Q&A: Molecular Biologist Dean Hamer on 'ex-gay' issues

TruthWinsOut.org interviewed famed molecular biologist Dean Hamer. In this video he discusses biology, genetics and homosexuality. He also debunks the misinformation put forth by "ex-gay" organizations, such as Exodus and Focus on the Family.

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• ex-gay
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• NARTH
• Exodus
• reparative
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• GLBT
• homosexual
• biology

[InGothika]

America's problem is not gays, it's homophobic bible bashing religious nuts.

[BeatBuddy]

I haven't found one single argument against gays that holds any substance.  The far right doesn't want to accept this science because it undermines a major excuse for persecuting gay people, that gays are reprobates. If one aspect of their ideological package is proven wrong, then all other aspects come into question. This scares the living daylights out of them. Sexual orientation is inborn; reprobates are made.

[alhawal1]

@InGothika its all riligons really, or people in charge of them

[rooio3]

There is a genetic component more recently discovered, maybe not widely talked about. But so far they have found that sexual orientation is a combination of many factors. That's why no one has been able to single it down to one simple thing. There are hormonal factors during pregnancy, genetic factors, biological factors, and environmental factors all merged together. Maybe they will discover even more as time progresses, but so far this is what has been observed and revealed in studies.

[TheRawr75]

@dard1313 Being sexually attracted to other doesn't involve reproducing...

[auronos1]

This video is very old. Dr. Hamer is referring to a study that was published over 10 years ago now. Since then a genome wide study of gay men revealed an additional 3 genetic loci above and beyond the Xq28 genetic marker that hamer identified. This supports the assertions Dean hamer makes that male same sex attraction is a polygenetic phenotype. Although this video is very old Dean hamer ended up being right. See Mustanski (2005) "A genomewide scan of sexual orientation"

[dard1313]

If being born gay is genetic non choice, non learned then that would make you impaired, since it renders reproductive sexual organs strictly sexual organs because

you can not function them for reproductive purposes except with lab assistance or going against genetic programing which then makes it a "choice".

[dard1313]

@xcstar262 uou forgot reason four......... "Bias"

I'm not attacking Gay people. I am simply saying sexual attraction is to a degree learned and all sexual pursuits are individual choices to be acted or not acted on. Just like I choose to not pursue a married woman despite my involuntary emotion.

[barbaralw]

@freedom0f5peech I don't agree with your generalization about Abrahamic religions, but it's too long a discussion for a comment section on YouTube! :-)

[barbaralw]

@dard1313 Genes are not always expressed, or are expressed (or turned on) due to environmental factors that are not well understood.

I know, or have known, more than a thousand people --- both men and women -- who identify as gay. Nearly all knew they were gay as very young children, even if they didn't know how to verbalize or act on their intuition and feelings.

Regardless of where sexual orientation comes from, we can be certain that it's not simply due to a single gene.

[yourass117]

This is one of the dumbest videos ive ever seen......

[rlchevy]

@CrossoverManiac. By the way it didn't prevent me or my partner from having several children a piece before we felt society acceptance enough to be real with ourselves. I also have many friends who had multiple children before coming out. It was not a problem.