What do you base your conclusion on? I think you might find Satinover's summary helpful. People need to know how little linkage and association really mean.
If that were true, how would one explain the strange preponderance of sexual abuse victims among homosexuals
That's right. Sexual abuse is indeed one avenue to homosexuality. There's also prison homosexuality. But from everything I've read (in regards to male homosexuality), most cases are due to environment. Female homosexuality stems from similar yet different avenues. You can read anywhere from 1 to over 40 testimonials of former homosexuals, male and female, here.
I don't see how this changes the way I view homosexuality one way or the other...
I can understand that. It may not change your view but there are others who are wired differently that require more information. And there are some who want to help homosexuals leave the lifestyle. And to understand how to help them you have to have a firm grasp of how it all comes about.
My profile will always have pointers to the latest information.
Thanks for the link to Satinover's summary. I think one of the best examples of associated traits that may be heritable but don't determine behavior were: dexterity, height, high metabolism, muscle growth, etc. All of which, when combined, may make for a tall, athletic person. If this person is born in New York City, he may become a basketball player. But if he is born in Brussels, the likelihood will be much less that he will become a basketball player, or ever even consider being one. So the traits MAY have been heritable, and when you put them together in one person, they MAY make for a better basketball player, but environmental influence still plays a major and determinant factor.
I am a believer in temperament (sometimes called personality) and that our temperament traits are heritable. I think different personalities become apparent very early and I believe it has a genetic component. Boys who are "sensitive, intelligent, have a heightened awareness of aesthetics, etc." are not necessarily going to be attracted to men. However, these boys are more likely to be bullied and mistreated because they manifest these traits. If such a boy has a father, the father may reject him. If such a boy is raised by a single mother (as is increasingly the case), he may yearn for attention and love from a male. If such a boy is molested by a male, he may associate sexual contact with men as a form of love and attention.
Before you know it, you have a young man who swears he has "been gay" for as long as he could remember, because when he was 3 years old he already had a sense of taste and was into fashion "just like girls are".