Why are some
sheep gay? Charles Roselli, a
research scientist at the Oregon Health and Science
University, was trying to find out when the media got a wind and published distorted stories about his research work. Charles Roselli has been working for the past five years to find out physiological factors that would tell why some
rams seek sex only with other rams and not ewes. The London Sunday Times wrote an article telling Charles Roselli and the like to keep their ‘Hands off gay sheep’. This was based on the erroneous conclusion that Charles Roselli had not only discovered a hormone
treatment to ‘
cure’ gay rams but had also successfully cured homosexual rams with hormone treatment. The media voiced its concern and its great fear that the discovery could pave way for banishing homosexuality from rams by suitable treatment. The tennis star Martina Navratilova, herself openly gay, wrote an open latter condemning this attempt at pre-natal treatment for sexual conditions. She got a wide support.The world of blogs took the matter in right earnest and raised its voice against Charles Roselli, his university and the Oregon State University, which had supported this research. An e-mail campaign against them resulted in twenty thousand protests. Scientist researcher Charles Roselli is repulsed at the distortion of the media. He clarifies that the Sunday Times’ assertion that scientists would implant devices in the brains of the sheep to cure them of their gay tendencies, and several such other false statements are wholly baseless. He also makes it clear that along with other protesting scientists, he too is repulsed by the idea of sexual eugenics in human beings. This is because he believes that human sexuality is complex and has several more aspects than mere interaction of hormones and brain structure.
More reviews about the The Hindu