Harvey Newstrom wrote:
> Evolution is so central to the transhumanist ideals. It frustrates me to
> repeatedly see people spouting misinformation about evolution. The latest
> example of this is the recent discussion about homosexuality on the
> Extropians list. I can't believe how many people assume that there can't be
> a gay gene because gays don't reproduce. They say, "If gays don't have
> children, the gene would not get passed on to the next generation." This is
> totally simply wrong.
>
I can't believe how many people assume that gays don't have children. This is simply wrong, and I find this thread embarrassingly lacking in both information and sensitivity. For thousands of years gays have gotten married and had children for societal, and other reasons, even though they may have had no sexual attraction for their spouses. The idea that you could choose who you married, or even that you would marry (especially for women) is modern, and by no means universal. When parents pick partners for their children in arranged marriages do you think they check sexual orientation first? When they find out, are the children off the hook to produce grandchildren? NO.
Plenty of gay people do not realize, or do not accept, that they are gay until after they have had families. This was especially true in the past when many people did not even know homosexuality existed, and many gays thought they were all alone with a condition that no one else had, and that they had to hide.
Show some compassion, drop this thread.
-Ken