Study finds epigenetics, not genetics, underlies homosexuality

KNOXVILLE – Epigenetics – how gene expression is regulated by temporary switches, called epi-marks – appears to be a critical and overlooked factor contributing to the long-standing puzzle of why homosexuality occurs.

According to the study, published online today in The Quarterly Review of Biology, sex-specific epi-marks, which normally do not pass between generations and are thus "erased," can lead to homosexuality when they escape erasure and are transmitted from father to daughter or mother to son.

From an evolutionary standpoint, homosexuality is a trait that would not be expected to develop and persist in the face of Darwinian natural selection. Homosexuality is nevertheless common for men and women in most cultures. Previous studies have shown that homosexuality runs in families, leading most researchers to presume a genetic underpinning of sexual preference. However, no major gene for homosexuality has been found despite numerous studies searching for a genetic connection.

In the current study, researchers from the Working Group on Intragenomic Conflict at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) integrated evolutionary theory with recent advances in the molecular regulation of gene expression and androgen-dependent sexual development to produce a biological and mathematical model that delineates the role of epigenetics in homosexuality.

Epi-marks constitute an extra layer of information attached to our genes' backbones that regulates their expression. While genes hold the instructions, epi-marks direct how those instructions are carried out – when, where and how much a gene is expressed during development. Epi-marks are usually produced anew each generation, but recent evidence demonstrates that they sometimes carryover between generations and thus can contribute to similarity among relatives, resembling the effect of shared genes.

Sex-specific epi-marks produced in early fetal development protect each sex from the substantial natural variation in testosterone that occurs during later fetal development. Sex-specific epi-marks stop girl fetuses from being masculinized when they experience atypically high testosterone, and vice versa for boy fetuses. Different epi-marks protect different sex-specific traits from being masculinized or feminized – some affect the genitals, others sexual identity, and yet others affect sexual partner preference. However, when these epi-marks are transmitted across generations from fathers to daughters or mothers to sons, they may cause reversed effects, such as the feminization of some traits in sons, such as sexual preference, and similarly a partial masculinization of daughters.

The study solves the evolutionary riddle of homosexuality, finding that "sexually antagonistic" epi-marks, which normally protect parents from natural variation in sex hormone levels during fetal development, sometimes carryover across generations and cause homosexuality in opposite-sex offspring. The mathematical modeling demonstrates that genes coding for these epi-marks can easily spread in the population because they always increase the fitness of the parent but only rarely escape erasure and reduce fitness in offspring.

"Transmission of sexually antagonistic epi-marks between generations is the most plausible evolutionary mechanism of the phenomenon of human homosexuality," said the study's co-author Sergey Gavrilets, NIMBioS' associate director for scientific activities and a professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

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The paper's other authors are William Rice, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Urban Friberg, a professor at Uppsala University in Sweden.

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) brings together researchers from around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Citation: Rice WR, Friberg U, Gavrilets S. Homosexuality as a consequence of epigenetically canalized sexual development. The Quarterly Review of Biology. Published online 11 December 2012.

New Study Shows Structural Factors Play Major Role in Access to HIV Services for Gay Men Worldwide

Global survey finds homophobia, comfort with service provider, and community engagement make significant impact on access to condoms, lubricant, HIV testing, and HIV treatment

OAKLAND, Calif.  -- A large-scale study of gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), conducted by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), indicates that only one third of MSM can easily access condoms, lubricant, HIV testing, and HIV treatment. Combining a multi-lingual online survey and focus group discussions, the study suggests that structural barriers like homophobia play a significant role in blocking access to HIV services for MSM, while greater comfort with health service providers and more community engagement are associated with higher levels of service access.

The MSMGF's study aimed to identify factors that affect access to HIV services for MSM. The online survey conducted earlier this year included 5779 men from 165 countries.  In addition, the MSMGF collaborated with African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR) to conduct focus group discussions with 71 MSM across five cities in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Of men who participated in the online survey, only 35% reported that condoms were easily accessible, 21% reported easy access to lubricant, 36% reported easy access to HIV testing, and 42% reported easy access to HIV treatment. Levels of access differed by country income level, with reduced access to services more commonly reported in lower income countries.

"Such poor levels of access at the global level are unacceptable," said Dr. George Ayala, Executive Director of the MSMGF. "The differences in access by country income are especially important to note as the Global Fund moves into a new funding model where countries are grouped into bands by income level. Even in upper middle income countries, MSM still have extremely low access to services. Without targeted funding to MSM and other key populations, the new funding model may continue to deteriorate levels of access for the groups most affected by HIV."

The MSMGF research team also conducted analyses to identify barriers (factors associated with lower access) and facilitators (factors associated with higher access) that impact the ability of MSM to obtain condoms, lubricant, HIV testing, and HIV treatment.

Adjusting for country income, greater access to condoms, lubricants, and HIV testing were associated with less homophobia, greater comfort with health service providers, and more community engagement. Among participants living with HIV, higher access to HIV treatment was associated with less homophobia and greater comfort with health service providers.  Greater access to lubricants and greater access to HIV testing were also associated with less outness (the degree to which others know of one's sexual orientation) and fewer negative consequences as a result of being out, respectively.

"As we collectively forge ahead into the new territory of treatment-based prevention, it is clear that many of the old challenges remain," said Noah Metheny, Director of Policy at the MSMGF. "Addressing structural barriers remains essential to realizing the potential of HIV interventions for MSM, and it becomes more important with each new prevention and treatment option that is made available. Investments in the development of new interventions must be accompanied by efforts to increase access."

The quantitative data from the online survey was supplemented with qualitative data from focus group discussions, helping to place barriers and facilitators in the broader context of the sexual health and lived experiences of MSM. Focus group discussion participants identified barriers and facilitators that were highly consistent with those found in the online survey, and many participants explained the ways that structural barriers at the policy, cultural, and institutional levels cascade down through the community and individual levels to block access to services for MSM.

Focus group discussion participants described how structural barriers like stigma, discrimination, and criminalization force MSM to hide their sexual behavior from health care providers, employers, landlords, teachers, and family members in order to protect themselves and maintain a minimum livelihood. The inability of MSM to reveal their sexual behavior to health service providers was linked to misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and delayed treatment, leading to poor health prognosis and higher risk of transmitting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections to partners.

Conversely, focus group discussion participants explained that the negative consequences of structural barriers were moderated by the existence of safe spaces to meet other MSM, safe spaces to receive services, access to competent mental health care, and access to comprehensive health care. Participants described MSM-led community based organizations as safe spaces where they could celebrate their true selves, receive respectful and knowledgeable health care, and in some cases receive mental health services.

"The study's findings underscore the urgent need to improve access to essential HIV services for gay men and other MSM worldwide," said Dr. Ayala. "Interventions must both disrupt the negative effects of barriers and bolster the protective effects of facilitators. Study participants clearly indicated that community engagement and community-based organizations are central to moderating barriers and promoting service access. Successfully addressing HIV among MSM will require a real effort to address structural barriers, and the findings from this study suggest that investing in MSM-led community-based organizations may be the best way to do that."

Entitled, "Access to HIV Prevention and Treatment for Men Who Have Sex with Men: Findings from the 2012 Global Men's Health and Rights Study (GMHR)," the full report can be found on the MSMGF's website at: http://www.msmgf.org/files/msmgf//documents/GMHR_2012.pdf

Episcopal Church same-sex blessing resource excerpts available online

“I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing”

[November 27, 2012] The Episcopal Church’s liturgical rite for blessing same-sex relationships, authorized by General Convention for use in the Episcopal Church beginning the first Sunday in Advent, December 2, is now available online free of charge.

The rite and a short theological summary, both excerpted from the report of the Church’s Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) titled “I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing,” are posted here.

The rite, which must be approved by each diocesan bishop before it is used in individual dioceses, is authorized by General Convention for provisional use until 2015.

“We learn as we pray,” explained the Rev. Ruth Meyers, Ph.D, Dean of Academic Affairs and Hodges-Haynes Professor of Liturgics at Church Divinity School of the Pacific and SCLM Chair. “During the next three years, the rite will be reviewed by clergy who use it and the couples whose unions it blesses. The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music will compile those reviews and make a report to General Convention 2015.”

Resource
The online excerpt includes the liturgy and a summary that includes themes for theological reflection and spiritual practice. “Our covenantal life with God is expressed in relationships of commitment and faithfulness, including those of same-sex couples,” the report reads. “It is the Church’s joy to celebrate these relationships as signs of God’s love, to pray for God’s grace to support couples in their life together, and to join with these couples in our shared witness to the gospel in the world.”

The full text of “I Will Bless You and You Will Be a Blessing,” available for purchase from Church Publishing, Inc., includes:
Introduction
Faith, Hope, and Love: Theological Resources for Blessing Same-Sex Relationships:

•      Preface
•      Overview: Theological Reflection on Same-Sex Relationships
•      1. The Church’s Call: A Focus on Mission
•      2. The Church’s Joy: A Theology of Blessing
•      3. The Church’s Life: Covenantal Relationship
•      4. The Church’s Challenge: Christian Unity and Biblical Interpretation

The Church’s Canon Law and Laws of the States
Hearing, Seeing, and Declaring New Things: Preparing Same-Sex Couples for a Liturgy of Blessing
The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant: Liturgical Resources for Blessing Same-Sex Relationships
Discussion Guide to I Will Bless You, and You Will Be a Blessing
Appendices:

•      A Review of General Convention Legislation
•      Glossary

The print and eBook versions containing the full resources are available from Church Publishing here.

Episcopal, ELCA Presiding Bishops issue World AIDS Day 2012 statement

[November 30, 2012] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have issued a joint statement for World AIDS Day 2012.

The text of the statement follows:

World AIDS Day, on the first of December each year, offers an opportunity for reflection.  On this day, people around the world pause to grieve the 30 million human beings who have died from HIV and AIDS in the last three decades, and unite in solidarity toward the goal of a human race free of AIDS.

This year World AIDS Day falls on the eve of Advent, a time when we wait in joyful expectation of the Savior who takes on human flesh to dwell among the poor and the vulnerable.  We join Mary, the mother of Jesus, in praise of the God who exalts the humble, meek, hungry, and sick:

     ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
     for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.’

We live out her vision of God’s Reign by embracing the sick and lifting up those whom society has cast aside.

Our task is great: thirty-four million people around the world today are living with HIV or AIDS.  Infection rates are growing in many parts of the world despite innovations in medicine and technology that could eliminate the virus entirely.  Last year, 2.5 million people were infected with HIV and 1.7 million died from AIDS-related causes.  Each year, 50,000 new cases of HIV infection are reported in the United States alone.

Vulnerable populations continue to face disproportionately high rates of infection and shrinking access to life-sustaining treatment.  Our silence, and the stigma often attached to those living with HIV or AIDS, perpetuate the poverty that so often surrounds this disease.  That poverty becomes endemic and expanding through discrimination, homelessness, malnutrition, sexual violence, and incarceration.  All those realities facilitate the further spread of the virus.  Silence and stigma often cause HIV-positive Episcopalians and Lutherans to feel invisible, even in their own church communities.

Yet Advent is a time of hope, particularly in the ways in which God’s love and healing are evident in the progress made in the work against AIDS.  Today more than 8 million people around the world receive life-saving treatment for HIV.  Globally, fewer people are dying of AIDS and several countries have reduced their high infection rates (particularly for newborns) by more than 50 percent. People with HIV and AIDS who have access to basic treatment are now living long and productive lives, and women infected with the virus are giving birth to healthy children free of the virus. 

This year has seen significant progress toward the end of AIDS.  The cost of HIV treatment has fallen dramatically with increased efficiencies and greater access to generic drugs.  Countries with high infection rates have increased their participation in programs to fight the virus.  Leaders in Africa, the region most affected by the pandemic, recently committed to increasing their domestic investment and taking greater responsibility for eliminating AIDS in their populations.

This is a critical time in the fight against AIDS.  We urge the United States government to strengthen its leading effort toward “getting to zero” infections.  We urge President Obama to reverse proposed cuts to PEPFAR, to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and to domestic programs that provide affordable access to antiretroviral treatment, palliative care, and health services.  We also urge him to recommit to funding strong, comprehensive HIV-AIDS programs in his second term. 

We wait in hope this Advent season for the coming of the one who shows us how to lift up the humble, meek, hungry, and sick.  We look to God with confidence, grateful for what has been done, and hopeful for what God will continue to do through us as we look for ways where we can partner to heal humanity of HIV and AIDS.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson 
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

EQCA and NCLR to Participate in Event on Increasing Access to Family Building for LGBT and Single Parents

(San Francisco) On Thursday, November 29, Equality California and the National Center for Lesbian Rights will join prospective parents, families, health providers, and community organizations for an evening of celebration and education at an event that will honor the courageous, visionary leadership of AB 2356 author Assemblymember Nancy Skinner. AB 2356, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 24, 2012, allows people seeking to conceive using a known sperm donor access to certain fertility services on the same terms as different-sex couples. This bill is a historic achievement for same-sex couples, single women, and transgender men trying to conceive through insemination with a known donor. The event will also recognize the staff of EQCA, NCLR, and the many organizations, health providers, and families who told their stories and helped in the passage of AB 2356.

“AB 2356 removes the obstacles that LGBT and single women faced when they sought medically-assisted insemination,” said Assemblymember Nancy Skinner.  “I am proud to have authored legislation that will eliminate those barriers and level the playing field for all women seeking medical services in their effort to conceive.”

 

“The decisions regarding building a family are a core freedom in California. Same-sex couples have faced many barriers in forming families, including unequal access to fertility healthcare,” said Clarissa Filgioun, Equality California Board President. “This unequal treatment has, heartbreakingly, denied many couples the opportunity to conceive a child of their own. Signing AB 2356 works to remedy that disparity, putting the joy of having a child and building a family within the reach of all loving families. We thank Assemblymember Skinner for her leadership on this bill and Governor Brown for removing one more barrier to a state of equality.”

“This new law will allow many LGBT people to access an affordable, effective fertility service, and will greatly benefit many families who would otherwise be unable to conceive children,” said National Center for Lesbian Rights Family Protection Project Director Cathy Sakimura, Esq.

The event will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Rockwood Leadership Institute, 426 17th St, 4th Floor, Oakland, CA. Featured speakers include Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, introduced by Maddie Flood of Rockwood Leadership Institute; Leland Traiman, RN of Rainbow Flag Health Services, introduced by Keiko Lane, MFT and Lisa Denenmark of City Visions, KALW; Kim Klausner, co-producer of the documentary film “Choosing Children” (GroundSpark Films, 1984), introduced by Maya Scott-Chung, MPH; Legal update and Q&A with National Center for Lesbian Rights Family Protection Project Director Cathy Sakimura, Esq., and Alice Kessler of Equality California. The program will include an open mic time for families, health providers and others to speak about the importance of the passage and implementation of AB 2356.

The event will be live broadcast from 6:30-7:30 pm with Michelle Meow from SWIRL RADIO www.SwirlRadio.com. 

 

RSVPs should be directed to Maya Scott-Chung at 510.381.0876 or EqualFertilityAccess@gmail.com, and online reservations can be made at http://AB2356FamilyBuildingAccess.Eventbrite.com. 

 

Event co-sponsors include:

Hosts: Rockwood Leadership Institute  www.rockwoodleadership.org

Alameda County Paul Robeson Chapter of the Northern California American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) www.paulrobesonaclu.org

Arizmendi Bakery www.arizmendibakery.org

CA LGBT Health and Human Services Network & Health Access http://www.eqcai.org/site/c.mtJYJbMKIoE/b.4442755/k.B995/Health.htm

Charles Spiegel Law www.charlesspiegellaw.com

Children of LGBTQ Parents Everywhere (COLAGE) www.colage.org

Deborah Wald Esq http://waldlaw.net/

Equality California (EQCA) www.eqca.org

GayFutureDads www.gayfuturedads.org

GroundSpark: Igniting Change through Film www.groundspark.org

Keiko Lane, MFT www.keikolanemft.com

Laurel Fertility Care www.laurelfertility.com

Lolo Health Center www.lolocenter.com

Maia Midwifery and Fertility Services http://www.maiamidwifery.com/

Michelle Borok, LM, Take Root Home Insemination Services http://michelleborok.com/take-root/

National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) www.nclrights.org

Our Family Coalition (OFC) www.ourfamily.org

Rainbow Flag Health Services http://www.gayspermbank.com/

STRONG FAMILIES/Forward Together http://forwardtogether.org/strong-families

The Donor Source www.TheDonorSOURCE.com

The Surrogacy Source www.TheSurrogacySOURCE.com

Transgender Law Center www.transgenderlawcenter.org

Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to a state with some of the most comprehensive protections in the nation. Equality California has partnered with legislators to successfully sponsor more than 90 pieces of pro-equality legislation. EQCA continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. www.nclrights.org

American Jewish World Service Condemns Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill and Stands in Solidarity with LGBT Ugandans

NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2012  -- Ruth Messinger, president of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), today issued the following statement about Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which may be voted upon by that country's parliament in the coming days:
Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill is an abhorrent violation of human rights against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and a grave threat to civil society in Uganda. Whenever basic human rights such as equal treatment under the law and the rights to safety, assembly, association, expression and privacy are denied, we are compelled to speak out.
The most tragic chapter of Jewish history provides a bitter lesson that the stripping away of human rights from specific minorities is often a precursor to the targeted destruction of oppressed people.
We stand in solidarity with Uganda's LGBT community and with the defenders of human rights in Uganda, who work tirelessly to safeguard the rights and dignity of all.
First introduced by the Ugandan Parliament in 2009, the bill's many cruel and unconscionable provisions include a punishment of three years' imprisonment for any person who fails to report, within 24 hours, the identity of anyone perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The law also seeks to criminalize the "promotion of homosexuality," which includes funding organizations that serve LGBT people or that support the human rights of sexual minorities.
AJWS is the leading Jewish organization in the world focused on realizing human rights and ending poverty in the developing world and currently supports 34 organizations that are working to promote LGBT rights in 17 countries. To learn more about AJWS's work on LGBT rights in Uganda and elsewhere in the developing world, read AJWS's 2012 special report: "The Jewish Voice for LGBT Rights Worldwide."
American Jewish World Service
Inspired by Judaism's commitment to justice, American Jewish World Service works to realize human rights and end poverty in the developing world. www.ajws.org

Conversion Therapy Suit Sparks Hope for True Change

KEW GARDENS HILLS, N.Y.,  - A group of men dissatisfied with an organization offering therapy that promised to rid them of their homosexual attractions have filed a lawsuit in New Jersey court alleging consumer fraud. The Community Guardians Group, a New-York based organization that seeks to engage the spirit of Torah values in dialogue with American society, released the following statement.

"The allegations stated in the complaint against JONAH, as reported by the press are disturbing to any G-d fearing person," said Dovid Z. Schwartz, Director of the CGG. "If these accusations are true, many vulnerable young people may have been grossly mistreated by the very people they sought to help them.

"Everyone has a unique set of challenges, but the Almighty Creator endowed every human being with the ability to rule over his or her desires. The impulse of sexual attraction may require a person to struggle for control just as much as the impulse for violence to others. These men and women who feel betrayed by therapy should never lose hope of realizing the true strength of their souls."

According to the tradition of Judaism, the Torah that G-d Almighty gave the Jewish people also contains a universal code of laws applicable to all mankind. Called the "Seven Laws of Noah," this code contains the foundations of human society, including a prohibition against acts of homosexuality, alongside murder, theft and cruelty to animals. The Community Guardians Group is a grassroots organization based in the New York City area that seeks to engage the spirit of the eternal values of the Torah in dialogue on matters that confront American society.