In his April 4 letter to The Pantagraph, Theodore H. Loy states: “Although homosexuality has no genetic base, homosexuals are demanding the same civil rights as those who have a genetic base — such as race and sex.” Mr. Loy seems to think that only classes of humans that have a genetic basis should have civil rights. This is incorrect. One example is age. I have a civil right to not be discriminated against because of my age.
Second, Mr. Loy’s idea that "homosexuality has no genetic base" is way too dogmatic. Sexual orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual — as somewhat artificial categories) is a complex human trait. As such, it is the result of a complicated interplay of biological (including genetic and epigenetic) and environmental interacting influences, from the zygote through embryological development in the womb, and onward from birth until death.
Then Mr. Loy considers gender identity, specifically transsexuality: “So the whole matter of sexuality has descended into the morass of complete chaos.” I think that transsexuality, as for all aspects of human sexuality, is a consequence of the complex interaction of biological and environmental influences.
Finally, quoting Mathew 19:4a, “at the beginning, the Creator made them male and female,” Mr. Loy comments “No confusion, no chaos — just fact.” But remember, according to that creation story, the sample size was two. Much larger sample sizes of live births reveal also a spectrum of intersex phenotypes, which are not clearly identified as male or female sex phenotypes— consequences of complex embryological development.
Herman Brockman, Congerville