A Gay Germ?

I was fascinated by another forbidden question in Pinker’s list: “Is homosexuality the symptom of an infectious disease?”

So far, nobody has identified such a pathogen. If it exists, it appears to do its “damage” in utero and does not seem to be transmissible outside the womb. If such a pathogen were identified, some parents might choose to take steps to prevent infection and reduce the number of homosexuals born. There might also be efforts directed at treating the symptoms after the infected child is born. One “benefit” of identifying the pathogen would be that homosexual children could be identified as such right away and treated with greater solicitude when it came to behavior and preferences consistent with their orientation.

In an episode of Red Dwarf, the characters come across some viruses that produce desirable symptoms. For example, one such virus gave the infected person incredible luck. Another provided courage. I reckon some homosexuals I have known, men who were quite comfortable in their own skin, would consider the posited pathogen such a good virus.