Gay genes, liberals, and the relevance of biology to politics

A study about the genetics of “nonheterosexualtiy” came out in Science yesterday [1]. Its main conclusion was completely unsurprising: the trait they were interested in — whether someone had ever, versus never, had sex with someone of the same sex — is partly heritable (we already knew that), and the underlying genetics is complicated (no one single “gay gene”) [2]. In other words, when it comes to genetics, this trait is like absolutely every other behavioral trait [3]. What’s unusual about this trait is that, whereas liberals don’t like to leave too much room for the role of biology in behavior in general (see e.g. Pinker’s Blank Slate), an exception is made for a handful of traits, most prominently homosexuality. A lead author of the study, Benjamin Neale, explains that a major motivation was generating evidence to use to fight for the equality of the LGBTQIA+ community (<a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/blog/opinion-community-engagement-strengthens-science" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>). He quotes the motto of the founder of the first gay rights organization, <a href="https://medium.com/@thenib/justice-through-science-the-life-of-dr-magnus-hirschfeld-6ef414fc9871" rel="noopener">Dr. Hirschfeld</a>, “through science to justice.” <a href="https://medium.com/@acflewis/gay-genes-liberals-and-the-relevance-of-biology-to-politics-b7c4c0195e61">Read More</a>