Christianity ruins families.

[Ben Kenobi]

And before Asher gets smarmy, we are not talking about Ben Kenobi Catholics here.

Well, I'd be surprised if they were converts and not cradle Catholics.

[Asher]

I think the mom's just build up in their minds, for years, an idyllic perfect wedding and become neurotic about it as it approaches and they realize it didn't match their vision.

[Hauldren Collider]

Just so you know, I'm pretty sure my mom's parents (Catholic) were antsy about Mom's wedding being too Jewish initially. Apparently it was a short-lived fear. I don't think it really had anything to do with religion, just being terrified of their daughter growing up...so all I have to say is parents.

And before Asher gets smarmy, we are not talking about Ben Kenobi Catholics here.

[Hauldren Collider]

Plausible, but I'd say it's far from proven. Amusing nevertheless.

multi-xpost

[Ben Kenobi]

Ok. Just curious.

I wish your brother luck. I hope they are happy together.

[Asher]

Hey, I have an idea, why don't we swap sets of parents. You guys can have mine and I'll have hers.

You didn't mention what church her family went to. May I ask?

No.

[Berzerker]

I can see a movie out of this, 2 gay dudes crash a wedding and start picking up on all the drunk Christian guys

http://www.montrealgazette.com/techn...112/story.html

no offense, but the only thing I can say to that is duh

They actually spent money to figure that out?

Two steps forward, one step back - and this one from the experts

[Asher]

wait til they have kids and her grandkids spend time with Uncle Dave the Homo

http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/have+super+uncle+evolutionary+advantage+Researchers/2523112/story.html

Gay men may have 'super uncle' evolutionary advantage: Researchers

It's a question which has troubled science since Darwin: if homosexuality is, at least in part, inherited, how are those genes being passed down to new generations?

Canadian researchers say they have found the first evidence to back up the theory that gay men have the evolutionary advantage of being "super uncles", a way of enhancing the survival prospects of close relatives and — indirectly, at least — making it more likely their genes are passed on.

Paul Vasey, associate professor in the University of Lethbridge's department of psychology, said his research found evidence that gay men may be more willing to support their nieces and nephews financially and emotionally.

The idea is that homosexuals are helping their close relatives reproduce more successfully and at a higher rate by being helpful: babysitting more, tutoring their nieces and nephews in art and music, and helping out financially with things like medical care and education.

The question of whether homosexuality clashes with evolution has puzzled scientists for decades. The trait appears to be inheritable — but because homosexual men are much less likely to produce offspring than heterosexual men, researchers have struggled to explain why the genes for the trait weren't extinguished long ago.

"Maybe it's in this way that they're indirectly passing on at least some of the genes that they're sharing with their kin," he said.

Researchers conducting similar studies in the U.S. and England did not find any supporting evidence for the theory, said Vasey. "So I thought, 'Well, I'll do it in a non-Western culture and chances are I'm going to find exactly the same results and it'll be the nail in the coffin for this hypothesis,'" he said.

Vasey and University of Lethbridge evolutionary psychologist Doug VanderLaan spent time on the Pacific island of Samoa surveying women, straight men and the fa'afafine — men who prefer other men as sexual partners and are accepted within the culture as a distinct third gender category. "Some are so feminine that they pass as women to the naive observer," he said.

Vasey found that the fa'afafine said they were significantly more willing to help kin, yet much less interested in helping children who aren't family — providing the first evidence to support the "kin selection hypothesis."

"We argue that this would allow the fa'afafine to distribute altruism toward their nieces and nephews in a more efficient and adaptive manner compared to men and women," he said.

The findings are published online this week in the journal Psychological Science.

Researchers are now trying to establish whether the fa'afafine's professed willingness to help their kin is reflected in their actions by studying whether they give more money to their relatives. "It's a crude measure, but it's a start," he admitted.

"There is this distinction between willingness to do something and then do they actually do it in the real world," he added. "Research takes time, so we don't have all the answers right away."

Vasey said he was initially shocked by the results, and conducted the questionnaire three times to be certain of the results. "I think I've convinced myself it's real," he said.

Vasey has a few theories about why researchers conducting similar studies in the U.S. and in England found no difference between the way gay men and straight men treat their nieces and nephews. In Samoa, communities are closer geographically and families are more tightly-knit, while North American families are more dispersed, he said. Homosexuality is expressed differently in Western culture — where it's also less accepted, he said.

[Ben Kenobi]

My brother (atheist) and his fiancee (Christian in name, non-practicing and agnostic in reality) are getting married in a couple weeks.

Hey, I have an idea, why don't we swap sets of parents. You guys can have mine and I'll have hers.

You didn't mention what church her family went to. May I ask?

[Wezil]

You should document it with a video camera (and post it here of course).

[Al B. Sure!]

wait til they have kids and her grandkids spend time with Uncle Dave the Homo

[Wiglaf]

Canadians celebrate thanksgiving?

I thought he was lying. Good catch

[Asher]

Did you let her know your SO was willing to bring his own chair?

No, I took the hint.

[Asher]

The whole wedding is going to be a cluster ****. My mom outed me to the extended family via email (I did NOT ask her to, or want her to)..but she insisted it was best to do so before the extended family got shocked I was there with a guy.

My extended family in Ontario is...hickish. All from small towns, very "faithful", work in factories, etc.

I suspect I will need to be drunk early and often.

[Wezil]

I've run out of chairs before.