Why I'm glad I have the gay gene

Research this year supports the idea that being gay is at least partly down to our genes.

A paper on a study of gay brothers is one of dozens published in the past 20 years that suggest homosexuality has biological origins, with a variant on the X chromosome predisposing men to homosexuality.

As with the 1993 study that first gave us headlines about a "gay gene", reactions to this new research have been mixed.

The activist Peter Tatchell didn't like what he saw as a pleading tone in the idea that "gays can't help being gay".

Others have argued that the focus on genetics ignores the possibilities of bisexuality and of preferences changing - though, to be fair to the researchers, nobody is suggesting that there's some kind of gay/straight genetic switch; environment and upbringing do play a role even in this biological theory.

Haters, as is their wont, continue to hate, saying that if homosexuality is genetic, it's nothing more than a birth defect.

I find the idea of a biological basis for my homosexuality extremely comforting. For me, the fact that we were born this way is a convenient truth to fall back on in moments of self-doubt.

Whether gayness is natural or not, statistically we're abnormal. When you've grown up in a world of mums and dads, and princes and princesses, the realisation that you want a same-sex partner will inevitably lead to a bit of soul-searching.

I've been fortunate enough to have gay teachers, gay colleagues, gay university classmates and even gay relatives. I know it's not an aberration; I know enough gay men and women who lead happy, fulfilled lives. And yet, like so many others, I've found it impossible not to internalise in some way the homophobia of wider society.

It's easy to dismiss someone on TV or in the street who says that God hates fags. But in the darker moments it's difficult to keep the thought from crossing your mind, however fleetingly, that the bigots might be right: that the romantic love I feel and express is somehow lesser than its heterosexual equivalent.

Like my straight friends, I don't spend a great deal of time sitting around wondering why I fancy whom I do. When the question does come up, I find the idea that it has a genetic basis unproblematic, and reassuring.

Interest in Lady Gaga's Born This Way fades after 1349 (approx) hearings but studies suggesting that we really are born this way hold continuing appeal.