Stressful Events in Prenatal Life of Bi- and Homosexual Men

Dörner, G; Schenk, Blayne R; Schmiedel, B.; Ahrens, L.H.

doi:10.1055/s-0029-1210210

Cited by 79 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Another theory has proposed that male homosexuality is caused by an androgen insufficiency during sexual differentiation of the fetal brain, as a result of stress experienced by a homosexual's mother during pregnancy (Bailey, Willerman, & Parks, 1991;Dörner, Schenk, Schmiedel, & Ahrens, 1983; Ellis and Cole-Harding, 2001). Since previous findings suggest that stressed mothers produce a predominance of male offspring mediated by maternal gonadotropin levels, the hypothesis predicts that the mothers of homosexual sons should be characterologically more stressed than the mothers of comparable heterosexual men (for a review, see Blanchard & Sheridan, 1992;Ellis & Cole-Harding, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth Order and Ratio of Brothers to Sisters in Spanish Transsexuals

et al. 2010

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Three Western studies have shown that male-to-female (MF) homosexual transsexuals tend to be born later than their siblings and to come from sibships with more brothers than sisters. The objective of this study was to determine whether these variables would be replicated in 530 MF and female-to-male (FM) Spanish transsexuals according to sexual orientation. The results showed that MF homosexual transsexuals had significantly more older brothers than the non-homosexual MF group. Compared with the expected rates in the general population, birth order was significantly higher in both MF (Slater's Index = 0.59; Fraternal Index = 0.61; Sororal Index = 0.58) and FM homosexual transsexuals (Slater's Index = 0.65; Fraternal Index = 0.68; Sororal Index = 0.67), and sibling sex ratio was significantly higher than expected in homosexual MF (sex ratio = 0.55) but not in homosexual FM transsexuals. No significant differences were found in the non-homosexual subgroups. The replication of the later birth order and sibling sex-ratio effect in MF homosexual transsexuals corroborates previous findings in a variety of groups from different cultures and may suggest a common mechanism underlying the etiology of transsexualism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth Order and Ratio of Brothers to Sisters in Spanish Transsexuals

et al. 2010

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“…147 The volume of their SDN-POA is also smaller than in control males. 133,150,151 There was also a positive correlation between stressful life events remembered by mothers and the likelihood that their boy born in this period would be homosexual. 133,150,151 There was also a positive correlation between stressful life events remembered by mothers and the likelihood that their boy born in this period would be homosexual.…”

Section: Changes In Hormone Action During Prenatal Life?mentioning

confidence: 97%

Mate Selection, Sexual Orientation, and Pair Bonding

Balthazart

Young

2015

Knobil and Neill's Physiology of Reproduction

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“…This study interviewed 200 men about stressful events that occurred during their mother’s pregnancy with them, and reported that moderately to severely stressful events were recalled by 68% of homosexual men, and by 40% of bisexual men, but by only 6% of heterosexual men [32]. Most of the stressful events had occurred as a consequence of the second world war.…”

Section: Prenatal Stress and Sexual Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal endocrine influences on sexual orientation and on sexually differentiated childhood behavior

Hines

2011

Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology

189

112

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Both sexual orientation and sex-typical childhood behaviors, such as toy, playmate and activity preferences, show substantial sex differences, as well as substantial variability within each sex. In other species, behaviors that show sex differences are typically influenced by exposure to gonadal steroids, particularly testosterone and its metabolites, during early development (prenatally or neonatally). This article reviews the evidence regarding prenatal influences of gonadal steroids on human sexual orientation, as well as sex-typed childhood behaviors that predict subsequent sexual orientation. The evidence supports a role for prenatal testosterone exposure in the development of sex-typed interests in childhood, as well as in sexual orientation in later life, at least for some individuals. It appears, however, that other factors, in addition to hormones, play an important role in determining sexual orientation. These factors have not been well-characterized, but possibilities include direct genetic effects, and effects of maternal factors during pregnancy. Although a role for hormones during early development has been established, it also appears that there may be multiple pathways to a given sexual orientation outcome and some of these pathways may not involve hormones.

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Stressful Events in Prenatal Life of Bi- and Homosexual Men

Cited by 79 publications

References 1 publication

Birth Order and Ratio of Brothers to Sisters in Spanish Transsexuals

Birth Order and Ratio of Brothers to Sisters in Spanish Transsexuals

Mate Selection, Sexual Orientation, and Pair Bonding

Prenatal endocrine influences on sexual orientation and on sexually differentiated childhood behavior

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