Re: [asa] science and homosexuality

>
> However, I do not find Jones' and Yarhouse's modest appropriation of
> science to be a dominant feature of either side of the debate. There is
> a
> lot of rhetoric from conservative evangelical circles about the "lie"
> of
> scientists saying that some people are born gay or lesbian. It is very
> close to the rhetoric about the "lie" of an old-earth or evolution. On
> the other side, I hear many argue that they look forward to the day
> when
> science finally "proves" that homosexuality is a genetic condition and
> not
> a moral issue. That's just an invitation to abuse science from the
> other
> extreme.

My graduate advisor has done extensive work in sexual differentiation of the brain,
including some that has implications for the biological causes of homosexualy and
transgenderism. A couple of years ago I did a little web-surfing to see how his work
specificall had been interpreted by various advocacy groups.

I found three different classes of responses. This is based on memory and I'm using a bit
of hyperbole in descriing the reactions, but I'm sure you get the picture.

1) Viewpoint of website: conservative religious
 Finding: certain structures in the rat spinal cord change size with sexual activity.
Implication: Anatomical differences (such as those found in the brains of homo- and
hetero-sexuals) my be caused by behavior, not inborn.)
Reaction: An't science wonderful? It's finally proving what God told us all along.

2) Viewpoint: Conservative religious
Finding: Anatomical markers suggest homosexuals are exposed to diffeent levels of
testosterone in utero
Implication: Events beyond a person's contro that occur before birth and influence sexual
orientation
Reaction: This is junk science by an incompetent researcher; besides scientists are all part
of a liberal Godless conspiracy and not to be trusted.

3) Viewpoint: Pro Gay rights
Finding & implication: same as #2
Reaction: Ain't science wonderful? It proves jhomosexuality is an inborn condition and not
a moral issue.

I just need to find a gay right group denoucing the study in #1 and I'll have a complete set!

If I had the time to go digging, I'd love to see how various atheist and Christian groups
responded to the published prayer studies of a few years ago (which supposedly worked)
and the more recent one which clearly did not. I'm betting you'll see a lot of the same
arguements. just applied to different studies.

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Received on Wed Jun 14 09:25:21 2006