http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prenatal_ hormones _ and _ sexual_ orientation
Prenatal hormones and sexual orientation
The hormonal theory of sexuality holds that, just as exposure to certainhormones plays a role in fetal sex differentiation, such exposure alsoinfluences the sexual orientation that emerges later in the adult. Fetalhormones may be seen as the primary determiner of adult sexualorientation, or a co-factor with genes and/or environmental and socialconditions.Male homosexuality as hyper-masculine There is evidence of a correlation between sexual orientation and traitsthat are determined in utero. Williams et al. (2000) found that fingerlength ratio, a characteristic controlled by prenatal hormones, isdifferent in people of distinct sexual orientations. Another study byMcFadden in 1998 found that auditory systems in the brain, anotherphysical trait influenced by prenatal hormones is different in those of differing orientations, likewise the suprachiasmatic nucleus of homosexual men was found by Swaab and Hopffman to be larger inhomosexual men than in heterosexual men, the suprachiasmaticnucleus is also known to be larger in men than in women. Gay menhave also been shown to have higher levels of circulating androgensand larger penises, on average, than straight men.Gay men have more older brothers on average, a phenomenon knownas the fraternal birth order effect. It has been suggested that thegreater the number of older male siblings the higher the level of androgen fetuses are exposed to.Male homosexuality as feminine or hypo-masculineIn a 1991 study, Simon LeVay demonstrated that a tiny clump of neurons of the anterior hypothalamus—which is believed to controlsexual behavior and linked to prenatal hormones—was on averagemore than twice the size in heterosexual men when contrasted tohomosexual men. Initially he could not rule out that this may be due toAIDS since all of his homosexual male subjects had died from it beforethe autopsies were performed. However in 2003 scientists at OregonState University announced that it replicated his findings in sheep.Female homosexualityGirls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (an autosomal recessivecondition which results in high androgen levels during fetaldevelopment) have more masculinized sex role identities and are morelikely to have a homosexual sexual orientation as adults than controls(Dittmann et al. 1990ab, 1992; Zucker et al., 1996; Hines et al., 2004).
Leave a Comment