Not quite five years ago, a collaboration led by researchers at the Broad Institute published what seemed like the last word in “born this way”: a genomic study of same-sex sexual behavior in a cohort of almost half a million people. That project promised to provide, finally, a window into the evolution of human sexual diversity. It demonstrated, about as clearly as we can demonstrate for any behavioral trait, that some element of sexual orientation is inborn — and that the genetic variation underlying human sexual diversity is deeply woven into the history of our species.
Five years later, in the U.S., we’re facing an ongoing wave of state legislation against basic aspects of queer life and culture, from bans on gender-affirming medical care to restrictions targeting drag performances and history lessons. Worldwide, we’ve seen renewed action against sexual and gender minorities, up to and including the imposition of the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” We’ve long thought legal protections for sexual and gender diversity flowed logically from the idea that sexual orientation and gender identity are deeply inborn and immutable, in the way that most people understand genetics — so why didn’t a modern genome-wide association study in the pages of Science move the needle?
Continue reading
