According to a recent paper in Science, the answer is at least partially yes. By screening close to 500,000 DNA samples, researchers identified five locations in the genome that were significantly associated with same-sex sexual behaviour.

“This work supports the notion that there is a biological component to sexual behavior,” wrote Benjamin Neale, one of the study’s lead authors and a member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. “I am hopeful that these results will strengthen the argument for legal protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals and improve acceptance.”

Within weeks of publication, however, Neale was already calling out “a gross and dangerous mischaracterization of the work” — an app called “How Gay Are You?” ...