06-27-2006, 09:34 PM | #1 |
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Why are there so many gay Mormon men?
Perhaps the answer lies in this study:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...w080428D07.DTL The study finds that men with multiple older brothers are more likely to be gay: "Bogaert said the increase can be detected with one older brother and becomes stronger with three or four or more." When I first read this I thought, "Sure... because younger brothers have a higher chance of being molested by an older brother, and getting molested has a funny way of messing up your sexual wiring." But that isn't the case, as the report shows. The evidence suggests a prenatal link. Since Mormons have such big families, this might suggest why there are so many gay Mormon men. |
06-27-2006, 09:47 PM | #2 |
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And how many is "so many?"
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06-27-2006, 10:04 PM | #3 | |
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I talked to a gay friend of mine and he told me that in the gay world there is an entire category of gayness set aside for gay mormons. The fems. The masculine types. The bi-sexual artsy types. The hairdressers. And the gay mormons... among others. I'm not trying to pick a fight here. Just presenting a study and combining the findings with the fact that mormons have big families with lots of sons. |
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06-27-2006, 10:07 PM | #4 |
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It does seem to me there are a lot of gay men among Mormons. But I think it may be that when there are Mormon gay men it generates a "story" given Mormonism's inherent tranditional conservatism and homophobia. The Pulitzer Prize winning play "Angels in America" even had as a major character a brilliant young gay Mormon lawyer clerking for some federal Court of Appeals with an insufferable homophobic father.
As far as environmental factors are concerned, one factor leading to a gay orientation that makes some sense to me is a difficult or distant relationship with one's father (I'm way out of my league here; just going on intuition and hearsay). If this has any merit, then I can see how Mormonism's culture might give rise to such issues or environmental factors.
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06-27-2006, 10:09 PM | #5 |
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I remember reading a study about the ratio between the index and ring fingers that related to fetal hormone levels. If I recall correctly, the study found no real correllation between this ratio and homosexuality except in men who had several older brothers.
Edit: Here's a summary of the article I read. It was back in 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/695142.stm |
06-27-2006, 10:20 PM | #6 | |
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This is all very fascinating. I have four older brothers. Thankfully, I am straight. Phew!
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06-27-2006, 10:28 PM | #7 | |
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Now I'm worrying about my little brother Veritas, who has three older brothers and is nearly 28 and not married, though active Mormon. But nah, he has a long time girlfriend.
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06-27-2006, 10:29 PM | #8 | |
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Heaven knows being gay would do wonders for my professional development. Sometimes I wish I could force that square peg into that round hole. |
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06-27-2006, 10:37 PM | #9 | |
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06-27-2006, 10:45 PM | #10 | |
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