|
from "Born that way" theory
'Gay' Ram Claims
Questioned By NARTH Leader
Media reports of homosexual rams fail to deal with dominance-submission behaviors of these animals. Nor do they address another question: "If this behavior is inborn, is it a biological error?"
August 17, 2005 - An Associated Press report published on August 16, 2005
details what is allegedly a new discovery by researchers at Oregon State, Oregon
Health & Science University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sheep
Experiment Station.
According to AP, a study of rams and ewes begun in 1995 revealed that some rams
refused to mate with female sheep and a fraction of them preferred to mount
other rams. The article notes that about 8% of rams are homosexual in
orientation.
The researchers theorized that low levels of a hormone in the brain of the
developing fetus somehow kept the ram becoming fully masculinized.
Researchers claim to have discovered that the anterior preoptic area of the
hypothalamus of gay rams was half the size of this part of the brain in
heterosexual rams.
This same basic story from Oregon was published in 2002 and NARTH discussed it
when the story first appeared: "'Gay Sheep' Study Offers Intriguing Prenatal
Hormonal Link."
Why this gay ram story is appearing three years later in the media is a mystery.
There are no new developments to report, yet this study is currently being
published on gay web sites all over the world to promote the idea that
homosexuality is inborn from birth.
Other Causes For Mounting Behaviors Not Considered
Dr. Neil Whitehead, a NARTH member and author of My Genes Made Me Do It! has
studied the claims about gay rams for several years.
According to Dr. Whitehead, the research claims made by Oregon researchers are
questionable and fail to consider alternative social conditions that may have
contributed to rams mounting other rams. He writes:
Do studies on "gay rams" prove that humans with same sex attraction are
inescapably born that way? No, because, as usual, the studies do not include
the alternative explanation that social conditions caused it. Those who study
this field acknowledge that mounting behavior by rams on rams is deeply mixed
with expressions of dominance, which is so critical in the life of a ram. A ram
mounted by another ram treats this as a kind of insult -- so how far is it
really desire for sex by either of them?
Studies show that ejaculation is rather unusual in this same-sex play, so that
also supports a dominance interpretation.
The studies with domestic sheep are parallel to those with the Rocky Mountain
Sheep, well known for this activity.
The same-sex activity occurs among those rams which have failed in the
competition to become alpha males in charge of the flock. However, if they get
the chance (for example, a hunter culls the alpha male), they seize the
opportunity to become heterosexual and take his place. At best, therefore, this
is bisexuality and the best human analogy would be the situational homosexuality
among men in prison.
The studies with domestic sheep tested for same-sex preference are done by
offering to a test ram a choice of a constrained male and female near each
other. If a test ram mounts the ram rather than the ewe in five 10-minute trials
out of five, he is judged "gay." However, this test is subject to some
criticism.
It is possible that a ram knows from long experience that to access the ewe
sexually he must first subdue the ram, and hence displays preferential dominance
towards it. The testers also do not seem to have checked on whether the test ram
is defective in smell, which could be a critical clue. Lacking smell, his
behavior could be almost random.
Even granting the validity of the test, the best papers do not find that 8% of
rams are gay, but only about 1.5%.
The studies have shown brain and hormone differences between gay and
heterosexual rams, but there is no evidence that these are inborn. On the other
hand, there is clear evidence that the brain structure (therefore, presumably
the hormone levels) change in response to the social environment. What would the
hormone levels be, do you suppose, in a ram that had been constantly humiliated
in the sexual dominance stakes?
We are currently finding that hormone reactions in rats are not such a good
guide to humans as hoped. We are learning that humans are much more influenced
by social conditions and by learning. The same is probably true of sheep studies
-- though possibly they might be more applicable to a man with a large harem or
more likely to the other males who wanted to access that harem.
In the past couple of decades academia has concluded that both nature and
nurture have been involved in most traits in animals that have been studied. The
end point of the sheep study is likely to be that there is some of both in a
ram's sexual inclinations. But we are a long way from saying what the balance
is.
Dr. Whitehead also questions the claim that researchers have discovered that ram
prenatal brains have been demasculinized in some fashion:
Brain scans of young human do not show differences associated with the
hypothalamus so there is no clear gender differentiation in terms of (probably)
sexual function until much older. In this sense, early brains cannot be
observably demasculinized or defeminized.
What is observable is differences in toy preferences and a few other
characteristics, such as boys fighting. From these are inferred by some authors
that there are innate brain differences. But this is speculative, and it is hard
to exclude social influence.
In the case of rams, we can observe demasculinization (more submissive behavior,
lower testosterone) associated with their failure to dominate sexually over the
alpha male. It will be a long time before it can be established what the
contribution of this is, compared to any innate properties they may have.
Dr. Whitehead has written before on the subject of gay rams and Rocky Mountain
sheep: "Is ram behaviour evidence of 'natural homosexuality?"
Updated: 8 February 2008
|
