Born Gay: The Psychobiology of Sex Orientation (Paperback)

My first reaction to this book was, oh dear, not another attempt to investigate the causes of homosexuality. Gay people have been treated as medical curiosities for 200 years. We've been studied, probed and tested long enough. Why don't scientists ever examine what makes people straight? But on reading Born Gay I discovered a surprisingly interesting book. The authors, Glenn Wilson and Qazi Rahman, present masses of fascinating evidence from dozens of studies which, they conclude, show that sexual orientation is overwhelmingly innate. Social or environmental factors have little or no influence. Blaming parents and childhood upbringing is mistaken and unfair. The idea that people become gay by seduction or conscious choice is not supported by scientific evidence, they say. . . Peter Tatchell, London Evening Standard --Peter Tatchell, Evening Standard<br /><br />Is there a gay gene based on differences in the shape of the brain or are the conservatives right when they claim that what they deem abhorrent, skewed behaviour is a matter of conditioning that can be corrected? Psychiatrist Wilson and psychologist Rahman reckon neither is strictly correct, placing the truth somewhere in between in this thought provoking and often funny study, which reveals that gay men have larger penises. The Herald (Glasgow) --The Herald<br /><br />An absolutely fascinating book. It really is interesting and seems to me to have nailed the argument. Richard and Judy, Channel 4 Television --Richard and Judy

Are people born gay or does upbringing or even conscious personal choice play a part? These are the questions asked in ...'Born Gay' by Dr Glenn Wilson and Dr Qazi Rahman and they answer them fairly specifically in concluding that - and the answer's definitely in the book title - gay people are born gay. Look at the question another way and ask are straight people born straight? Does that sound ridiculous? Of course it does because it's a question that is never asked. If you are straight, you are straight from birth. You don't acquire heterosexuality by experience, inclination, learning, instruction, osmosis, seduction, or, most important of all, choice, you just are straight and you "straightness' is inherent in your genes, your intrinsic make-up. So, if heterosexuals are straight from birth, why has there always been any argument over being gay and hat makes people homosexual or lesbian? The unusual question that comes up for debate over homosexuality is nature or nurture? Are people gay because it's in the nature or because of the surroundings they grow up in. Most people grow up in a heterosexual environment, otherwise they wouldn't be on the planet. In most cases a pregnancy is the result of a heterosexual couple making love, although nowadays of course, it's not always the case, as IVF treatment can now dispense with copulation altogether. Another question often raised is whether homosexuality runs in families or whether identical twins have identical sexual preferences. The answers to these questions have to be yes and no in both cases, because it is impossible to generalise. Theories abound and there are probably as many theories on the subject of homosexuality, lesbianism and bisexuality as there are beings on the globe. The only way to deal with these theories, according to the two authors of 'Born gay' is to go about it in a practicl and scientific way. "Science is our best tool for seeking truth about nature, even if the facts it provides are sometimes counterintuitive or discomforting. Some people may be unhappy with some of the major themes in this book, but a growing number of people around the world believe these issues are important and that research on sexual orientation is no longer taboo." The authors' conclusions therefore are: "Modern scientific research indicates that sexual orientation is largelyy determined by the time of birth, partly by genetics, but more specifically by hormonal activity in the womb arising from various sources." Their research is divided into chapters with headings such as "Where are gays found?", "The failure of psychosocial theories", "Not all in the genes", "Hormones in the womb"", "The big brother effect", "The gay brain" and "Childhood indications". Not only is it a well researched book that comes to sensible conclusions, but it is also remarkably wide-ranging in encompassing such subjects as the Kinsey Report, Liberace, Rock Hudson, Oscar Wilde and even 'Little Britain and Daffyd'. --What's on

An absolutely fascinating book. It really is interesting and seems to me to have nailed the argument. Richard and Judy, Channel 4 Television --Richard and Judy

Are people born gay, or does upbringing or even conscious personal choice play a part? The acrimonious row between gay rights activists and God-fearing conservatives over this burning question has now raged for over a decade. But the science they employ in their arguments is not merely outmoded but often fallacious. A tremendous amount of new research has been carried out by scientists who now understand a great deal more about the biology of sexual attraction. How much does the non-scientific community really know about this research or understand the far-reaching implications of it? In the book Wilson and Rahman show that attempts to find a sociological cause for homosexuality have little foundation and argue that popular efforts to blame parents or teachers for a child s homosexuality are futile and unjust. Combining their own findings with all the available quantifiable research, the authors have, with this study, provided an urgently needed addition to and overview of the major work that has been done in this field.