Dean H. Hamer et al. publish "A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X-chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation"

July 16, 1993. Dean H. Hamer and colleagues Stella Hu, Victoria L. Magnuson, Nan Hu, and Angela M. L. Pattatucci publish "A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X-chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation" in Science (published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science). Hamer et al. write that the goal of the research was to figure out whether or not homosexuality was genetically influenced (Hamer et al., 1993, p. 321).

Hamer was the chief of the Section on Gene Structure and Regulation in the Laboratory of Biochemistry of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Their research included a study on 114 families of homosexual men with the intent of identifying a common marker in the X-chromosome that gay men share. There was evidence of increased rates of this common marker being passed down through maternal, but not paternal lines (Hamer et al., 1993, abstract). The authors conclude that no single genetic locus exists that accounts for all variability in sexual orientation (Hamer et al., 1993, p. 325-326).

In eugenic movements around the world, homosexuality was often viewed negatively alongside feeblemindedness. There are records of homosexuals being sterilized in many countries, such as in Nazi Germany where homosexuals could have been subject to castration (Giles, 1992, p. 43). The state of Oregon targeted homosexual men for sexual sterilizations in the 1900s (Kaelber, n.d.). More recently, transgendered individuals in several countries around the world fought to repeal laws that forced transgendered persons to be sterilized if they wanted to legally change their sex (Nelson, 2013). Attitudes towards homosexuality and sterilization have changed drastically; however, regardless of the scientific evidence published by people such as Hamer, discrimination based on sexual orientation still persists.

For more information, please see the Wikipedia on chromosome linkage.

-Laura Shaw

Dean H. Hamer et al. publish "A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X-chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation"

July 16, 1993. Dean H. Hamer and colleagues Stella Hu, Victoria L. Magnuson, Nan Hu, and Angela M. L. Pattatucci publish "A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X-chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation" in Science (published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science). Hamer et al. write that the goal of the research was to figure out whether or not homosexuality was genetically influenced (Hamer et al., 1993, p. 321).

Hamer was the chief of the Section on Gene Structure and Regulation in the Laboratory of Biochemistry of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Their research included a study on 114 families of homosexual men with the intent of identifying a common marker in the X-chromosome that gay men share. There was evidence of increased rates of this common marker being passed down through maternal, but not paternal lines (Hamer et al., 1993, abstract). The authors conclude that no single genetic locus exists that accounts for all variability in sexual orientation (Hamer et al., 1993, p. 325-326).

In eugenic movements around the world, homosexuality was often viewed negatively alongside feeblemindedness. There are records of homosexuals being sterilized in many countries, such as in Nazi Germany where homosexuals could have been subject to castration (Giles, 1992, p. 43). The state of Oregon targeted homosexual men for sexual sterilizations in the 1900s (Kaelber, n.d.). More recently, transgendered individuals in several countries around the world fought to repeal laws that forced transgendered persons to be sterilized if they wanted to legally change their sex (Nelson, 2013). Attitudes towards homosexuality and sterilization have changed drastically; however, regardless of the scientific evidence published by people such as Hamer, discrimination based on sexual orientation still persists.

For more information, please see the Wikipedia on chromosome linkage.

-Laura Shaw