the studies that have been done for the last 100 years, with most of them occurring in the last 20 years. They concluded that there is no absolute scientific proof, but it is believed that genetics may contribute. However, there is strong evidence that that there is a hormonal influence before the child is born that contributes to us being gay. Yea, yea, just born this way...........
Actually, maternal relatives of homosexuals have a significantly higher fertility rate, so the birth rate actually increases in families with homosexual sons. Sexuality is a polygenic trait, like eye colour but a whole lot more complex, which is potentially influenced by prenatal neurochemistry.
^^This is my best understanding. "Polygenic" means that it is influenced my multiple genes. So, it isn't that there is one gay gene--rather, several genes interact with each other and are influenced by hormones during prenatal development (that's development before birth) to result in your sexual orientation and gender identity. Different sets of genes will respond somewhat differently to the exact amount of hormones. In short, it is a complex interaction of multiple biological factors in human development before birth. As far as we can tell.
The problem with that is that homosexuality has appeared in roughly the same proportions for most of recorded history, and if it were a means of population control, places at or near carrying capacity (India, China, Africa) would see particularly high proportions of gay people, which isn't the case. The human genome has been mapped completely, so I'm disinclined to believe it's purely genetic, especially since it doesn't seem to demonstrate typical patterns of inheritance. One recent theory I've heard about is that it's actually an epigenetic trait, meaning that it's a phenotype that's expressed or shut off based on whether certain environmental conditions exist. This lends itself to what another poster said about how homosexuality is tied to a trait that is favorable for natural selection. It's still a pretty new science with a lot of discovery to be done, and I think it has many answers to offer in regards to this discussion.
