Chould there be a gene for homophobia?

well we have all heard talk of 'just born this way' and the 'gene for homsexualiy', I was wondering if anyone has looked into anything about a 'biological predisposition for intolerable for alternative choice of lifestyles'

I mean they no real reason why I can't go both way right?

edited 21st Nov '10 3:58:10 PM by joeyjojo

hashtagsarestupid

Well, while I *seriously* doubt there's a gene that specifically predisposes one to homophobia, GENERAL xenophobia is pretty deeply hard-coded into our instincts. Fear of that which is different or outside our understanding was key to our survival strategy back when we were still living in caves. Coming at it from a biological perspective, racism, homophobia, and general intolerance are just how that instinct manifests itself through learned behaviors.

edited 21st Nov '10 4:13:48 PM by TheBadinator

Oh come on, what else are we gonna try and pin on genes? Being a "nerd"? Prefering tits over ass? (not directed at anyone, rather i'm annoyed with this trend that seems to be rising)

It's possible, but I tend to think nurture has a greater sway than nature when it comes to cognitive fields, at least until you get into downright chemical imbalance levels.

Seems more easily attributable to culture, and <anecdote> I have quite a good percentage of Mormon genes and aren't homophobic </anecdote>

I'm even tolerant of obvious lack of noun-verb agreement.

edited 21st Nov '10 5:06:40 PM by Tzetze

[1] This facsimile operated in part by synAC.

I view it much more likely that there's a gene that makes one more likely to dislike someone who's different. Essentially, a gene that causes greater susceptibility to the Us vs Them mentality.

Fight smart, not fair.

I personally do not think there is a "gene for homophobia" because I think it basically comes down to prejudice or cultural conditioning more than anything. I imagine that if there were a gene for it and other prejudices, that would be pretty problematic because it would imply that some people are born to hate. I do not feel comfortable with that idea.

edited 21st Nov '10 7:04:32 PM by LouieW

"irhgT nm0w tehre might b ea lotof th1nmgs i dont udarstannd, ubt oim ujst goinjg to keepfollowing this pazth i belieove iN !!!!!1 d

Not feeling comfortable with an idea does not imply it to be untrue @ Louie W

As for homophobia, I would say that some of the traits leading to it probably have a genetic component, but there is cultural influence as well... meh, ask a psychology expert I guess.

edited 21st Nov '10 7:28:46 PM by neoYTPism

No. Sorry, but that is a ridiculous statement. Homophobia is a social phenomenon and a rather new one compared to the speed biological development. Plus, genes do not work that way. They code for different enzyme, which catalyze different biological reactions, that, when combined, can determine certain behavior, but something like modern prejudice against homosexuality is way to embedded in society and culture to be genetic. That doesn't mean that there couldn't be a genetic component, though. Just as an automatic negative reaction to something unfamiliar.

@Joey: There is a reason for it not to go both ways. The mechanisms that would result in attraction to the same sex are completely different than what would result in a fear or hatred of homosexuality. Furthermore, a gene that results in the hatred of a non-concrete idea would most certainly be far more complex than a gene that results in the attraction to the same sex. This is important, because the more complex it is, the less likely it is to randomly mutate. The actually chances of this being the case are exceptionally slim.

edited 21st Nov '10 10:04:54 PM by Miijhal

Actually, there almost certainly is either a genetic or epigenetic prenatal disposition toward homophobia. Studies have found that identical twins tend to share the same attitudes on liberalism and authoritarianism even when they have been raised separately without contact with one another, and authoritarianism correlates strongly with intolerant attitudes toward anyone perceived to be non-conforming.

In other words, some people are just born more tolerant and accepting than others, just like Deboss guessed.

edited 21st Nov '10 10:06:01 PM by MostlyBenign

That's probably due more to personality traits than actual beliefs. Perhaps there could be a genetic component to, say, a tendency to be easygoing, or a tendency to get angry easily. Not for political views.

Be not afraid...

Obviously. Nobody is saying that there's a gene sequence specifically for being a Republican or a fundamentalist Christian. But we do seem to be born with noticeable predispositions that make certain people more attracted to conservatism and fundamentalism.

I think it's about as likely as a gene that causes homosexuality. Make of that what you will.

Even though sexual orientation and disdain for people of differing sexual orientation are fundamentally different traits? On what basis do you claim equal likelihood?

Well, let me be very clear. "Traits" as understood by human beings are essentially arbitrary. I can have a trait for being attracted to women, red heads, blonds, red heads with brown eyes or blonds with blue eyes but not red heads with blue eyes or blonds with brown eyes, etc.

Genes don't necessarily conform to the trait groups we've created. So there could be multiple genes for one trait, or multiple traits for one gene.

neo YT Pism,

That is true. However, my discomfort stems from both my belief about human nature being that I do not think anyone is born "bad to the bone" so-to-speak and my observation that homophobia is primarily cultural. If one has no idea what being homosexual is then I do not think one could be homophobic. However, if one believes there is a gene for homosexuality, then one could be homosexual and be attracted to the same gender without even knowing what homosexuality is.

Basically, I do not think one can really hate something one has never known anything about, but I do think that one can be something or someone that one does not really understand yet.

edited 22nd Nov '10 12:25:04 PM by LouieW

"irhgT nm0w tehre might b ea lotof th1nmgs i dont udarstannd, ubt oim ujst goinjg to keepfollowing this pazth i belieove iN !!!!!1 d

I hate nature vs nurture arguments.

If you don't like a single Frank Ocean song, you have no soul.

I keep reading "genre" in the title.. as in "Homophobia Mystery Novels" or the like.

Doubtful for there to be an actual genetic correlation to "homophobia" directly but rather it's likely to be a much more general form of behavioural trait that manifests itself in specific cultural traits like homophobia.

Like the example above, being more tolerant or intolerant makes sense in that if it is merely affecting the way in which a human discriminates (performs pattern recognition, a very basic attribute of a human mind) then that can very certainly be genetic. Someone who is less tolerant is likely to be homophobic or xenophobic, and vice versa.

While still often cited, to my knowledge these studies aren't taken seriously anymore in the scientific realm. (Except maybe as an example how to not conduct a scientific study...)

You'll propably want to research this for yourself, but this is the general gist: Identical twins that are raised seperately usually grow up in very similar cultural contexts. The studies do not really account for that. So in essence, it's far more likely these "similarities" result from environmental conditioning.

I seriously doubt there's a gene for something this specific.

I seem to recall it being said that the similarities persisted even when the twins were raised in (relatively) different contexts, though sadly, I read about this in a library book that I no longer have handy. In any case, I'm positive that the similarities were said to be significantly greater between identical twins than fraternal twins across the board, which suggests a hereditary element.