I was giving that example purely for the understanding aspect. sure you're not
exactly like them but you can understand where they're coming from and be tolerant at least. the guy I quoted said he just doesn't understand gay people. well I don't understand that... honestly...
and whereas nationality and native language are environmental influences they aren't something a person themselves can choose. most people who are born in a country are stuck there.
and for all the doubters, i kindly looked up a few relevant articles in my university's journal database. (you're welcome.) if you want to read them you will have to visit your own local university. just so you know, experimentation and "proving" theories takes much longer in the social sciences, especially psychology, since there are many more factors, possible multiple variables involved, and to conduct a study that is unbiased and applicable to all populations requires a lot of time and thought put into the design... sometimes a longitudinal design, which can take more than a decade to complete. since homosexuality was only taken out of the DSM a few decades ago, research is still limited, especially in genetic theories; genetic research itself is a new field. and that is why nothing has been "proven". modern psychologists do not aim to "prove"; rather, when multiple studies have shown that certain variables lead to certain results, a certain hypothesis is held as true. if a "groundbreaking" study produces drastically different results, the theory needs more varied research. however, the "groundbreaking discoveries" of Newton's day are a thing of the past.
do some research on how psychology research is done before you demand proof
without further ado.......
Santtila, Pekka, et al. "Testing Miller's theory of alleles preventing androgenization as an evolutionary explanation for the genetic predisposition for male." Evolution and Human Behavior 30, no. 1 (January 2009): 58-65. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
two articles that suggest homosexuality is genetically advantageous
Ciani, Andrea Camperio, Francesca Iemmola, and Stan R. Blecher. 2009. "Genetic factors increase fecundity in female maternal relatives of bisexual men as in homosexuals." Journal of Sexual Medicine 6, no. 2: 449-455. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
Iemmola, Francesca, and Andrea Camperio Ciani. 2009. "New evidence of genetic factors influencing sexual orientation in men: Female fecundity increase in the maternal line." Archives of Sexual Behavior 38, no. 3: 393-399. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
Santtila, Pekka, N. Kenneth Sandnabba, Nicole Harlaar, Markus Varjonen, Katarina Alanko, and Bettina von der Pahlen. 2008. "Potential for homosexual response is prevalent and genetic." Biological Psychology 77, no. 1: 102-105. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
Jannini, Emmanuele A., Ray Blanchard, Andrea Camperio-Ciani, and John Bancroft. 2010. "Male homosexuality: Nature or culture?." Journal of Sexual Medicine 7, no. 10: 3245-3253. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
an article that summarizes some of the genetic research thus far
Dawood, Khytam, J. Michael Bailey, and Nicholas G. Martin. 2009. "Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation." In Handbook of behavior genetics, 269-279. New York, NY US: Springer Science + Business Media, 2009. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
anxiety and depression in homosexuals could be due to gender-atypical behaviour in childhood and not homosexuality--not about genetic factors but relevant to the discussion, I think
Alanko, Katarina, et al. "Psychiatric symptoms and same-sex sexual attraction and behavior in light of childhood gender atypical behavior and parental relationships." Journal of Sex Research 46, no. 5 (September 2009): 494-504. PsycINFO, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2010).
you're welcome.