You of course can't change it, anymore than you can make a straight person gay. Sexual attraction is a very complicated combination of genetics, environment, epigenetics, etc. I don't think you would be any more successful at changing someone's sexual orientation through genetic therapies than you would be at changing one's bone structure - it's too deeply embedded in the brain and in our body's physical chemistry.

Agreed–I feel like there's an infinite number of variables that contribute to homosexuality--and the one thing I can say is that it's natural. It occurs at a relatively uncommon (compared to heterosexuality), but constant rate. It happens in wildlife and humans--I don't think we could ever learn enough about what "causes" homosexuality to ever be able to change it.  And then again, why would we need to? It's never going to overtake heterosexuality but it's never going away either--it's constant. Sexuality, (and by that I mean true, willing attraction to whatever it is you're attracted to) cannot be taught. Behaviors can be taught, but behaviors don't say everything about what's going on inside the brain.  True sexual identification can only happen individually–you can never see inside someone's brain to see if their sexual experience is exactly the same as yours, even if you both identify the same way. As each person learns to understand the world differently, they come to understand themselves differently, and (what we categorize as) sexuality follows. It just is, and we're all trying to describe our experience. Our labels (homo/hetero/bi/a/pan/every other type of sexuality) are just a categorization of external behaviors, but inside each of our brains, it's much much more complex and and no two humans are alike. That's why I don't think it can or should ever try to be changed.

@nordicblue:

So, do you think it is controlled by a gene, or the environment (epigenetic), i.e., something that happens after birth.  If you don't have a choice, then it is a physiological response, and; therefore, it is a gene regulatory network.  If it is the environment, then it is something that happened after birth.  It has to be one or the other, either gene or environment.  There's no having the cake and eating it too.

No, it doesn't have to be either gene or environment. It can be a combination of the two.

http://www.realjock.com/article/1133

Being a combination of the two is a moot point.  That means it is still controlled by a gene.  If it was environmental, then you could prevent it from happening.  Just remove the environmental trigger.

Your sexual orientation is not defined by whom you fall in love with. It is defined by whom you are attracted too. By your definition a male bisexual that falls in love with a women is straight and one that falls in love with a man is gay and that is not the case. They are attracted to both sexes and that is what makes them bisexual. The same for gay.

You can be attracted too a guy while being straight. You can also be attracted by a woman while being gay… Therefor if that is your affinity to someone that defines your sexuality it means for a lot of people it keep changing?

We all know the daddies in their mid-forties that turns out to be gay but it didn't happen just like that. They've been for a long time but they couldn't come to term with their sexuality. That's where the environment plays a role : the acceptance.
But for over 20 years they still managed to have sex with a woman and they love her (or at least did depending on how good went the coming out...). In their cases they were straight then some of them turn to be bisexual while others turn to be gay?

The study you posted i read it and it's nothing new. This study has been going on for over 22 years now (Gosh... we are in 2015) and have been giving a lot of bullshit that every two of three years has been contradict.

There's actually no gay gene known. There's actually no real pattern in enviromnent that is proved to influence your sexuality.

I'm not saying the gene doesn't exist nor i have the answer to "why are we gay?". I'm just stating the fact and prefer to correct when theories (that for a lot of reasons aren't viables) are used as written stone commandment.

[box title=Wikipedia]
Homosexuality (from Ancient Greek ὁμός, meaning "same", and Latin sexus, meaning "sex") is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same sex. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."[/box]

So, do you think it is controlled by a gene, or the environment (epigenetic), i.e., something that happens after birth.  If you don't have a choice, then it is a physiological response, and; therefore, it is a gene regulatory network.  If it is the environment, then it is something that happened after birth.  It has to be one or the other, either gene or environment.  There's no having the cake and eating it too.

No, it doesn't have to be either gene or environment. It can be a combination of the two.

http://www.realjock.com/article/1133

They tested a drug some time ago that could actually make gay people feel attracted to women (well not really it was just their brains that with some big help make them react about a woman the way they would physically react about a man)

If it really was successful we surely all would have learn about it by now.

So far, none can prove that he/she really manage to change his/her sexual orientations. And simply because people can say what they what they want but we still can't see a feeling. Cause here is the problem : you can stop being attracted to everyone but you can't stop having feelings for someone and that's what define your sexual orientation! Who you fall in love with!

The only solution would be turn into a sociopath : you can't feel love so you won't fall in love with men. But sadly you won't fall in love at all. Ever. Again.

Btw they're still really far from "the gay gene" if it does exist! And i certainly, if it does, that won't find it. Sorry for those, who may want to "change" some day, but if anyone was able to discover before you're even born what your sexual orientation would be… let's just say homosexuality would have disappear many years ago...

Your sexual orientation is not defined by whom you fall in love with. It is defined by whom you are attracted too. By your definition a male bisexual that falls in love with a women is straight and one that falls in love with a man is gay and that is not the case. They are attracted to both sexes and that is what makes them bisexual. The same for gay.

People tried a lot of things and no one can prove that same gender attirance disappeared. Some say theirs did but at least half of the men went back to same gender sex.

If there really was a gay gene don't you think, by now, that all those wonderful  :-X coutries that hate gays or even forbid them would have done something about it?

At first homosexuality was a disease, a mental disorder. Now it's a gene? We need to stop with the bullshit already! Don't you see that people need to find a logical explanation because they can't understand it? It happened with everything…

We tried every possible theories, the miss of a paternal figure, having a big brother, having a finger longer than an other... And yet you still can't determine if someone is gay or not simply by looking at him or even by "exploring" his DNA.

Now you can believe what you want, each of us can! But don't say things like they are real proved facts while they're not! Until the Science says so, nothing proves that homosexuality is controlled by a gene

P.s : pharmacogenetics is the study of drugs response/behavior with the metabolic pathways which can lead to change some genes but so far they mostly study the reaction for TPMT and Hepatitis C. Not for gayness  :blink: 1° they can't find the gene supposed to be responsible for homosexuality. 2° Scientifics are bound by the Ethics. Since we are not considered as a illness anymore they can't go down that way without a good reason even if they knew which way it is...

Psychopathy isn't even a correct diagnostic since it haven't been recognized as such by the autorities  :crazy2:

There can be two factors to a sociopath that can goes together : the, real famous now, traumatic event and for the real worst cases it can come from a brain problem. (let's leave problem cause there are so much things in our brains that can be tempered it and could cause such disorder  )

But there are drugs that could turn each and everyone of us into a sociopath. Drugs that are used on rapist and others damn people that I don't like at all. Those drugs can block connection in your brain… Basically you put to sleep what has proved to be problematic so you'll never feel the envy/desire again.

In the old fashioned time people had forced lobotomy to suppress those ideas/fantasms/tendencies. But turns out drilling your brain is a bit fulsome  :cheesy2:

If it really was successful we surely all would have learn about it by now.

So far, none can prove that he/she really manage to change his/her sexual orientations. And simply because people can say what they what they want but we still can't see a feeling. Cause here is the problem : you can stop being attracted to everyone but you can't stop having feelings for someone and that's what define your sexual orientation! Who you fall in love with!

The only solution would be turn into a sociopath : you can't feel love so you won't fall in love with men. But sadly you won't fall in love at all. Ever. Again.

Btw they're still really far from "the gay gene" if it does exist! And i certainly, if it does, that won't find it. Sorry for those, who may want to "change" some day, but if anyone was able to discover before you're even born what your sexual orientation would be… let's just say homosexuality would have disappear many years ago...

Relation with genes might turn to be as expected of a complex combination between genes and not of a particular one, plus one would even have to consider the repercussions of said thought drug, and test study it, so not for soon if at all.

Those treatments are dangerous. Most psychiatric associations and doctors agree.