One day it is claimed that Gay men have similar brains to straight women and, similarly, that the brains of lesbian women are similar to the brains of heterosexual men. Another day it is claimed that Male homosexuality originates from a genetic predisposition on the part of the mother.
In short, universities around the world are keen to make it known that they deal with gay sexual orientation and that the thesis according to which being gay or lesbian is a natural fact is continually reconfirmed, as indeed had been the case The World Health Organization has long since decreed that homosexuality is ""a natural variable of sexuality""".
Let us start by saying that scientific research should always be supported and it is a positive thing if it is questioned and not based on preconceptions. We therefore remain perplexed when examining research that does not take into account complexity of sexualities as a whole.
Indeed, It is reductive, morbid and a little suspicious that the field limits itself to isolating only one sexual orientation, while all the scientific literature says that: as far as the human race is concerned, sexual orientations are not only two, gay and straight, but a more complex variety, as the first Kinsey Report already observed in 1947. Even more peculiar is the focus on male homosexuality and not at all on female homosexuality, not to mention bisexuality.
Anthropological research, in-depth historical analysis, and discoveries in the biological and neurological fields converge on some basic statements that have been shared for some time now:
– homosexuality has always been present in mankind,
– different sexual orientations have been practiced and accepted in many cultures since the beginning of human civilization,
– cultural, social and environmental factors are determining factors in the greater or lesser visibility of sexual orientations other than heterosexual.
In short, a little reasoning and caution wouldn't hurt. Unfortunately, however, we rely on sensationalism announcing "homosexuality genes discovered" when Professor Camperio Ciani's research does not specifically identify any genes at all!
To get a headline in the newspaper you risk spreading a lot of misinformation, exactly the opposite of what scientific research ethics should be – precise and attentive to the facts.
Aurelio Mancuso
national president of Arcigay