High percentage of gay family members

[saffy56]

I suspect both my kids are gay 16 yr old girl 15 yr boy. Neither have dated yet but DD dresses more masculine and enjoys more male activities and DS has all female friends and is a dancer and performer. My brother is gay and I have 5 gay cousins and 1 cousin who is straight. As a teenager I had strong feelings for women but am now happily married but get crushes on women now and then so suspect I am bi. I am the only cousin with biological children. One of my cousins has children via a surrogate, another has adopted and another is currently going through IVF. My grandparents found it very very hard that 5 out of 7 of their grandchildren are gay and my grandad was really hurt by the fact that his family line has now ended. I find it really interesting how the more and more people you speak too how common it is that homosexuality runs in families. Anyway else have a high percentage of gay family members??

Both my children are gay. No one else in the family openly is. Autism is widespread in the family though and I believe it's three times more likely for autistic people to be bisexual or gay according to latest research. Just throwing this in, in case it's the case in your family. That said I think the autism thing is about not caring what other people think. Sometimes it's easier to be openly gay when it's already accepted in the family.

Yep, most of what family I actually have are queer, whether it's gay, lesbian, bi, gender queer.

It's just always been the norm for me, I don't know how it looks from the outside. We are also a very neurodivergent couple of branches of family also, just adding that because of a PPs comment.

4 out of 9 grandchildren here!

There was a study done of nearly half a million people to determine if a "gay gene" existed or not. "No" was the answer, sexuality is much more complex than that but there was enough interest in the subject for such a large study to be done so you're definitely not the only one!

My family consists of me, my sibling, my two parents, paternal aunt & her wife, maternal uncle & his wife who have a son (my only cousin) who is gay.

My dad is bi. My mum is pretty asexual but straight as far as she knows. My brother is straight but often planked about in women's clothes and also used to wear make up and nail varnish. I'm queer with both my sexuality and gender. My eldest child is queer, my youngest child is queer.

Both sides of my gene pool are neurodivergent, more of us are likely not to identify with/ adhere to the binary, others will strictly adhere in an over the top manner to the binary, because of its 'rules'.

My dad's family has a high prevalence of homosexuals and so does my husband's dad's. I have several gay cousins, a much higher percentage than at population level. I suspect my eldest is gay, although quite young at the moment so time will tell. I remember doing a project about this about 20yrs ago in science at school- on the fact or otherwise of a "gay gene". Back then studies suggested a male homosexual gene was a thing and could be found and tested for, but a female one wasnt. I don't know if the science has moved on now to account for a female gay gene, or if the whole thing has been discredited or what, but it makes sense to me having seen such high concentration in a branch of my own family.

Interesting. Another branch of my family- on the other side- has a huge percentage of autism, but no one's gay (or at least not openly).

i'm a lesbian myself, my eldest daughter (16) is a lesbian, my second (15) is asexual, and my sister is bisexual.

2/6 of my generation, uncle was gay but married (no DC), grandparents generation don't know. Nephew is gay. There's a fairly high number of ND cousins on both sides.

It is a very rare trait that is 100% heritable. The 'gay gene' trope misunderstands genetics.

Being gay is heritable. Possibly not highly heritable. There are a lot of things that have genetic factors, including strange ones like job satisfaction and how much you like travelling.

I am curious my OP's GF thinks the family line is stopped. IME my gay friends have more children than my straight friends. Both adopted and not.

My oldest is gay, middle is asexual, youngest says straight but shows disinterest in the whole dating thing

all boys 22, 19 and 15. Two older ones have a diagnosis of autism, youngest definitely quirky 🤣

I’ve never even questioned my sexuality am straight.

very Interesting thread. As far as I know, there have been no LGBTorQ people in my immediate or large extended family. In my husband’s extended family, one cousin has a gay adult son (cousin’s husband (ie not a blood relative) has always seemed gay to us, but, as he is nearly 80, grew up in a time when he would have faced great difficulties living as a gay man). Our own son, aged 20, identifies as either gay or bi or queer, we are not sure which at the moment. Very masculine in appearance and demeanor. He doesn’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend (as far as we know). My husband and I are a bit confused and wonder if he is just caught up in lgbt “coolness” — certainly at universities these days it seems lgbt groups have the best parties! Time will tell… but in our family, at least, there does not seem to be a “gay gene” if such a thing exists.