In a TEDx Tallaght talk a doctor used his gay son as an example to highlight why homosexuality is a genetic necessity for survival

Dr James O’Keefe MD spoke at TEDx Tallaght about epigenetics and the necessity of homosexuality. He said that the diversity homosexuality brings is “nature’s secret weapon” and that a society that “condemns homosexuality harms itself.”

Dr O’Keefe begins his talk by recounting the time that his son took him and his wife into a room, closed the door and told them he was gay twelve years ago.

Joan, James’ wife, replied to her eldest son after a few moments of intense silence saying: “Jimmy, we will love whoever you love.”

Dr O’Keefe continues: “That was about twelve years ago when he came out to us and I have to admit, at the time Joan and I did think that this could be a problem – for his safety even.”

“And as his father, I had this feeling that somehow I had failed him and maybe because of that he wouldn’t have a chance to have kids of his own.”

Non-Productive?

O’Keefe raises the issue that, on the surface at least, homosexuality looks like a “non-productive” trope found in our species that if it was an error should have been eliminated from the gene pool by natural selection.

“So I’m a cardiologist and I like to imagine the world through the eyes of our hunter gatherer ancestor for clues about how to thrive in the modern world,” he said.

“But viewed in the light of evolution, homosexuality seems to be a real self-defeating non-productive strategy.

Survival

“I mean, gays have 80% fewer kids than heterosexuals. This is a trait that ought to go extinct in a few generations.”

“But down through recorded history in every culture and many animal species as well, homosexuality has been a small but distinct subgroup.”

“If this were a genetic error, natural selection should have long ago culled this from the gene pool,” Dr O’Keefe declares.

Dr O’Keefe goes on to note that his gay son’s magnetism and “charming wit” help his family as a unit function better.

“And one day while contemplating this ‘Jimmy effect’, it suddenly dawned on me. Homosexuality is not just about sex, it’s really more about survival – the family’s survival.”

Warriors & Thinkers

Drawing on epigenetic research, Dr O’Keefe explains that the genetic predisposition to being gay is something that is triggered during a mother’s pregnancy if she has already had a male son or if her environment is particularly stressful, because homosexuals tend to be less of a draw on resources.

He also indicates that those who are part of a sexual minority are more likely to have higher IQ scores as well as being emotionally intelligent (like his son).

Pointing out that homosexuals are 80% less likely to have children, Dr O’Keefe quotes songwriter Sam Austin: “Homosexuality is God’s way of ensuring that the truly gifted aren’t burdened with children.”

Dr O’Keefe points out that if heterosexual men are destined to be warriors, then homosexuals are more likely to be thinkers – much like ants, whose epigenetics can be altered by the queen to either unfurl the DNA for a warrior, or that of a worker or thinker.

With some very interesting statistics and information, Dr O’Keefe discusses one of the most interesting areas of medicinal science at the moment in his talk, the science of being homosexual, while remaining funny, engaging and inclusive.

Check out his full seventeen minute talk below.