This is great, one step closer to proving to the bible believers that the notion that homosexuality is a sin is complete and utter BS.

Lets face it, if "God" made people that way then it can't be wrong, what with him being perfect an all. ;)

Not to mention transexuals.

The problem with this notion is that there already has been a test if you will.

Not so long ago it was believed that humans were the only creatures to indulge in homosexual sex and those who felt it was their place to comment on this on behalf of the creator said that this was proof of it as an aberration. 'Taint natural, they'd say.

In recent years it has become clear that there are some animals out there that are as gay as a window and that many species of mammal are predominantly bisexual* but rather than say "Oh, right. Sorry. Didn't realise. My mistake. Carry on then. In fact, sorry, I hate to be a nuisance, but now that it turns out to be, well, you know, natural, and so on, what God intended after all, so to speak, well, would mind awfully if I, well, it does look like rather good fun, would you mind if I had a go?" the tendency has more been to again vilify those practitioners of the pink oboe by changing their tune to say that this proves they are no better than the beasts of the field and less well developed.

There was talk a while back of there being such a thing as a gay gene. The fear in the gay community at the time was that far from being concrete proof of their biological right to fabulous this would be taken as evidence that gayness is a genetic disease, not unlike Down's Syndrome, Sickle Cell Anaemia or Haemophilia.

It is unfortunately in the nature of bigotry that evidence, no matter how hard and fast, plays little or no part in their rationale.

Still, it will be interesting to see whether folk like the WB can spin this to meet their agenda.

*Male giraffes spend more time playing bum games with other male giraffes than they do making sweet, sweet lurve to their special giraffe laydee-friends.

Good points. Bigots will be bigots no matter what proof and no matter what anyone says. Just leave them to their sad, narrow-minded views is all you can do.

Giraffe bum games. Brilliant!

What about the people that are born sociopaths?

AHA! Where is your logic now!

edit: I didn't finish reading pockets comment yet...

I think you've been listening to the people you live with too much.

Pock's comments pretty much cover what you've just said.

Damn! I keep responding without reading other relevent comments.

I really dislike when people bring up gay animals, because I have yet to see someone not make the mistake of referencing species like bonobos and, as you stated, giraffes. Most of the species that engage in 'bum games' do not do it because they are gay or bisexual, but to form bonds, assert their dominance, or for pure sexual pleasure. They generally do not do it because they are sexually attracted to the same sex, and want to procreate with them.
On the other hand, many bird species have been found to not only court with the same sex, but actually raise(or attempt to raise) children with them. Roy and Silo, the chinstrap penguins being a particularly notable example.

This study really fascinates me though. It could really increase our understanding of both sexuality and gender. I'd love to see research done on how those changes come about.

This isn't really 'new' news. I learned about similarities such as this (and more) from my (VERY SECULAR) Human Sexuality class (with a very non-Christian professor) in college about 2 years ago. Sometimes, when in the womb and still developing, a chemical imbalance can occur and affect the brain and genital developments. This in turn can lead to a homosexual feeling like 'a man in a woman's body.' This is what homosexuals refer to when they say that homosexuality is genetic, not a choice. The brain develops into the mind of a man but the body ends up being female, or vise versa. Pocksucket mentioned that the gay community feared the idea that homosexuality would be found to be genetic. That's crazy. If it's genetic and not choice, then what can crazy people on the street yell at them? "Change your genes or burn in hell?"

These chemical imbalances and their results are just like any of the hundreds and thousands of things that can go wrong in the assembly line of the womb (siamese twins, missing limbs, an endless list of diseases and conditions, etc).

But from a Christian standpoint, what is natural is not always what is acceptable. For example: A teenager may be bipolar or have an overly aggressive nature due to his brain structure or just a sociopath, but that does not excuse his actions if he murders his family.

Of course, Christians view what is 'natural' a little bit differently. Any conservative Christian will believe in a literal Genesis story, and believe in the Fall. So what is natural now doesn't mean that it's acceptable behavior. I would guess this is one of the biggest divides between conservative Christians and non-Christians.

I'm probably in the minority here on plime, being a conservative Christian, but also not condemning homosexuals to ye ole fiery hell. Sorry, but the Bible is pretty clear that Christians are to treat all people with respect since they are created in the image of God (This too is a Genesis concept). I do get tired of seeing "homo's will burn in hell" from other Christians. After all, it's not the sexual orientation that saves you or not, it's faith in Jesus. That is Christianity 101.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say with this. "A man in a woman's body" is a phrase that FtM transsexuals use to describe themselves. I may be reading it wrong(I often do), but it seems like you're either using the wrong phrase or you're stating that homosexuals feel that they are of the opposite gender. From what I've read, transsexuality most likely does come from a hormonal imbalance while developing in the womb that affects the way the brain develops, as you described, so you may have just mixed them together. Would you mind clarifying this?

True, being a 'man in a woman's body' is generally a phrase for transsexuals. It was an honest mistake to use it in reference to homosexuals.

Homosexuals and transsexuals are alike in that both can be caused by prenatal hormone imbalances.
Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation.

Thank you for the reply!

Imagine that, gay men and straight women have similar brains. In other news, gas is expensive, there is a war in Iraq, and it is going to be hot this summer.
I can't belive they spent time and money on researching the obvious.