What makes someone gay? Science is trying to get it straight. | Alice Dreger | Big Think
New videos DAILY: https://bigth.ink
Join Big Think Edge for exclusive video lessons from top thinkers and doers: https://bigth.ink/Edge
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heterosexual people have been less interesting to scientists than gay people, in terms of where they come from, because, evolutionarily speaking, being gay doesn't lead to a higher "higher reproductive fitness" — meaning, it doesn't lead to more babies. Across cultures, gay boys tend to be more interested in spending time with their mothers. We still don't really know why gay people are attracted to each other.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALICE DREGER:
Alice Dreger is an historian of medicine and science, a sex researcher, an award-winning writer, and an (im)patient advocate. Dreger’s latest major work is Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:
ALICE DREGER: We don't actually know the extent to which gender is socially constructed because you can't do an experiment where you remove culture and see what happens. So we don't know to what extent what we see as gendered patterns are the result of sex, biological sex, males and females. We know that gender differs according to culture, but we also know that there are patterns that appear to be fairly universal in terms of gender norms. And the ones that are more universal are more likely to probably have a sex bases to it, an evolved-to-sex basis, that is to say biological basis for males and females. So, for example, which gender serves a very important meal may be different by different cultures. So in some cultures a man will serve a very important meal versus a woman. So for example, think about it in the United States that historically speaking the father carves the turkey on Thanksgiving, but in general women prepare food historically speaking. So what we know is that these kinds of things can differ by culture, but that there are some "universals". And one of the universals we find, for example, is in childhood play that we find that children who are girls tend to do more social play, they tend to do more social role-play. Children who are boys tend to do more competitive play, they tend to do more play that mimics aggression or that mimics sport and mimics sometimes building, and so there are these kinds of patterns. But that doesn't mean everybody fits them.
And it's really interesting actually too if you look cross-culturally scientists find evidence that this may have – it's not just gender, that there's a sexuality component to it too. So boys who are going to grow up and be gay, and we know who they are because of retrospectively they grow up to be gay, they're what's called androphilic, that is to say they're attracted to males. And the majority of females are also attracted to males, so most females are androphilic and a small percentage of boys will grow up to be androphilic. We know that historically speaking, cross-culturally they tend to be more feminine in terms of their interests, they're more interested in social role-play, for example, they're more interested in helping their mothers, they're more interested in associating with girls as young children and more interested in dressing as girls, for example. That doesn't mean that they are girls, but it does suggest to us that sexuality and gender have interplayed components in them, that gender isn't just about social role but it has something to do with sexuality and that there's a reason females end up with these kind of patterns and males end up with these kinds of patterns and when you have a male who's attracted to males he ends up with a little bit more of the female pattern and in some circumstances if you have a girl and she's attracted to girls she'll end up with a little bit more of the male pattern in childhood.
So gender and sexual orientation seem to have sort of some connection to each other, but it's not a perfect connection in terms of absolute correlation and so we can't say that we can easily predict what would be somebody's gender role or sexual orientation simply by looking at some of the components.
Evolution would naturally favor heterosexuality because that's how you get babies. And so if we're thinking about genes trying to produce genes it would make no sense to have genes that would lead to people who don't reproduce, because those genes would not be reproduced. That said, we know cross-culturally gay people exist. So we know that that's a natural variation in the population. And so then scientists ask the really interesting question, why is that there?...
For the full transcript, check out https://bigthink.com/videos/what-makes-someone-gay-science-is-trying-to-get-it-straight
Тэги:
#Big_Think #BigThink #BigThink.com #Education #Educational #Lifelong_Learning #EDU #Alice_Dreger #sexuality #LGBT #LGBTQ #gay #homosexuality #gender #evolution #natural_selection #samoa #science #homophobia #fa'afafine #third_gender #intersex #genderqueer #nonbinary #bisexual #why_are_people_gay #why_am_i_gay #how_to_tell_if_someone_is_gay #am_i_gay #how_to_know_if_someone_is_gay #how_to_know_if_your_gay #being_gay #why_are_you_gay #how_to_know_if_you_are_gay #gay_science #how_to_tell_if_your_gayКомментарии:
I heard that boys can turn out gay if they rely too much on a female role model, like an older sister.
Ответить
This is why science and religion should be separated
Ответить
97% of men have some degree of attraction to other men. The other 3% lie.
Ответить
what about lesbians?
Ответить
What makes someone straight?
Ответить
What explains that im gay but im not being clingy to my mother as i grow up...
Ответить
Academic and scientific approach to discuss sensitive issues like this should be consumed by moreee people, i wonder how the world would look like, but very probable, a better place
Ответить
Take care about things you watch on the internet, my brothers!
Ответить
Who wants to know without the aim to eradicate homosexuality?
Ответить
m i a lil gay because m 2nd daughter 😅
Ответить
What makes someone gay? Hmmm.... Did the algorithm recommend this video to you?
Ответить
Gay men don’t have a choice according to this video, she said nothing about gay women, I’ve always had a hunch.
Ответить
So is proneness to marketing genetic if yes gay is culture if no gay is culture. Genetic throw is a genius way of not taking responsibility.
ОтветитьSo why has lgtb exploded if it's genetic, answ Culture!
ОтветитьIt's hard to study cultural effects, yeah, NO
Ответить
If you suck on a guys dick, and like it, you are gay.
Ответить
Very interesting and I agree with the part about ‘womb gay’. I myself am the youngest son with several older brothers and sisters and had two long term relationships with men that were the youngest sons as well with several older brothers. It was something I’d thought of long ago and now it makes sense. Thanks
Ответить
why are even the studies about men :( tell me about lesbians
Ответить
Found out crush is gay now I'm suddenly interested in the history of homosexuality.
Ответить
Interesting. I am one of 8 kids, the only male, and am gay.
I always wondered what exactly made me the way I am, guess everyone thinks this though.
Males and Females... Whats
Ответить
But who cares?
Ответить
how do you say that we don't know why straight people are straight???? you literally said yourself, because it leads to reproduction.
Ответить
Honestly, does it even matter? Nobody is having sex or getting into relationships with the same sex because they don't desire it. There's no question that same sex attraction exists and that there should be enough to accept it. We dont need to validate it through science or plead our case whenever people don't believe us. It's like convincing people we like blue more than red, it's pointless. The only people who care are emotional manipulator aka narcissists that want to have control over people. It's creepy to say the least.
Ответить
I don't really know why it matters so much to people why people are gay, or if it's even a choice or not. It isn't harmful and so i don't think it matters. It feels very othering to have people always question why? why? why do you exist? why are YOU different? when it doesn't practically have to make a difference. I think people just need to stop caring.
Ответить
This makes lesbians all the more mysterious.
Ответить
Since humans have so much sex in their lifetimes (most of it not for reproduction), scientifically speaking, this points to sex as serving the additional function of establishing and maintaining social bonds. Social bonds within the context of community is the most important tool human beings have had for survival throughout our evolution (we have no other defenses really, no hair, no horns, no armor). So, sex as a bonding device is more important than sex as a reproductive device. Therefore, both hetero- and homosexual sex are valid and gayness doesn't necessarily need to fall under so much scrutiny.
Ответить
Gay people have so much Soul❤️
Ответить
I find this reductive and simplistic
Ответить
Blacks are doing it. The people are mad because, they aren't orange like the center pigment of God variables. The gays place knives in dangerous places to have a center female in the kitchen behavior. Acting gay is dangerous. CJT
Ответить
Lgbtq is fuckup minded.
Ответить
It's always been pretty simple answer.
Men are aroused by the idea of playing the sexual roles of women.
We need waaaay more research on gay.
Ответить
Y
Ответить
very interesting and informing, but ... what about female gays? Is that even less interesting than straight people?
Ответить
Homosexuality is still considered an anomaly or symptom of inappropriate upbringing in psychiatry. Im queer, and I can definitely see it.
Its not a bad thing to be non-hetero, but this is probably the reality to come to terms with.
To all the scientists studying gay people: Keep going you aren't not ever near to solving that mystery.!! For all the example they gave us; there are tons exception to the rule!!!
Ответить
Great summary of where the science is at on this subject.
Ответить
If no proof can be said one way or another, then why are governments (as well as citizens) allowed to discriminate toward gay persons, rather than accepting them as variations on the norm - the same way racial features are accepted? I am 87 years old, and knew I was different (but not what to call it) when I was 10 years old. There was no where I could go for answers if I didn't want to get beaten up or killed, so I kept quiet. Neither government nor society lifted one finger to protect me.
Of course this is not only wrong, it is simply inhuman. It seems to me that your studies should delve more into the inhumanity shown one another, rather than actual reasons why one person is straight and the next one is gay. I was one of two children. My brother, 4-1/2 years younger than I, also turned out to be gay. Questions of that nature might be more appropriate.
Science is trying to get it …straight 💀💀💀💀
Ответить
Science? Never grasped the human mind. Its uncharted territory. It will have to change its basic categories to incorporate feelings. Whats sexuality without feelings. Whats the human without sexuality? Keep weirdos - (scientists) at bay.
Ответить
I think instead of social science, we should look at physical science for needed changes. What we eat and what we drink has changed dramatically within my life time (80). One obvious reflection is so many in the USA are OVERWEIGHT! I have been on Dr Gundry's diet for 10 years, removing lectins and sugar, yet on a needed nutritious diet. I feel great!!
Ответить
I look forward to a day, which will probably never happen, when people would be shocked to hear that someone asks why a person is gay. Does it matter?
Ответить
In a normal we world all of those directors of schools who doesn't "believe" to science like this, should be withdrawn the right to be representative of a school, anywhere in the world...
Ответить
she really goes out of her way to make very obvious socio-normative factors appear as if they were some kind of fuzzy "sexual patterns" not yet understood ....
Ответить
As a gay man (2nd son) when i moved to the states i can firmly say that hormones, pheromones are real. ... the number of gay or Bi men who would put my arm up and huff my pits and get some type of buzz from it is evidence that pheromones are real.
Its also cultural. In England people hate hair and sweat and wear deodorants and perfumes.
It's already been scientifically proven that homosexuality is caused by wearing pink slippers. 💗 😅 🩰
Ответить
Or....We haven't a clue!
Ответить
