No Scientific Evidence That People Are Born Gay or Transgender, Johns Hopkins Researchers

Revellers observe a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, during a gay pride parade in the southern city of Ashdod, Israel, June 17, 2016.

Distinguished scholars at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland released a new 143-page report on Monday that argues that there is not enough definitive scientific evidence available to suggest that gay, lesbian and transgender individuals are born with a certain sexual orientation or gender identity.

In the three-part report published by The New Atlantis, Lawrence Mayer, a scholar-in-residence at Johns Hopkins University's psychiatry department and a professor of statistics and biostatistics at Arizona State University, and Paul McHugh, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins, take on prevailing claims that sexual orientation and gender dysphoria are caused by natural traits.

Additionally, the scholars challenge the claim that discrimination and social stigma is the sole reason why those with same-sex attractions or transgender identity suffer higher rates of mental health problems.

In the first part, the report argues that there is insufficient evidence to claim that heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual attractions are an innate trait that people are born with.

The report goes into detail about past epidemiological studies that have found a modest association between genetic factors and sexual orientation and behaviors. However, the report states that such studies have not been able to provide significant evidence "pointing to particular genes."

The report also looks at other other evidence of hypothesized biological causes, such as prenatal development and hormones but finds that evidence is also limited.

"Studies of the brains of homosexuals and heterosexuals have found some differences, but have not demonstrated that these differences are inborn rather than the result of environmental factors that influenced both psychological and neurobiological traits," the report reads. "One environmental factor that appears to be correlated with non-heterosexuality is childhood sexual abuse victimization, which may also contribute to the higher rates."



Credit to christianpost.com
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/no-scientific-evidence-that-people-are-born-gay-or-transgender-johns-hopkins-researchers-say-168263/#T7vqXRpEQCedTglb.99