According to a 2006 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study, having older biological brothers may play a role in determining male sexual orientation. The study reports that the odds of being gay increase 33% with each older male sibling.
Various researchers equate the traits of same-sex orientation with left-handedness. The similar traits reported include: 5-8% overall minority orientation, minority orientation higher in men than women, X-chromosome linkage implied, identical twins more likely to share minority orientation, external expression can be altered, internal expression cannot be altered, and more.
The Department of Defense listed homosexuality as a mental disorder in its policy instructions for retiring or separating service members due to physical disability (made public on June 8, 2007).
In 2004, American Airlines, Ford Motor Co., and PepsiCo, Inc. were rated in a Human Rights Campaign report as three of the top 100 "gay-friendly" American companies, while Exxon Mobil Corp., Toys "R" Us Inc., and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. were rated as three of the top 100 "gay-unfriendly" American companies.
On June 8, 2007, Pentagon officials confirmed that military leaders in 1994 had considered building a so-called "Gay Bomb" which would have been loaded with aphrodisiacs intended to cause homosexual behavior.
A Nov. 4, 2004 Gallop Poll asked 1,000 adults "In your view, is homosexuality something a person is born with, or is homosexuality due to factors such as upbringing and environment?;" 41% of the respondents said homosexuality is influenced by a person's "upbringing/environment," 37% indicated it was something a person is "born with," 11% said "both," 3% "neither," and 8% "no opinion."
Paul W. Ewald, PhD, a biology professor at Amherst College in Massachusetts, and Gregory Cochran, PhD, an independent physicist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, developed a theory that homosexuality can be caught by a germ.
The Catholic Medical Association reports that sexual orientation is treatable and that about 30% of those who seek "ex-gay" therapy experience a "freedom from symptoms" while another 30% experience "improvement." The American Psychiatric Association argues that homosexuality is not treatable because it is not an illness.
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