From: Harvey Newstrom (newstrom@newstaffinc.com)
Date: Thu Dec 02 1999 - 13:41:17 MST
E. Shaun Russell <e_shaun@uniserve.com> wrote on Thursday, December 02, 1999
7:10 am,
> Here's a random thought: when genetic engineering becomes relatively
> common and parents can select most of the genetic makeup of their
> soon-to-be progeny, how many parents --gay or straight-- would choose
their
> offspring's sexual orientation as being homosexual
Very good question. I think that even the most basic traits could become
selected. Will blue-eyed blonds be chosen over green-eyed brunnetts? I'm
not sure. I think it would be cultural. In ancient Greek, gays probably
would be chosen over straights. Plato argued for "platonic love" between
two men (who were equals, citizens, educated) as being better than
reproductive love between a man and a woman (who was not seen as equal, was
not a citizen, and was not allowed to be educated.) In the Christianized
Dark Ages of Europe, straights would be chosen over gays. Who knows what
cultures would be like in the future. We may see intensified factions of
all cultures.
I think a more pressing question would be if genetically engineered
engineered individuals would be acceptable to society. With recent
backlashes against genetic engineering, I could see public opinion viewing
gays as second-class humans, while viewing genetically engineered straights
as being not human at all. I think bigger questions with genetic
engineering in general will be encountered before the specific questions
with individual traits pop up.
These are very interesting questions to consider. I think the social
reaction to such technology will be more predictive than scientific
capabilities. Just like the moon missions, social pressures will be a
stronger guiding force than scientific advancement.
-- Harvey Newstrom <mailto://newstrom@newstaffinc.com> <http://harveynewstrom.com> Author, Consultant, Engineer, Legal Hacker, Researcher, Scientist.
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