Making Gay Rats - Researchers Trying to Prove Orientation is Hormonal

The science of how and why someone becomes gay has been studied for a long time now, but more and more research is suggesting that nature and not nurture plays a large role in determining who will be gay. The imbalance of the hormone testosterone is being scrutinized as a possible factor in making rats behave “gay” and researchers are wondering if this also applies to humans. The studies show that if a female rat is given a shot of testosterone at birth (when she is still underdeveloped) she will be indifferent towards male rats for life. The problem with the theory is that in order to test it out, some expecting mother would need to give her consent to have a researcher inject her female baby with testosterone in the last trimester and then study her throughout the course of her life to determine if she behaves in a “gay” manner. What mother would do that? And who would authorize this kind of research? Scientists need to spend countless hours saving our planet and curing disease, not altering the sexual preferences of still-developing rats. Who really cares if Bob is attracted to Peter in the world of rat sex and love anyways? Yahoo news is hosting a special segment on the mechanics of being gay this week on their site with the help of some accumulated research from the show 60 Minutes. There are fascinating videos there that have explored why some turn out gay and others don’t from the last year as well as current research.