16 June 2008

Gay brains structured like those of the opposite sex

Interesting: Gay brains structured like those of the opposite sex - sex - 16 June 2008 - New Scientist: "Brain scans ... reveal that in gay people, key structures of the brain governing emotion, mood, anxiety and aggressiveness resemble those in straight people of the opposite sex."
This should help frame the ethical debate, apart from anything else, it renders the change of orientation possibility much less plausible conceptually, let alone the evidence of the relative lack of success of 'ex-gay' 'treatments'. It isn't a slam-dunk for any view but it is an important development. And there are other important things about this too: "women are three times as likely as men to suffer from mood disorders or depression. Gay men have higher rates of depression too, she says, but it's difficult to know whether this is down to biology, homophobia or simply feelings of being "different"."
Do note that the sample is small as yet, and also the similarity of this result to MtF transexuals. Note too that the finding does not definitely guide as to the moral valuing of the facts (assuming the further studies confirm them as such); it doesn't answer the question of whether this is an inborn trait to be accepted and worked with (like skin colour) or to be resisted (like the tendency to aggressive or violent responses in many situations).

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