Evergreen Update Newsletter

March 11, 2006

Sunday, March 12, "60 Minutes" (CBS 7:00 ET/PT) will air the story "GAY OR STRAIGHT?"

There are few issues as hotly contested -- and as poorly understood – as the question of what makes a person gay or straight. It's a political question, a social question, a religious question. But it's also a science question, and one that might someday have an actual, provable answer. The handful of scientists who work in this under-funded and politically charged field will tell you that the answer is a long way off. But their efforts are already yielding tantalizing clues. Read more about it at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/09/60minutes/main1385230.shtml

Note: Evergreen does not necessarily agree with the content of programs, articles, or events that we include in the Evergreen Update newsletter. We make you aware of these so you can watch or read if you wish to be aware of what is being said on the subject of same-sex attraction.

The "60 Minutes" program that aired Sunday addressed the question of what makes a person gay or straight. The program reviewed what a handful of scientists are currently thinking. A few theories were presented, including the influence of hormones and the number of older brothers a man has. The conclusion was that we still don't know from a scientific point of view what causes same-sex attraction-it's not completely genetic, environmental, or hormonal. Some scientists believe that any or all of
these factors may play some role. Evergreen has no official position on the exact causes of same-sex attraction. Many within the organization believe it is a complex interaction of many influences.